I went skating on the pond yesterday. I was the only person skating, the ice was smooth, clear and trackless. It was a joy to be out there, I imagine the feeling is similar to what downhill skiers experience. In the photo above, all the marks on the ice are mine.
Hapi watched from the shore.
Later, more skaters arrived. A young man brought an axe and a metal pole to measure the ice thickness, his mother was there with a long rope in case he went through the ice. It was 5" thick. I had seen a father and son skating the day before, I thought since there was no hole indicating that they had fallen through that it was probably safe to skate on. The last couple of nights have been really cold and the daytime temperature has not exceeded 0C.
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| The moon over the ice |
Yes it was a risky thing to do, but soooo worth it. There were a couple of Parks Maintenance guys working near the pond, I thought if I did go through the ice, they could probably help me out.
Later I walked Hapi on the trail around the pond and met someone who asked if it was me who was out there skating. I said Yes and she said, You don't have to skate alone, call me and I'll go skating with you. I didn't know what to say so I just said Sure. It was such a thrill to have the pond to myself, skating alone was not a downer.
When I first went out on the ice my skates were a bit loose. The first time skating each year I always get them either too loose or too tight so I have to stop to adjust. I decided to skate to 'The Heron House' and adjust them there. This is my own private name for the spot where I saw the heron on the shore the first weekend of December. It turns out that it is a small clearing on the shore and there is a path leading out to it that you can only see when the trees and bushes have all dropped their leaves. I have walked out there several times since December and I feel like I am experiencing the world through that heron's eyes when I am there. So I call it The Heron House.
4 comments:
What a magnificent post Annie, you quite made my day. I was with you in spirit.
XO
WWW
That pond is such a blessing WWW, swimming in the summer and skating in the winter <3
I went again today.
I never had an opportunity to ice skate very much. I remember well the first time and how much I enjoyed it. I don't know what lake it was in Madison, Wisconsin, but I recall hearing the tide under the ice, rushing against the shore — my feeling uneasy, but seeing others there unconcerned so I concluded it must be safe even though there were slushy spots as the sun beat down melting the ice. Then, years later there was a moonlight night in Ohio with a bonfire on the shore.
Those sound like wonderful memories. I can’t imagine what what the sound of the tide under the ice must have been like! Sometimes the ice here makes sounds, scary cracking sounds or weird moaning sounds.
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