PAgirl63's blog: SNOW

SNOW. Loved it as a kid! I grew up in Queens, NY. I remember spending almost all day outside after a large snowfall. With my friends, I remember sledding down hills wherever we could find them. Being "city kids", we didn't have many places to go. We would sometimes go to a local park and look for any type of "Hill". At one park I remember (Juniper Valley Park) there was a baseball field at the bottom of a fenced in area. The hills that sloped down toward the field were PERFECT for sledding. It would always be crowded whenever it snowed. There was also a place to go sledding right on the avenue where I grew up. Everyone in the neighborhood called it NANNY GOAT HILL. It was basically a dump site filled with garbage. Whenever it snowed heavily (about 8 inches or more) it would become packed with kids and sleds! It was DANGEROUS, but we were kids. We didn't know any better. And if our parents told us NOT to go there ... well, you know. In one ear and right out the other.

COUNTRY SNOW DRIFTS. Away from the city element, drifting snow is beautiful. As the snow falls, the landscape becomes a wondrous thing. A blanket of white peaks and valleys soon begin to cover the ground. There is a quiet stillness in the air. A sense of calmness .... Magic.

CITY SNOW PILES. Living on a busy avenue was not the same as living in the country. City snow plows created our snow drifts. Piles, sometimes 5 feet high, soon became forts and tunnels. Store owners would chase us away, but that wouldn't stop us. As soon as they went back into their shops, we'd all be back again.

SNOW BECAME AN ART FORM. When I was a junior in high school, I was able to take a Photography course. I loved it! I can still remember on SNOW DAYS when I had off from school, I would take my little instamatic camera (the kind with the little film cartridge you put inside) and go out and take pictures. I went down to Juniper Valley Park and took lots of pictures. Then I would take the finished cartridge, take the film out, and develop the photos at school. We had our own dark room, fixative trays, etc. Fond memories ....

SNOW PRESENT DAY: NEGATIVES: I hate to have to shovel it. Hate when we have an icy mix that coats it. I hate SPRING snowstorms.

SNOW PRESENT DAY: POSITIVES: It's PRETTY when it first starts falling. SNOW ON CHRISTMAS EVE/CHRISTMAS DAY is a PLUS. Love watching DOGS PLAYING in it! It's a GREAT ART FORM! for PHOTOGRAPY OR PAINTING. It's usually DONE by MAY.

Well, there you have it! As always some photos - with snow this time!

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