by Peggy Robin
You may recall my Still Life with Robin column of April 2026, in which I announced that I was going to be spending a lot of time in Philadelphia while serving as the granny/nanny to my infant grandson. Well, here I am, just six months into the job, and while the original schedule had me trading off with the other grandparents, in two-week shifts, that's all gone out the window. Due to unanticipated events beyong anyone's control, I'm now here almost all the time. I've been going home for a few days here and there just to tend to the sort of things that can't be handled virtually. (Yes, there still are a few things that have to be done in person!)
I've missed many things about DC, while adjusting to life in Philly. This may be the subject of a future column, so I won't get started on it here. Let me just say now that one of the things I miss about being in DC is being able to decorate the house for Halloween. I've been doing this even before I had kids. I love Halloween!
I put strings of pumpkin lights across the front porch railing; I have some spiders and snakes, a flying bat, a door sign that says "BOO!"and a really giant black spider that wraps its eight legs around the main porch pillar. I've got a flaming cauldron, and a fairly realistic-looking black cat. But they're all going to stay boxed up this year, as it's looking like I won't be back in DC before the election. So my house in DC, for the first time since 1988 (the year we moved in), will be totally out of it, Halloween-wise.
Meanwhile, here in Philly, the house-decorating is at full tilt. I've never seen so many 12-foot-skeletons. Our neighbor here has a black cat in a witch hat riding a bicycle, with orange-and-purple wheels that whirl around whenever the wind blows. So many creative decorations -- I'd venture to guess there's a higher percentage of decorated houses, block for block, than in DC. But I can't really say, can I, since I'm missing out on what people are doing to their houses back in Cleveland Park and in other neighborhoods around town.
Last year, I started a Halloween album on the Listserv, and I uploaded lots of photos I'd taken of well-decorated houses I saw in my walks or drives around town in October of 2025. You can see the album
HERE.
This year, since I won't be able to add any photos of the Halloween houses of DC, I'm asking a favor of any Listserv member who's a fellow Halloween enthusiast: Take photos of the best-decorated Halloween houses you see. Upload them to the Halloween album, which will let me see a sample of what Halloween looks like back there -- and what I'm missing.
Here are the upload instructions:
- Go to the PHOTOS section of the CP Listserv.
- Click on the HALLOWEEN ALBUM.
- Look for the green +Add Photos button and click on it.
- You will see an option to "drop and drag" or "browse," allowing you to choose how you would like to locate your photos on your computer and add them to the album. Pull up each photo you want to add to the album, write a description in the "description" box, (e.g, where the photo was taken, name of photographer, and any comments or details you want to provide), and then click "Add."
- IMPORTANT!!! Do NOT click "Notify members." The way to notify everyone that your photos are there is to send a message to the Listserv (post it to clevelandpark@groups.io) to let people know you have added photos to the album. Copy the link in the address bar at the top of the page above your photos, and then in your message you can create a name or caption for each photo you've added, and provide the link to that photo -- or create a hyperlinked word or phrase -- so that readers can click to view that photo.
- Repeat for each photo you want to upload.
I have attached four of my favorites from Halloween 2025. The Listserv has a limit of 4 photos in a single message, and they all must be in .jpg format, and the total size of photos in a message must be under 500kb (that is, under 0.5 MB). Of course, if you upload your photos to the Halloween album, you can put the links to view the photos in your message to the group, and you are not limited to just four photos.
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Hay there! We’ve got some hauntingly good plans for you! 
Join DPR for Wheels Up, Hay Down! for a fall festival full of seasonal treats, games, activities, and family fun for all ages!
Saturday, October 31
12 PM – 3 PM
Stick around for the DCFEMS Candy Drop at 3 PM! 
Visit DPREvents.com for more information.
