SNOW!

Alright Lovelies...I had a totally different post ready to go today, which would explain my wee absence from blogging. Lots of changes are headed to Wild At Heart...some good and some perhaps challenging.

But why worry about that when there are CLEARLY more important and timely things to talk about such as:

SNOW!

As a child, I always loved snow. Something magical overtakes the world, in my opinion. And no matter how much science tries to define snow as crystalized water molecules, there is just no getting around it's magic.
Somewhere along the way, though, I lost my love of snow. Maybe it's one too many years of living in New York, where snow quickly become dirty sleet underneath car tires and such.

Luckily, over the last few years, snow has managed to weave it's frosty spell on me again...and just in time!

(CLICK on PICS to enlarge!)


This is what I woke up to this morning:

It's the back of our brownstone, in our little gardenstead. I booted up and climbed our (precariously slippery!) fire-escape to go to the roof and check on the bees. The bees are okay (I think!) but I did need to dig out their little entrances. Not that they needed them to fly in or out of--they are now in a big ball, huddled deep in their hive for warmth.

While on the roof, I took a different shot of our little garden:

From there, I decided to trek down to the mother of all nature areas in the Big City, Central Park. I love Central Park, it's one of the few places for a nature girl like me to get her fix of flora and fauna.

Once in Central Park, something magical happened. The wintery spirit of cheer and imagination seemed to come from everywhere and everyone. As I made my way into the park, I was first struck by the beauty of snow everywhere.

No it's not a painting, this is really a scene from atop a hill in the park!

Clearly, Jack Frost had his hands full last night!

I still love the ivy clinging to the tree in the foreground!

I also saw the sweetest and happiest scenes of people all around me. There were loads of children accompanied by parents and various sleds and snow gliders, such as this little rabble, walking in front of me:



Children in colorful and impish winter-wear ran about like wild wee elves!


The snow had turned everything enchanted and romantic, such as this path under the bridge:

Ahh, amore!

And New Yorkers showed just how creative, self-sufficient and surprising they could be!

Look again, she's on skis!

Perhaps my favorite pictures are these, of this hill where everyone gathered. Children being chased by their sweet family dogs, sledding downhill, friends talking together, and so much more.



By the way, the large building in the background is The Metropolitan Museum, which I talked about in this post.

Anyhow, the picture very much reminded me of the works of Pieter Bruegel, who seemed to have a penchant for expressing the energies of winter.



Cold as it was outside, it was a very warm day today; people smiling and greeting each other, stranger or not, even New Yorkers can surprise me with their kindness every so now and then!

Ahh, but how to bottle this sort of love for the whole year round?

I hope your holidays are as special as this.....