My childhood neighborhood (writer's workshop).

When I read the prompts for the writer's workshop last weekend, I immediately knew I would do number 1) What do you miss most about your childhood neighborhood? I grew up way out in the country in upstate New York; we were way out in the sticks, the backwoods, the middle of nowhere (but it wasn't Podunk, that was a few towns over). As a kid, especially a teenager, I longed to live in a city, but now that I look back on it I miss being in the country.

I spent my childhood running through the forests, splashing in creaks, playing with bugs, climbing trees, swimming in ponds, rolling in the grass, and so on. I spent my childhood outside, in nature. Whenever I go back home, I am stunned by how beautiful the Fingerlakes area is (of course I only go back in the summer). I love living in a city now, and there are many conveniences that I would have a hard time giving up, but I still miss the wild things.

This little cabin is where I lived for the first few years of my life. It still stands on my father's land, but no one has lived there for at least 10 years now. It's rustic (very rustic), but it's so cute too. When we lived there, the land around it was cleared, but these saplings have grown up over the years.

This is also on my father's land. This overgrown driveway leads to the top of the hill. Walking up it in the summer is like walking through a great, green, living tunnel. The air feels thick with oxygen from all of the plants. There is nothing this green in San Diego (we are, after all, living in a desert climate here).

This is the view from my mom's front porch; the fields of yellow are flowering goldenrod. The porch faces west, and we have watched many beautiful sunsets from here. In the autumn, the hills turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow with the fall foliage. It's stunning.

Oh yeah, I used to be a blonde...

Our town is about 20 minutes from Ithaca, and Ithaca is known for its amazing gorges and waterfalls. Almost every waterfall has an amazing swimming hole at the bottom. I grew up swimming in places like this. The cold, crisp creak water feels amazing on a hot summer day.

I link up to these parties.