Welcome to Evil Lawn Gnomes of my Childhood

I have a small confession to make. I don't like gnomes. My whole family doesn't like gnomes. My parents, sibling, and I find gnomes to be incredibly creepy. And it was all because of one book on cassette we listened to every road trip.

It's a shame that gnomes are currently everywhere. Gnomes seem to have become a staple of whimsical holiday decor. Most are cute and nonthreatening looking (but I know better). I see a lot of gnome Christmas decorations...probably because they can look like mini Santa Clauses.

Even at the Fall Festival I was at yesterday had gnomes as decorations. Granted these gnomes were playing football against aliens...and winning.

You, dear reader, might be wondering why my family has an aversion to gnomes. 

As I vaguely mentioned above, my family had several books on cassette. If you don't know what a cassette is, find the nearest person born in the last century and ask them. Cassettes are also different from VHS tapes.

This particular book on cassette was a Goosebumps book by R. L. Stine called Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes (1995). And when I say we listened to it on every road trip, I do mean every road trip. If we were going to be in the car for longer than three hours, this cassette was in the line up to be played. 

This is the original 1995 cover. 

We also had two other books on cassette by R. L. Stine Haunted Mask II (1995), which was part of the Goosebumps, and The Creature from Club Lagoona (1997), which was part of the Ghosts of Fear Street series. Honestly, I thought I had dreamed up The Creature from Club Lagoona. It took a bit of searching, but I did confirm that it does exist. My parents would also let us pick out books on cassette from the local library. Most were some kind of ghost story anthology or eerie mystery. 

I'm starting to realize that my love of horror started earlier than I thought it had. I wasn't a big fan of horror movies, but I seemed to have loved horror books for kids.

But none of these books on cassette left quite the same impression as Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes. 

I don't know if it was that the narrator was really good or if it was because the main characters were growing tomatoes like my dad liked to do in his garden, but I related to the book. However, unlike the gardens I'd seen on TV, my parents never put any ornaments in the garden (except for holiday decorations). I think lawn gnomes were even banned by the neighborhood HOA (homeowners association for those who have never lived under one - like I currently am). I know pink flamingos were banned. 

So, garden gnomes were already a little suspicious in my child mind. Why would anyone want these creepy beings in their garden?

In my current neighborhood, lawn ornaments are not banned. In fact I have several neighbors with garden gnomes in their gardens. I try not to walk by those houses.

So, now I'm sure you're wondering. What made this book so scary?

To which I would respond: did y'all miss the "Goosebumps" (2015) movie? The gnomes tried to roast Mr. Stine alive! 

But to be serious, the idea that lawn gnomes might come to life at night to cause property damage wasn't exactly scary. It was creepy, sure, but not scary. What did scare me was that none of the adults believed the children. The children maintain their innocents, but the adults insist it has to be them causing problems - especially since one of them is known for pulling pranks. 

That and the gnomes straight up lie and nearly trick the kids into becoming minions to the gnomes. The idea that someone would make up a sob story and then try to kidnap me was a fear engrained in me from 90s Stranger Danger rhetoric. That final showdown was intense and scary.

The TV show has a slightly different ending that I don't think packed the same punch. 

Sure, this maybe a silly reason to have developed an aversion to gnomes. I wasn't even interested in seeing those 2010s gnome movies (I hear the first one is actually kind of cute). Then again, I might not have been the targeted age group for those movies. 

In conclusion, gnomes are creepy and deserve to be part of the Halloween pantheon of creatures. If you like gnomes, please keep a close eye on them. You never know when they might cause property damage and squash all your tomatoes (birds may also do this) or straight up kidnap the neighborhood kids.

What's a formative horror story from your youth? Are there any other 90s kids who were traumatized by a Goosebumps book? What books on cassette or CD did you listen to on long car trips?

Feel free to leave a comment.

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Introductory Horror

It's officially Spooky Season!

This year I didn't see too many fall decorations in August. Most popped up in early to mid-September like they are supposed to. 

I am starting to see a few Christmas things...but let's ignore that holiday for now.

It's time for all things crisp, cool, and creepy. As many of you know, I am a horror writer and poet (as a hobby, not as a primary income). I am still working on that book of horror limericks, but that's a long ways away from hitting book store shelves. 

You guys might be surprised to learn that I wasn't always a huge horror fan. In fact, I was a bit horror movie shy as a kid. What I loved was the fall and Halloween aesthetic. I preferred spooky and creepy to scary and horrific.

I did not do well in the haunted house "mazes" Buschgardens and Kings Dominion had (and I still don't really like them now - talk about a sensory nightmare). 

But I loved child friendly Halloween themed events. I also loved shows like "Haunted History" and "Ghost Hunters". They had some spooky elements, but weren't really horror. 

My introduction to horror happened gradually with a few "oh I should not be watching this" moments sprinkled in. For example, when I was a young AJ, I loved spiders. I had tons of books on spiders and loved seeing them at the zoo or in nature (at a distance). That love ended when my dad let me watch Arachnophobia (1990) on TV with him when I was four. I wanted little to do with spiders after watching that movie. 

Now I can handle spiders just fine, unless they are on my physical person or show up on my bed.

Most horror that I can't consume is excessively violent and gory. I was recently asked what I thought was the scariest movie. I said it really depends on the person. I don't find movies like The Exorcist (1973) or The Fog (1980) scary, but I was absolutely freaked out by The Collector (2009) and I still haven't been able to finish it. 

If you'd like to introduce your young ones to the horror genre, I'd like to recommend a few movies, shows, books, and even a video game for you to consider. As always, parents and guardians should enjoy these recommendations with their kids.  

1. "So Weird" - I'm so glad Disney+ finally add this 1999-2000s show on it's streaming platform. While my parents had "The X-Files", I had "So Weird". It's about a girl interested in the paranormal while on the road traveling with her mom's band. Each episode is a different creature of the week with an overarching story line that sadly never gets resolved (some say Disney just wouldn't go where the creators wanted to take the show). It's definitely a precursor to "Supernatural". I'm currently rewatching it this spooky season. 

2. In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories - This one is definitely good for younger kids (recommended for Graders 1-3). The stories are based on old folk tales that were collected and retold by Alvin Schwartz with illustrations by Dirk Zimmer. It's a much less traumatizing book than Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. My grandmother and I would read In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories together. 

3. Boney-Legs - Speaking of spooky books my grandmother would share with me, Boney-Legs by Joanna Cole was my first time reading a "dark" fairy tale. Though the witch is never officially named, she lives in a house built on chicken feet and threatens to eat a young girl named Sasha. So I'm fairly confident that the witch is the Russian witch Baba Yaga. I'm not sure if this book is still in print, but it is a great read for little ones who are ready for a mild fright.

4. Disney Channel Original Halloween Movies - There are far too many Disney Channel original movies to recommend that are good introductory horror for kids. My personal favorites were Don't Look Under the Bed (yes, I know it traumatized a bunch of kids and that's why Disney Channel pulled it, but hey, it's on Disney+ now), Phantom of the Megaplex, Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire, and of course Halloweentown and Halloweentown 2: Kalabar's Revenge. All can be found on Disney+.

5. Tower of Terror (1997) - speaking of Disney TV movies (though this one wasn't a Disney Channel original), Tower of Terror premiered the same year I went to Disney World with my family. While I didn't enjoy the ride, I did enjoy the TV movie. I'm not sure if it's on Disney+, but YouTube sometimes has the full movie floating around (it's okay in quality). It stars Steve Guttenberg and young  Kirsten Dunst.

6. Hocus Pocus (1993) - I'd be remiss not to include the amazing Halloween classic Hocus Pocus. This movie has become synonymous with the spooky season and even takes place in Salem Massachusetts. I've been to a few of the filming locations. There are real stakes in this movie, but the witches are funny instead of terrifying. 

7. The Witches - speaking of witches Roald Dahl's classic tale is terrifying to kids. I remember my mom putting the cassette in for a road trip and my sibling and I asked her to turn it off after about 10 minutes. However, I do think it's a good book for kids looking for something scary, but not too scary.

8. The Goosebumps Series - R. L. Stein was a major part of my childhood. I read the books and watched the TV series. Some of the stories were silly and other were down right terrifying. My family's favorite was "Revenge of the Lawn Gnomes" which we had on cassette for long car rides. To this day, none of us like gnomes. 

9. "Are You Afraid of the Dark" - this 1990s TV series was, in my opinion, better than Goosebumps. The stories were "told" by "kids" around a campfire at night. They always introduced the story with a theme and by throwing "magic powder" on the fire to make it pop. The stories almost always had a happy ending (unlike Goosebumps which could see a kid stuck as a rabbit for eternity or eaten by their neighbors). 

10. Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000) - I love this movie. It just oozes fall vibes. Alvin and his brother are in a school play about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when Alvin gets banned from anything spooky due to nightmares...and blowing up the school auditorium with slime. His brother Theodor takes his place as the lead villain and possibly gets bitten by a werewolf while walking home after practice. There are plenty of classic literary and movie monster references that horror fans will catch (including an Elvira parody). There are fun songs to dance to in between the spooky scenes.

11. Disney's The Haunted Mansion (the ride) - Yes, I'm going to recommend The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Disney World. It was my first experience with the spooky side of life. My parent's loved reminding me that the very first time I rode the ride, I was perfectly fine until we reached the hitchhiking ghosts. I screamed my head off seeing a "ghost" sit next to me (I was also about one and a half). This experience may not be attainable for everyone, but if you do find yourself at either of the parks with a little kid, know that it's not too spooky. (Okay, yes, the ghost bride also really scared me as a kid, but that wasn’t until I got a little older).

12. Scooby Doo and the Witches Ghost (1999) - Year after year, my family returns to this Scooby Doo movie. There's a witch, who is also a ghost. It takes place in New England (spooky central in the United States for witches). Plus it the first appearance of the Hex Girls. Is it the best Scooby Doo animated movie, not really. That honor will probably always go to Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. However, it's not as intense as Zombie Island. I'd recommend this along with the regular Scooby Doo series, Scooby Doo meets the Boo Brothers (1987), and Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School (1988) as a good introduction to classic horror monsters.

13. Luigi's Mansion series- I did say there would be a video game on here. While there are many spooky games and non-horror games with spooky moments (I'm looking at you Donkey Kong Country with the piano level). Luigi's Mansion is great to play with kids around. It's extremely silly. Instead of fighting ghosts you get to vacuum them up. It's probably the best intro to horror video game I know. It's certainly better than having your kid play Doom which one of my parent's thought was perfectly fine for a nine year old to play.

So that's 13 spooky bits of media to introduce your kids to. As I don't have kids, this list is based off my childhood experiences and what I know from my friends and family with kids. I would have loved to have included Coraline (the movie and book), but I've been told that it's very scary for little ones ( at least according to my young cousin - I saw the movie and read the book when I was already in my 20s). 

What are some spooky stories that you introduced the children in your life too? What's one you grew up with that I didn't mention here? I know there are a lot more kids horror stories out there, but this list is fairly accurate to my childhood. 

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Now to go see why my cat has the zoomies. 

Welcome to the Odyssey

I know this is a few months after the fact, but I saw the "Odyssey" a couple of weeks ago. I chose to wait a while to see it in Imax at the Air and Space Smithsonian near Dulles. I liked seeing "big" movies on the Smithsonian Imax and I felt that that's how I should see Christopher Nolan's take on the story.

It was a vibe. 

I originally hadn't planned to see the movie. Yeah, I'd heard the discourse and saw tons of YouTube videos anticipating how "good" or "bad" the movie was going to be. I was indifferent. I'd read the epic in middle and high school (both as a reading assignment and for my own curiosity because I'm a nerd). I thought it was fine. I preferred the Wishbone episode "Homer, Sweet Homer" - which is indeed how I first learned about the story. 

There are parts of the "Odyssey" I really like. The action oriented parts of the story like the scene in the cave with the cyclops or when the ship must sail between Scylla and Charybdis. I was probably most familiar with the slaughter of the suitors, but I hated the part where the slave girls were hanged for "entertaining the suitors". I also didn't like that all of Odyssey's men died. I felt that was unfair because all they wanted to do was go home after ten years at war.

My opinions on the epic began to change when I started watching the YouTube channel Overly Sarcastic Productions. The hosts, Red and Blue, would do summaries of different famous literary works, history, and tropes. Their summary of the "Odyssey" came out about 11 years ago (has it really been that long?) and clearly Red really liked Odysseus. Her enthusiasm for the story and hero softened me on the epic and I wondered if part of the reason I hadn't enjoyed reading it originally was because of the translations I had.

Then, about a year and a half ago, I heard a song on one of my Broadway music channels. Athena was singing with several other gods and goddess to free Odysseus from Calypso. At first, I had mixed feelings on there even being a musical about the "Odyssey".

But the music was so catchy and good.

It turned out that this had been one guy's passion project that he had shared on TikTok. Through his social media, he was able to do auditions, make a recording, and eventually put together a semi-animated production (these were fan animations based on the songs and singers' looks). 

I fell completely in love with Epic the Musical. I listened to it on repeat while moving into my house. I kept hearing the songs in the back of my mind while watching the Christopher Nolan version. 

Is it a perfect adaptation of the epic? No, but it carries the spirit of the story as I understood from Red's summary. Finally, I began to understand why people loved this story and tell it over and over again.

I've seen other adaptations of the "Odyssey". Some are more fantastical, some goofy (like the episode of Arthur where D.W. is Odysseus), and some that I only realized were adaptations long after I'd seen them ("Oh Brother Where Art Thou"). 

I think Epic the Musical is my favorite (after the Wishbone episode of course). It takes a man who didn't lose a single soldier under his command during a ten year war and slowly breaks him down to the point where he doesn't recognize himself anymore. This version also is so loyal to his wife that he risks the wrath of a goddess when he spurs her advances. It even includes the scene where, as a final test, Penelope asks Odysseus to move their wedding bed and he tells her he can't because it's carved from the tree growing in their room.

I was disappointed that Nolan's version skipped this scene, but at least his included Argos. 

Of course I cried when Argos died. I always cry when animals die, but Argos really was the bestest boy. 

Like I said earlier, the Christopher Nolan film was a vibe. I really liked the music and the scene with Circe is some of the best body horror I've seen in a while. I was on the edge of my seat during the transformation. I liked the references to other myths like Actaeon and I liked his take on the gods. I understand that some people didn't like that the gods were more metaphorical than physical beings. I felt it was a unique take, even with witches, magic, cyclops, and giants being explicitly shown. 

Overall, I'd say Nolan's "Odyssey" is a good movie. I wouldn't want to see it in 4D or whatever special edition people were raving about, but seeing it in Imax was a treat. I've been listening to the soundtrack quite a bit. Agamemnon was a presence, even when presented as just a man. 

I don't think I need to see it again. 

The movie is flawed and carries a much more modern message about PTSD and our understanding of how empires fall. That's not a bad thing, but it's not Homer's Odyssey. But neither is Epic the Musical or Wishbone's version (which fits ten years of story into less than 30 minutes) Homer's Odyssey.

I've written about this in other posts, but stories are alive. They change with time. Before Disney made "Snow White", the Grimm brothers were editing collected versions from German story tellers, and before them the story was passed orally and branched out into different stories. Many of us are know the story with dwarves, but others grew up with versions that had thieves help the princess instead. Before Homer put the Odyssey to paper, it was sung. It was passed from generation to generation orally. Now we are passing the story through translations and new media that Homer couldn't have even imagined in his time. 

Like many old stories that are still being retold, people take what is most meaningful to them and hone in on that part. Some people might love it and others clutch their pearls and sneer that it's nothing like the original story.

I am still fairly indifferent to it. While I really liked watching it in Imax, I don't think I'd enjoy it as much at home on my TV. Part of my good experience was watching it with other people in the theater. The woman next to me was very excited to see it and I enjoyed listening to her react at different parts. 

You know, I don't think I actually had a thesis for this post. I just had feelings, feelings I wanted to sort out. I didn't want to get into the controversies or do a deep dive analysis. I kind of wanted to meditate on it. 

And that's okay.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week.  

Welcome to Knoebels

Last weekend was my great grandmother's family's 94th family reunion. I never met my great grandmother, but she was the second oldest of thirteen kids (including a set of twins) who survived to adulthood and the mother of my paternal grandfather. Every year, the reunion is held in the same small town. 

Sadly, fewer and fewer people go each year. after 94 years, many members of the family have moved, lost touch, and passed away. However, at one time, my family was able to old a baseball game, a family band, and cakewalk (this tradition lasted until the early 2000s and one year I won the cakewalk which meant my parents had to take home a giant cake). Those of us who are able to attend, have a great time, hold a family meeting, make announcements, and share what's been going on since we last saw each other. In years past, my family occasionally went to the local amusement park (it helped that one of my cousins could get us in for free). 

I swear this is all relevant. 

Last year, I mentioned to one of my cousins how I missed going to the local amusement park. My cousin laughed and said that it was a nice park, but Knoebels was way better. 

This sign is like halfway into the park. 

I had heard of Knoebels from when Travel Channel actually showed shows on travel. I used to love their specials on Top Ten Amusement Parks and Top Ten Best Rollercoasters. It started my obsession with rollercoasters, mechanics, and physics in general (I actually do have a minor in physics, so...). For my 20th birthday, my parents gifted me a behind the scenes rollercoaster tour at Buschgardens Williamsburg. Knoebels was one of the amusement parks frequently mentioned on those shows for having outstanding rides and especially rollercoasters. 

However, I never went to Knoebels as a kid. I also still haven't been to Cedar Point despite constantly being promised that "we'll go next year" whenever we went to Michigan. I suppose "next year" is never going to actually happen.

Alright, I'm done discussing childhood. 

Knoebels is so different from any amusement park I've ever been to. The closest I might be able to compare it to are the boardwalk piers with amusement rides, except its in the middle of Pennsylvania's coal country and surrounded by campgrounds instead of sand and beach motels. 

Also you can go to Knoebels completely free if you want to. 

Parking is free. Entry is free. There are several museums that are also free. The rides are purchased through a ticket system (and they still use paper tickets) or you can purchase a wrist band to ride all the rides (except the Haunted Mansion). The wristband is only offered during the week though, so if you go on a Saturday like I did, you have to purchase one of several ticket books. 

You can even see a swan.

Rides cost between $2.50 and $6.00. The kids rides range from $2.50 to $4.00, family fun flat rides were between $3.00 and $4.50, and the rollercoasters are between $3.50 and $5.00. The only $6.00 ride was the ski lift which gives you a great view of the park (I have only seen this through YouTube videos as I opted to spend my tickets elsewhere). 

The food is also fairly inexpensive, but the carnival games seemed to cost on par with other amusement parks. I didn't play any of the games, but they had most of the classics. There is also one indoor restaurant called the Alamo that's been operating for almost a century. 

Oh, and I forgot to mention one other thing, dogs are allowed in the park. Not everywhere, but you can bring them in. Knoebels is surrounded by campgrounds (nearest hotel is a bed and breakfast) and they don't want you to leave your furry best friend at the campsite while you and your family enjoy the park. 

When I arrived at Knoebels, it took me a bit of time to find a parking spot. Their parking lot is a huge field and has a shuttle that runs up and down the lines of cars. I parked close enough that I didn't need to take the shuttle, but far enough away that I had to wander through their group pavilions that can be rented for events. Most were rented out by large parties, church groups, work family days (I saw Sherwin-Williams there), and a few family reunions. 

If there is a main gate to the park, I didn't find it. After getting through the maze of pavilions, I walked up to a giant board with the map on it which was next to one of those boat rides that take you up real high and then drops you down with a huge splash.

It was at this point that I learned that it was the 100 years celebration of the park's opening. Their old skating rink was set up as a history museum of the park. The skate rink hadn't been used in decades, but they did have a remaining skate in the collection. Much of the park had facts posted around with history facts about the park and surrounding area. There were at least two recent flood markers (both in the 2010s) and displays of old work equipment. One of my favorite finds was the blacksmith's shop where you could purchase a horseshoe, fire poker, or tent post. 

I also adored the carousel museum. Though small, the carousel museum included a brief history on carousels and included examples of horses from the mid to late 1800s. I think the earliest one I saw had been built in the 1870s. Knoebels has two working carousels, a small one mainly for kids (that didn't stop me from going on it) and a big one that also had the ring game. 

If you've never heard of the ring game on carousels, you've really missed out on something special. The ring game is for people who sit on the outer edge of the carousel. An arm is extended down that holds little metal rings. Riders are meant to grab onto the rings and then toss them in the designated area. The rings are maybe two inches in diameter (or big enough to get two fingers hooked in) and traditionally there is one brass ring that wins the grabber a free ride (I don't think Knoebels has this feature). 

The ring game has long gone out of fashion - likely because of insurance. As I hadn't played the ring game in a long time, I quickly relearned how difficult it was to grab them and how easily someone could hurt themselves. However, it is a ton of fun and amazing that Knoebels has the game on their Grand Carousel. 

I ended up purchasing $25.00 worth of tickets. The first thing I opted to ride was the rollercoaster Flying Turns. This ride was built in the 2000s based on a design created in the 1920s. Similar to a steel bobsled type rollercoaster, it is the only known wooden rollercoaster without a track. It is also freaking awesome and one of two rides I was had to try (the other was the Grand Carousel).

With only $20.00 remaining in tickets, I decided to hold off on the other rollercoasters until my next visit (hopefully when I could get the unlimited ride wristband). Instead I rode both carousels, the tilt-a-whirl, Paratroopers, the swings, and The Haunted Mansion (yes it needs to be capitalized). 

The Haunted Mansion is a traditional dark ride that fewer and fewer amusement parks have. I've only really experienced similar rides at the seashore amusement parks on the different boardwalks. The Disneyland version this ain't. It's loud with plenty of jump scare (though thankfully none are humans in a mask) and some questionable stereotypes. The story for this Haunted Mansion included a cursed object taking over the house after the guy who "acquired" the object got married and moved in with his new bride. My favorite room was one with glowing skulls that seemed to spin around the room. My least favorite part was the truck horn jump scare (if you know, you know).

Though I didn't try it, Knoebels also has an outdoor pool area that charges for entry with the option to upgrade to include waterslides. The pool area looked really nice and the slides looked like a lot of fun. 

I really enjoyed my time at Knoebels, though it was only for a few hours. It's a park that feels much more focused on traditional amusement rides than just thrilling rollercoasters. In fact, most of their big rollercoasters are wooden. I plan to go again and possibly camp there at some point (especially if I can meet up with my family and they bring the huskies). There are definitely some rides I wasn't able to try that sound amazing (like Phoenix and Black Diamond). 

Maybe I can convince my cousins that we need to have our family reunion there (even if it breaks with tradition). We might be able to get more of the family to come if rides are included.

Have you ever been to Knoebels? If so, what's your favorite ride? I still can't believe how awesome Flying Turns was. 

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or l eave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the County Fair

This weekend was the Fairfax County fair and carnival. Growing up, I only went to one or two county fairs, so I was curious to see what Fairfax County had to offer. I wasn’t expecting much because Fairfax County isn’t exactly known for its farms, but the ads promised animals, rides, games, and food.

The fair was at Frying Pan Farm, which is the last working farm in Fairfax County. Apparently, Cox Farms (close to where I live) is considered more of an attraction rather than a “working” farm. To my untrained eye, I would say they are both farms.

I’ve driven past Frying Pan Farm before…and been very confused by the random farm tucked in between the suburbs that surround it. Fairfax County bought the farm in the mid-1900s (yes, I’m doing this now for dates before the 1970s) as a park and educational tool for kids who live away from farms (pretty much all of Northern Virginia at this point). The park provides a hands on experience of farm life during the Great Depression. They have animals that are raised for market, including the usual chickens, pigs, cows, ducks, and turkeys, and event space loke for the county fair which is partnered with the local 4H Club to show animals.

I didn’t even know there was a 4H Club in Northern Virginia since I always associated them with rural parts of the country. The four Hs stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health and is a program for kids and teens. I remember staying at a 4H camp for an annual church retreat and being told that the 4H Club was a “farming club” for kids.

I think one of my cousins used to show rabbits through 4H.

There is a lot more to it than farming. The kids are able to complete a variety of projects and the county fair provides a space for them to compete against each other for prizes. There’s of course the animal show (I saw the goats and sheep) as well as a number of craft, cooking, written, and artistic entries put in for competition. Some of the projects were amazing - one entry was a three tiered wooden chandelier with a bird figure in the center.

I had fun seeing the animals, both those being shown and who live full time at the farm. I got to hold a couple of week old chicks and pet a rabbit. I also had my mind blown by how large pigs actually are. It wasn’t my first time seeing a pig, but each time I see one feels like the first time. Pigs are big animals. I also took plenty of pictures of the cows to share with my sibling (it’s an obsession with that one).

Of course there was food, rides, and games. The food wasn’t what I’d call traditional, but felt authentic to Northern Virginia. Not a lot of deep fried nonsense, but there was BBQ, Tex Mex, El Salvadorian, hot dogs, burgers, and Thai food. I chose to have Pad Thai.

I didn’t ride any rides or play any games. It was raining while I was there and, when it wasn’t raining, it was 87% humidity. I felt gross. However, there were a few rides I would have indulged in if the weather had been better. I would have loved to go on the Ferris wheel and there was a cute carousel. The games were the standard carnival games - plus really expensive. I did think it was weird that one of the game’s prizes included live goldfish.

I felt a little bad for the poor fish.

Due to the weather, I didn’t stay long and it looked like things were wrapping up early, too. The fair started on Thursday evening and today was the last day. The first three days had great weather, though too hot for me. I’m glad I went on the last day. It wasn’t too crowded and I saw everything I wanted to.

Have you been to your state or county fair? Part of me wishes I’d been able to go more as a kid (though I did go to the May Day Fair regularly in Lancaster, PA, it didn’t have animals). It’s a cool experience, especially for kids.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.

Welcome to Summerween

July is nearly over. We've already had several days over 100F (38C) in my area and two named storms in the Atlantic. I've been harvesting cherry tomatoes from my small tomato plant. Back to school sales are wrapping up and cute Halloween decor is popping up in all the home goods stores.

Well, some of it is Halloween decor. In between the (far too early) traditional spooky things that give my brain a dopamine hit are a few items where ghosts and skeletons are enjoying the sun with fruity drinks. I even saw a piece with a ghost riding a flamingo. The flamingo wasn't even a skeleton.

This mashup of summer fun and Halloween aesthetic is what is known as Summerween. 

You might have started hearing it on booktok (the book side of TikTok) or booktube (the book side of YouTube) where influencers are recommending horror books with a summer vibe. You might have seen art of ghosts hanging out on the beach or a watermelon carved to look like a jack-o-lantern on Instagram.  

Basically, it's a social media thing for people who want it to be Halloween. In the US, this time period seems to start shortly before or right after Independence Day (July 4th) and eventually transitions into regular Halloween. I particularly like the people who have a ton of skeleton decorations and pose them for non-Halloween related holidays and seasons.

You, dear reader, might be wondering how this new invasion of a holiday in the wrong season started. I mean, Christmas in July has been around for as long I can remember and is the halfway point for Halloween. People aren't celebrating Halloween around Easter, they're celebrating in the middle of summer. 

Well, the history of Summerween (or "lore" for those of you with children under the age of 18) is very recent. It started as an episode of the animated Disney show Gravity Falls. That's right, an animated Disney show is why we have Summerween.  

The 12th episode of the 1st season of Gravity Falls, titled "Summerween", exists because the show creators wanted to create a Halloween episode, but had to get creative when the show takes place over the course of one summer.. The town in Oregon, where the show takes place, has a ton of weird and spooky things happening all the time. The locals accept this (for the most part) and (per the show's explication) love Halloween so much, that they decided to have a second one in the Summer. This "Summerween" includes trick or treating, carving watermelons, and a cursed creature that will eat you if you displease it and can't get into the spirit of Summerween. 

This cursed creature, the Summerween Trickster, is loosely based off of No Face from the Miyazaki movie Spirited Away. The two main characters accidently upset it for various reasons and they end up needing to bring it 500 pieces of candy by the time the jack-o'-melons (get it?) in town go out or he'll eat them. The episode is really funny and I recommend the show in general. It's one of the few Disney animated shows that actually gets to the end of it's overarching story. But as a stand alone episode, it also works.

This is the origin of Summerween. 

Do I think Summerween will continue to be a thing? I have no idea. My theory on why this concept has recently gained traction (the show is over ten years old as of writing this post) is a mix of nostalgia (the kids who watch Gravity Falls now have grown up money), the increasing popularity of the horror genre, and the fact that it's too hot outside and people are over it. Most of the Summerween influencers are bookish young women and often include music from Hocus Pocus or Practical Magic while doing their influencer videos. 

I'm not knocking the demographic. I appreciate their passion. 

However, I am unlikely to participate in the consumer side of Summerween. I think the designs are cute (though there's a lot of AI being used) and I'm enjoying the movie and book recommendations. I don't foresee myself buying any of these unnecessary items (though I would accept them as gifts), though I might create my own art for the mashup season. It is also a fair point that I do leave out my regular Halloween decorations year round.

And that is Summerween. 

You might not have heard of it at all prior to this blog post or you might have seen ghosts and skeletons doing cute, yet random summer things on dishtowels. Maybe you already knew all of this and scrolled through the above to see if I had any media suggestions (for movies check out Midsommar or the original Wickerman from the 70s; for books I enjoyed "Meddling Kids" and there's witches running around in "Witchcraft for Wayward Girls").

Would you like to celebrate Summerween? Do you enjoy a spooky summer mashup? Let me know in the comments. 

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me. 

Welcome to Haze and Smoke

The past few weeks have been hot and hazy with air quality warnings asking people to limit travel. I’ve mostly stayed inside (though I finally mowed the lawn today) and set up my dad’s old air purifier to keep the air nice in the house.

In the middle of all of this, I thought my cat might have asthma. Asthma in cats isn’t rare, but it is tricky (and expensive) to treat. Thankfully, Wilhelmina does not have asthma; she has a sinus infection. The vet recommended getting a humidifier. I asked if that was really a given the time of year and where we live. The vet then suggested I keep Wilhelmina in the bathroom while I showered. 

She does not enjoy this treatment.

The haze started getting bad around the 4th of July. Fireworks were going off all week prior to the Independence Day celebrations which put tons of smoke into the air. There ended up being rolling thunderstorms on the 4th, which got some of the smoke out of the air. 

It still wasn’t easy to breathe. I nearly missed having an inhaler of my own.

This past weekend, Canadian wildfires has sent smoke into my area. It’s a bit mind boggling to think how far the smoke has to travel. The worst of the fires are in Ontario (between 600 to 1,000 miles away from my current location). I am no where near Ontario, yet a thick blanket of grey-white haze has settled over my area. 

It was eerie traveling on some of the backroads through Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania on Friday. If I hadn’t known it was midday in July, I’d have thought it was a morning in November. I could barely see the mountains as I drove up route 15. They were dark grey blobs rising up to meet a lighter grey sky. 

It could have been the start of a horror novel or old fairy tale.

Things began to clear up yesterday with the rain (and the threat of tornadoes close to where I was staying). I finally saw some blue sky, too.

However, some of my family was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the entire time it was just smoky haze. My aunts said it got so bad at times that they couldn’t see across Lake Independence (it’s a small lake near Big Bay, MI). Granted they were much closer to the fires, but nowhere near where they were actually burning - they’d have had to cross Lake Superior for that.

My sibling sent me this picture from Big Bay, MI.

This isn’t the first time smoke from Canadian wildfires have drifted over the northeast. A few years ago, I remember waking up to an orange sky. It looked like dawn had just broken over the horizon, except it was several hours after the sun had risen. Pictures from New York City had looked apocalyptic. 

More and more wildfires are likely to breakout in the coming years. In winter of 2025, Los Angeles had huge fires break out all over the surrounding areas directly killing at least 31 people and indirectly causing the deaths of over 400 (at least according to Wikipedia). Australia has also seen increasingly intense fire seasons that make international news every year.

Natural wildfires are going to happen. In fact some wildfires are healthy for certain environments. They clear out old dead brush and encourage new growth. 

However, wildfires have been getting more problematic due in part to climate change and human actions. Hotter summers with less rainfall leads to drier areas perfect for fires to spread quickly. And though wildfires can be caused by lightening strikes, the vast majority are caused by people.

Some of these fires are accidental. Someone might now out a camp fire properly or set off fireworks when they shouldn’t or have a gender reveal party that includes more pyrotechnics than necessary. Others are intentionally set.

I’ve seen a fire be started by someone. One 4th of July, probably over two decades ago, I was setting off sparklers for my neighbors (my parents usually had a party on the 4th at our house) and being extra careful as was my responsibility - though it was probably questionable that I had even been the one to set them off. We wrapped up not long after sunset and headed inside. About a half hour later, one of my neighbors came running up to our house (we lived at the top of a hill) asking if we had a fire extinguisher. While my mom went to go get ours, my dad and I went outside to see the fire. The trees in my neighborhood’s were set ablaze higher than the house.

My mom comes out with the fire extinguisher and someone (I will probably never remember who) said something along the lines of “that's not going to be much help.”

At least the fire department had already been called before the neighbor came up to our house. Bottle rockets were the cause of the fire. We’d seen a few going off nearby and one likely landed in the trees in my neighbor’s backyard. My dad had never allowed us to have bottle rockets or anything that shot up into the air for that matter because of the woods that surrounded our houses. If the wind had been a little worse or the trees a little drier, the whole neighborhood could have gone up.

Thankfully, the fire was quickly put out.

I’ve only ever seen the aftermath of one natural fire in New Jersey. My favorite hiking area had been struck by lightening and it was quickly contained. They closed the trains closest to the damaged area for a month or two (I don’t fully remember). When the trains reopened, I remember how much the whole area still smelled like camp fire and how much the trees had been charred. The fire had turned dead trees and plants to ash, but the ones that survived only had a few scorch marks. 

Both of these fires could have easily become huge problems under different circumstances, but firefighters were quick to prevent their spread. I was taught from an early age to be respectful of the wilderness and to pay attention to the risk of fires. Smoky the Bear taught me that only I could prevent forest fires.

So to end this post, remember to check the fire risk levels before lighting any fires outdoors. Please don’t set off fireworks without training or a license. And for the love of your future children, keep gender reveal parties to smaller announcements - a colorful cake is just fine…or a piñata. 

Wildfires are likely to continue to disrupt our lives. You can be prepared and have an evacuation plan, you can stay inside to avoid the smoke, and you can just not light a fire when the area is too dry. Heck, you can even become a firefighter - a couple of the kids I used to babysit are now firefighters (with kids…good gracious time has flown by).

Stay safe out there.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you like hearing from me.