~ Pollywogs & Tadpoles ~

             

Day was good.  I got my errands done.  Laundry folded, washed, dried, and even folded again.  LOL  I hate that I never folded the last loads I did, but there never seemed to be enough time.  It's all put away too.  YEAH!  Got some shopping done, and even watched both hockey games.  Well, most of them anyway.  They were on but I couldn't just sit glued to the TV.  I have my boys tomorrow and nothing gets done while they are on so I had to finish up today.  No worries as it rained all day.  Gloomy and dingy with fog rolling in and out.  Not a bad day for laundry I guess.

 

I saw this first picture and immediately went back to my childhood.  The scene I remember is totally different actually, but some how it reminded me of those days long ago.  I grew up in a fairly small 'burb of Buffalo, not far from where I live now.   The development consisted of 4 and 1/2 streets, all connected about half way down by a grassy cut through.  At the end of the streets there was a small playground, a baseball diamond, a swamp type pond that was actually just run off and some woods further back.  Beyond the woods completely out of view was the fenced in highway.  The neighborhood was full of kids and everyone knew everyone else.  Even the older kids, but that is most likely because we all had siblings and it was inevitable there was someone the same age.  The playground area was never quiet winter or summer.  Kids playing pick up ball, playing on the swings, tag or hide in seek in the woods. 

 

The 'swamp pond' was always a buzz.  In the winter we skated and the boys played hockey from early morning until late at night.  The town even supplied a light for the dark evenings.   Hmmm suppose that was the beginning of my passion?  Damn straight!  LOL  In the summer you'd always find kids at the edge or walking throughthe water.  Bucket and net in hand.  With or without shoes.  We'd make our way through the weeds and slime looking for pollywogs.  It was not a hard search as they were plentiful.  We'd capture them, put them in a bucket and take them home to the joy of our mothers.  We'd wait and watch as they turned in to frogs.   Sometimes the boys would come and dump them out and watch them flip and flop looking for water.  Not to be cruel to the poor animals, but more to antagonize a girl they had a crush on. They would get attention this way.  I know there were times that mothers got blamed too.  Once they the ones that survived morphed, we'd set them free only to start the cycle over.  :::sigh::: those were the days.

 

Today?  The neighborhood is still there.  I still have folks I know living there and have driven down the streets.  Yeap, being nosey to see the changes in my old house.  See what might be happening.  The world has changed.  The trees that lined the street when I grew up are mostly gone.  Houses painted a different color, windows changed out, front porches added. The grassy cut through is gone.  Land was sold and bought, fenced in, paved as an extra driveway.  No more an easy access to the next street.  The end of the street has been forever changed.  Each street now has a paved circle so buses and cars can easily turn around.   The 'turnaround' at the end of my street?  Well it covered the 'swamp pond'.  The playground is a bit more modern but appears to be so much smaller.  The baseball diamond is still there.  They also added a covered shelter of sorts and a basketball court.  The woods are gone.  The trees and over grown bushes cut completely down.  A clear view to the highway now.  Kids?  I rarely see any.  During the summer nights you may catch a league game on the baseball diamond but I've never seen a group of 20+ kids play a pick up game like in my day.  Never see anyone in the shelter or on the basketball court.  On occasion I might see a young mother with a young child at the playground.  It's lonely and empty.   No screaming, laughing, or noise of playful children,  just the quiet breeze and the cars passing by way back on the highway. The world has changed.

 

I hope everyone had a great Saturday and can enjoy a peaceful Sunday.  I should get to bed but I feel wired for sound.  Maybe that last cup of coffee earlier.  Though it generally doesn't bother me I think maybe this time it did.  Or it's anticipation of the game tomorrow.   Either way it's time to sign off.

 

       

 

Hugs

~d

 

Tags: graphics, psp graphics, psp snags