Strap on your skates–the ice is perfect! . . . .

Bitter cold nights at zero or below for the past month have helped to freeze the best ice we’ve had in quite some time.  It looks to be about a foot thick and is smooth as glass.  After shoveling snow off for about half a day, a telephone call resulted in a skating party the next day of eight adults, five young children, including two babies who enjoyed the day being pulled on sleds around the pond.  We had a grand old fashioned day of skating with bright sun, no wind, and lots of laughs as children tried their new Christmas skates for the first time.

Tiny bubbles, in the ice . . . .

By the end of the day we had some pretty brave young skaters who had suffered just a few wobbles and slippery crashes.  And of course, the senior citizens in the group were particularly proud to have survived another day on skates. It’s just like riding a bicycle–you never forget how!

What’s a little crack in the ice? . . . .

We tried to ignore these ice fractures which were pretty clear indicators of how thick the ice is.  We are hoping for more clear, cold weather to keep the ice in great shape and will continue to try to remove more snow (groan!) to make room for more skaters.  Funny how each year this pond seems to get bigger than the previous year??

“Hey, this is fun!”

Can’t get them started too soon.