It doesn't look as impressive in this photo... but this is one of the main hills that the kids in my neighborhood learned to ride our bikes down in summer... and sleds down in winter.

Myself included. YIKES.

What you don't really notice in the picture, is that it is actually fairly steep and rough... and once you get to the bottom, there is a bit of a hump... and then a slight uphill to the bridge... where you slow down ever so slightly... before going slightly downhill again and going across another street (US Route6).. .and hoping there isn't a truck barreling through town at that very moment.

My hubby's older brother once crashed and burned on this hill...

getting a severe road rash on his face that lasted about a month.

It's amazing what you are willing to try when you're a kid. I remember being very scared to ride my sled down there one winter, as the road was a solid sheet of ice. But then a couple kids dared me... and that was all it took. I made it clear across Route6 and about half way up the other side of the hill before the sled ran out of steam...

And some things don't change. When my son was about 4-5yrs old and we were visiting his grandmother here; he had a scooter. And unbeknown to anyone (he was quite sneaky)... he trekked clear up there and took on the hill with his scooter. Needless to say... he got quite the whoppin' and the hollerin' from his grandma when she caught up with him...

~~~

And this was my photo for the day (below): This is actually a weed... and people here pull them up and burn them so they won't come back. I've always thought they were really really pretty though... and when I came across some today, I had to take their photo. They are very small clusters of buds that grow on leaves no bigger than most grass... but the stems can grow up to about 12 inches.

*photos by Elaine A. Russell