Saturday, November 20, 2010

Who Wants To Test The Ice?

We always shoot for skating on the pond on Thanksgiving Day but the last few years, the ice either hasn't been thick enough or the pond hasn't been frozen at all.

Last night the temperature finally dropped down into the teens which had been predicted for over a week but hadn't yet come to pass. This morning when we got up it was 12 degrees.

Does that ice look nice for skating or what? I tried to get hubby to venture out on it to test it out, but he wouldn't do it. (Sometimes I get no cooperation whatsoever.) We think the ice is 1/2" to 1" thick so if this weather continues. we just might be able to ice skate on Thanksgiving this year.

This shot of Zoey was taken this morning. She's about as close to under the wood stove as she could get without getting singed. Notice her front feet on the stove board that protects the floor? That stove board gets HOT, but it must have felt good to her cold tootsies.

Yessiree, folks, looks like we're moving into real winter time. Now, please bring on the snow!

9 comments:

Sue said...

Your pond is so nice-it must be wonderful to go skating. How do you clear the ice when it snow? Tractor or shovel?

Anonymous said...

When we were kids, we weren't allowed out onto the meadow across the street to skate until my father checked it..it was torture waiting, as we always got new skates for Christmas lol.

Your sweet dog has the right idea!!!

Stay warm!

Mama Pea said...

Sue - By shovel. Everybody who wants to skate gets a shovel! Unfortunately, shoveling off the ice after every snow gets to be old real fast and we don't end up skating more than a couple of times a season . . . IF we get good ice before the heavy snows come. A heavy snow on thin ice makes the ice really buckled and bumpy even when shoveled clean. But the skating sure is fun when we can do it!

Stephanie - In the town I grew up in there was a really large pond for ice skating in our city park. The managers of the park nearly went nuts every year with all of us calling day after day, "Is the ice ready yet?" "Is the ice ready yet?"

Leigh said...

Looking at that pond photo reminded me of my childhood. Ours and our next door neighbors back yards had a low spot that wouldn't drain. When it froze we had our own little mini ice skating pond. Never in time for Thanksgiving though!

Dirt Lover said...

Gee, ice skating, or sitting by the stove......... ice skating or sitting by the stove........ gosh, such a hard decision!
~~Lori

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Zoey and I have a lot in common. Our place is by the stove keeping our toes nice and warm. Perhaps Zoey and I will fight over who has to get up and bring over the wine.

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - You could ice skate in your back yard?? How cool. What we wouldn't have given for that. I can remember trying to talk my dad into "building" a skating rink in our big back yard. Never worked.

Lori - We have to choose? Can't we do both??

Jane - Zoey is just about deaf as a doornail so we'd better make sure the wine supply is within our reach!

Erin said...

I'd volunteer my husband to check it LOL! That was one of my favorite parts of skating growing up, I'd get to the rink early so I could grab a shovel and clear the ice! Every warming house on every ballfield rink had a bunch of shovels waiting for us :)

Mama Pea said...

Erin - You loving to clear the ice of snow makes perfect sense! You have a penchant for making everything all clean and neat and tidy!