The CCHS Varsity Soccer team was in action this evening against rival Lincoln Sudbury. Kyle did not get any minutes but I shot the game for the benefit of his teammates anyway. The match was much closer than the 3-0 win would suggest.

There are some things that Nico is challenged by, but leaping high into the air for a header is not one of them. Today his ground game was a little weak by his own standards but he was a total beast in the air and helped the CCHS Men’s Freshman Soccer team to a 3-2 win over arch rival Lincoln Sudbury.

Tempted as I was to intervene, I realized that there were some valuable lessons being learned, so I left the kids to their wanderings while I enjoyed the beauty of the park independently.

This shot sums up the situation nicely. Greg believes the group is heading the wrong way, Ty seems to have a headache from studying the map, while Zack is busy calling in an air strike or something.

Although it does appear that some planning took place, the results were not in evidence as the kids exceeded their two hour time limit and needed to be rescued from far corners of the park having been unable to navigate back to the agreed upon rendezvous point. Fortunately a substantial dent was made in their leaf collection assignment.

Against all odds, I was able to play soccer this morning. I would have never believed this possible given the pain I was in on Friday. The chiropractic adjustment, hourly ice treatments, and ibuprofen regimen did the trick. I played for 40 minutes straight before I pulled a calf muscle which ended the game for me. Fortunately, it is not too bad and I expect to be ready for the next game. This afternoon, I helped with the driving for Nico and 8 of his classmates to the Arnold Arboretum. They have a science assignment to identify and collect leaves from a list of 50 trees, many of which are found here. While the kids conducted their search, I found some interesting photographic subjects of my own. This bloom could look a lot like a stand-alone tree to me.

This evening Jeanine and I took Nala on a long walk. Although the kids love the dog it is Jeanine who treats her to these long excursions. The light was great as the sun was setting and I got a number of nice photographs. I never realized how similar the color of Jeanine’s hair is to Nala’s fur. No wonder these two are so close.

The Honda is having a bad week. Today Jeanine ran over a 12 inch towel bar which jumped up to puncture the gas tank leaving her stranded on Route 2. Police and firefighters were on the scene to control traffic and contain the gas spill.
Yesterday we learned that the ignition key mechanism needs to be replaced. Good thing we have the Smart Car as a back up.

When Maya steps up to clear a ball, girls seemingly twice her size brace for impact. Her team came from behind to tie with Acton Boxborough. Nico came to watch and support his little sister. Click on the photo for a larger view and check the expressions on the other girls.

I woke up this morning virtually unable to stand up. Yesterday I aggravated a lower back misalignment that I suffered earlier this week. I have a new level of empathy for those who suffer from back pain. Fortunately, Jeanine took good care of me and made arrangements to see a chiropractor. I am mending pretty quickly after the treatment but doubt I will good to play soccer on Sunday. Nala had a play date with another dog this evening and when she get’s excited this is all that you can see.

Several parents are now photographing Kyle’s team, and it is a very welcome change to be on the receiving end of a nice photo.

Tess treated us to delicious homemade pizza this evening. I was unable to wait for Jeanine to return from a meeting before devouring three pieces.

Maya had her first saxophone lesson this evening and I just missed meeting her new teacher. With her piano training she is proficient at reading music and was playing complete songs as I walked in the door. I have introduced her to the music of Mindi Abair in the hopes she will draw some inspiration from a highly successful female alto sax player.

From another section of the sky moments later. It would have been nice to have a wide angle lens, but I made the most of the telephoto I had in hand.

A very long day in the office precluded any photography today so I am posting a picture I took last night. Now and then, we get a sunset that is absolutely spectacular, and this was one of them.

As the center midfielder, Nico has both offensive and defensive responsibilities. Here, he clears a corner kick out of the goal area.

The CCHS Freshman Soccer team traveled to Arlington High School for their match today. As this is very close to my office, I was able to catch the second half of the game. Nicolai splits two defenders and blasts a shot on goal. Although he did not score with this effort, his team won 4-2, and Nico had some really nice distribution throughout the contest.

Later in the evening, Nico (aka Chris) and friend Kevin (aka Michael) asked me to film a science experiment which involves the chemical reaction between Coke and Mentos mints. Their initial attempts produced disappointing results. They quickly adjusted parameters and their final four attempts produced geysers that easily reached 25ft high. In the pictured attempt, the bottle on the left had a hole that was too small and the one on the right had a hole that was too big. One might inquire as to why these boys Incorporated holiday attire (Xmas and Halloween) in a high school science video but then you would also need to understand why anyone would find it enjoyable to be drenched in sticky soda. I do not know that answer to either of these questions but I think it provides a glimpse of that great mystery which is the male teenage brain.

How many critters can you find in this photo.

You will need to enlarge this photo to appreciate the intricate beauty of this plant. I will have to ask Jeanine what it is.

Great Meadows attracts the very young (with parents in tow) and the very old with not as many folks in between. I would not be unhappy if this were Jeanine and I in about 20 years.

Among the collection of Great Blue Herons, White Egrets, and Mallard Ducks, I found this Yellowlegs Sandpiper to be the most interesting subject.

This morning I played soccer in Duxbury (75 minutes away). Although we gave up two goals in the second half, the team looked pretty good in the first and I finally played a game that I was pleased with. My knee is now as close to 100% as it is going to get. During the afternoon I decided to take some time for photography and made the short drive to the Great Meadows Nature Reserve where I found much to shoot.

Visiting us for several days is Tess Robins a long time friend of Jeanine’s who lives in Seattle. When I saw them dressed in nearly identical clothes this morning I simply assumed they had coordinated their attire. Later I discovered this was not the case and attribute the synchronicity to the proximity of kindred souls.

This morning Maya and I braved the often torrential rains to attend her first soccer game of the season. She was in exceptional form playing primarily in the defensive line. She made several very dangerous attacking runs and despite her petite stature sent two much larger girls to the sidelines in tears after collisions with them. Maya is one tough cookie. Her team dominated the match but the refereee gave away a very questionable PK which resulted in a 1-1 final score.

Maya has decided to take up the alto sax for band and we got her set up with a horn this evening. Within 15 minutes she was able to play a one octave scale. Her father used to play the tenor and had vague recollections of the proper fingering and was able to provide minimal instruction. The alto seems to me to fit Maya’s personality perfectly.

This season Nicolai is playing for the CCHS Men’s Freshman team. I missed his opening match earlier this week but was able to make it to his game today. I was rewarded for the effort when he scored the goal pictured here. He volleyed a cross over the goalie from between two defenders who stood by helplessly. Opponents often underestimate what Nicolai can do and all suffer the same consequence. This ball was too low to head and probably a tad too high for a two-legged player to volley. Nicolai can strike the ball from a much higher position than most players and finished this one-touch goal beautifully.

Except for Nicolai, who had practice with the CCHS freshmen soccer team, all Calabria’s were in attendance for the match. Jeanine with Maya in tow and me straight from work.

The CCHS soccer program is quite strong due in no small part to head coach Ray Pavlik. I liked his calm and very clear guidance to the team at half time. I hope in time he will become as strong a mentor for Kyle as his former coach Charlie was. As serendipity would have it, Charlie was at the game watching his son and several of Kyle’s former team mates play for the AB team. After the game I had a chance to thank him again for the positive influence he has had on Kyle.

Kyle is playing on the CCHS Men’s varsity soccer team this season and today was the season opener against Acton Boxboro. The boys played extremely well and came away with a decisive 3-0 win. Kyle saw limited action but made a strong showing while on the field. Followers of this blog realize that the next couple of months will include many soccer photos of our kids so I opted to start this season with a non-Calabria image that caught my fancy.

This evening, Jeanine and I attended a kick-off dinner for the CCHS’s Men’s Varsity soccer team, which Kyle will be playing for this season. It was a great opportunity to meet other parents and the coaches.