Saturdays Thought

It sure was cold this morning here at Dazd Central. A chilly 19 degrees with light wind. What a preface to the winter coming. The neighborhood was quiet and a heavy frost covered the ground. This scenic wonder brought back some fond memories, some of which I'll try and share today.

Growing up in a rural community offered many chances to enjoy nature. Winter will always be my favorite season. I grew up sledding down the hills on a runner sled. We later progressed to a plastic roll-out sled. And when money allowed, we had a huge round sled. We always used wax paper and waxed the bottoms for maximum glide across the snow. Our second house we grew up in sat atop a hill. It was a pretty steep slope of about 30 degrees and man could we get those sleds moving. Although it was a short run of 50-75 yards, at the young age of 10 this was daring enough. The next door neighbor lived further up the hill and had a run of 150+ yards and a gentle slope of 20 degress before bottoming out on flat land. Only obstacle was the wooden fence that kept the horses in. But, when the snow was just right a person could scoot underneath this fence as long as you sprawled out on a plastic roll-out. One time we weren't too sure if we could fit since there was more snow. So we convinced my brother, who was 3 years younger, to go first. So after a good running start he headed down the hill and realized 10 feet from the fence he wasn't gonna make it. He tried desperately to stop but to no avail. Thump! And the sled slid out from underneath him and continued its journey downhill. He got up, never said a word and walked home. Mom and dad took him to the hospital to check for a concussion. He had a headache for a few days but was fine other then the cyclops like bruise on his forehead. After that accident, the neighbor put up a fence in that area so us boys could sled and not kill or maim one another.

I'm hoping we get some snow this year. I sure would like to take Lil Dazd sledding this year. Now to find somewhere...