Friday with the Boys
Month: July 2019
Fossil Hunting
The Boy watched a documentary with Papa about the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. His verdict: "I think I want to be a paleontologist now." He thought about it a moment before amending it: "Well, I have just been thinking about it since yesterday, so that might change."
Still, this evening after dinner, he was keen on going fossil hunting. After I told him he couldn't just randomly dig holes in the backyard -- "We have a dog to do that; we don't need more." -- I suggested we look in the creek. We found nothing, as I expected, but it didn't dampen his enthusiasm. "After all, we found some really cool rocks."
That we did.
Stone Ax
The Boy, like all children, imitates what he sees. When the folks on his favorite YouTube show, The Axel Show, tried using a stone as an ax, he did the same thing.
“I’ve been making spears,” he explained. “I think I’ll sell some of them on Ebay.”
He’s come up with his own design as well — the two-ended spear. By “own design,” of course, I mean something he’s never seen. “This way, I can attack like this and like this,” he explained, waving the strick around furiously.
The Dog has her own interest in sticks.
Sunday on the Trail
This weekend, we went back home -- back to the southwest Virginia/northeast Tennessee area in which I grew up. Dear family friends invited us to spend the weekend with them for a few reasons, but most important was to give Papa a chance to meet with people who had been unable to attend Nana's funeral. That was what Saturday was all about -- spending time with folks who'd been like family to us. Most of the people I'd known since I was E's age. It was just what Papa needed, and in fact, the laughter that generally filled the house that day was a balm for us all.
Sunday was for our immediate family: a bike ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 34-mile multi-purpose trail built on the old railroad line that ran through the area.
We went along the first half, from Abingdon to Damascus. The longest the Boy had ridden to that point was about ten miles; this was to be about seventeen.
But seventeen miles through probably the most beautiful route any of us have ever ridden through, over fourteen railroad tressels, some of which towered probably 200-250 feet, some of which were surprisingly long.
The Boy powered through it like a champ. All our riding this summer has sculpted a seven-year-old with more endurance than I had at his age, and he pushed through the ride at a fairly impressive speed of 6.8 mph (according to my Fitbit).
At one point toward the end, he began complaining that he couldn't make it. "I'm too tired!" he fussed, but we took about a ten-minute break and he was willing to push through the final miles.
During the last two miles, we got a challenge: a pair of riders called "on your left" and passed us. They looked to be in their sixties but dressed in cycling gear and riding fairly expensive-looking gravel bikes, they were experienced. They encouraged the Boy as they rode by us, and then as they pulled away, I suggested, "Why don't we try to catch them?" I anticipated a laugh that the suggestion was ridiculous, but E clicked into a higher gear, stood up from the saddle, and powered ahead. "On our left!" we called out as we passed to the gentlemen's cheers. "But can we keep this speed?" I thought. At one point, we slowed, and the riders neared. The Boy stood again, pedaled as fast as he could, and pushed through the last half mile or so to our stopping point. Our competition caught us, congratulated him, and gave him enthusiastic high-fives. "I guess you showed us, young man!" one said.
On the way home, though, there was only one thing to do...
Visiting the Old Country
New Set
Thee Pictures for Sunday
Oconee Afternoon
Hatchet
It’s all the Boy has been talking about for the last few weeks.
“Daddy, can we get a hatchet?”
He was thinking about buying it with his own money; he was thinking about splitting the cost with us; he was thinking about it, talking about it, probably dreaming about it.
Today, we finally got it. He wanted to make sure that he wasn’t going to pay any of his money for it because he’s got his eye on another Lego set, but when, after buying nails, concrete screws, pegboard hooks, and other things on the list, we finally headed over to the gardening section, his excitement brought a smile to both K and me.
The highlight of the afternoon, then, was teaching him how to use it.
Independence Day 2019
