Waiting for Snow in Upstate New York

January 8, 2015 by spiritofdragonflies 7 Comments

Although most of the people I know like the idea of snow, the photos of snow, being inside on a snow day, the reality is they despise it and can’t understand my love of it. My love of snow started early in life. My earliest memories were of my father out in the backyard of my aunt’s home shoveling the snow and spraying the ground with the hose to make a skating rink for my four sisters and I. Even though I never learned to ice skate, I did love the idea of skating but more so I loved the piles of snow left over from the prepping for the ice rink. In those piles we build forts, igloos, and tunnels. My sisters and I would stay outside until our hands were purple and our fingers could no longer move. I am not sure if children still play outside in the snow as we did back then. When we moved to our own home down the road from my aunt’s home I would spend hours sitting outside in my igloo, lying in the snow making snow angels, snowmen, or having snowball fights with friends. The small hill in the front of our yard was just steep enough that we could sled down the hill and sometimes reach the back of the yard if the snow was icy enough. My own children as well as the nieces and nephews carried on the tradition when they were young. Even today, my own grown children and I will travel to the local golf course to sleigh down the hill spending hours riding down and walking up whether there are smaller children with us or not. We have a love for snow and sleigh riding as we laugh all the way down the hill. You are never too old to have fun!!

In the photo below I captured the shadows of the tree on the snow. It reminded me of a painting.

Artistic Shadows

This next photo was taken after the first snowfall in 2014. We hiked through the woods enjoying the discovery of turkey tracks in the snow along the trail. If you look in the lower left corner you may find a few yourself.

Winter trails

 

This next photo is of the Stillwater Block House which was originally located in the Saratoga National Park but due to it not being original to the Battlefield was removed. It spent several years sitting on the side of a hill on a farm without easy access until the historical society was able to raise enough funds to relocate the building to Route 4 in Stillwater, NY where it proudly stands next to the Hudson River.

Stillwater Block House

The next photo was taken last year during a snow storm. This little house and barn in the background sit out behind my home, bordering the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. I love how the red of the buildings and brownish red of the bushes pop out in the snow.

Little Red House

The bench below looks a bit lonely as it reached out from the snow. I think it’s trying to peek out in search of spring. I love how anything with color pops out of the white backdrop.

A bench waiting for spring

Last year while driving to a training in the Adirondacks I stopped to photograph this little cabin in the woods. It made me want to pull in the driveway, knock on the door and ask if I could sit in front of their fireplace. I didn’t but I did stop to take the photo.

Cabin in the Adirondacks

The whole world looks different when blanketed in snow, especially freshly fallen snow. Now I sit and wait for the next snowfall. The temperature here in upstate New York was 8 degrees today and is expected to reach below zero with the windchill factor by the weekend. I braved the cold and walked at lunchtime with my coworker. If bundled properly walking in the cold can be quite invigorating. Next week we are expecting a heatwave of 20 – 30 degrees. Maybe snow will fall on the weekend. If so, I will be outdoors on my snowshoes looking for tracks left behind by the wildlife.

Love and Light,
Sandy