Our January thaw from two weeks ago gave way to a deep freeze last week. The result was a thick covering of ice on the pond, and the result of that was skating!
We’ve been keeping an eye on the ice all winter, and it was finally thick enough for skating. We headed out with shovels to clear the snow from our own private rink.
Shoveling the ice made us realize how big the pond really is. Matt finally resorted to just clearing paths around and across the ice. Fortunately, the snow was thin enough that we could skate right through it.
Some coyotes had tested out the ice early in the morning.
Here’s Matt’s version of an action shot:
Matt’s skates hurt his feet, so we reenacted Rocky’s and Adrian’s first date, making a circuit of the ice arm in arm, Matt in his boots and me in my skates. By Sunday, though, he decided to give his skates a try, using the “learn-to-skate” technique of a chair for extra support.
If I’m being honest, the chair got more use as an actual chair, as the skates were still pretty uncomfortable.
Another warming trend is forecast for this week, and it may be awhile before we are able to skate again, so Matt’s feet have plenty of time to recover. Sore tootsies aside, we each still enjoyed checking off another new experience at the farm.
Did you have a new experience this weekend? Have you been out skating yet? Any tips for finding comfortable skates? Did you push a chair when you were learning to skate? For those non skaters out there, what animal tracks are you seeing at your place? For those that prefer indoor sports, who else is a Rocky fan?
Home on 129 Acres 
I was out on our ice yesterday. It was fun to stand in a new spot, normally impossible. It was thrilling to see the property from a different perspective. We have lots of coyote tracks as well.
I realize every so often when I’m out on the property, “Hey, I’ve never stood in this exact spot before.” That was definitely true on the pond! It’s a pretty cool feeling to always be discovering new elements of my home.
Hockey skates just tend to be uncomfortable until you break them in. So Matt should get out there often and break in those puppies! 😉
So the cure for your sore skating feet is… more skating. Not sure how that’s going to go over with Matt. 🙂 Thanks for the tip, Shannon.
Haha, it’s sad but true. Or he could just buy non-hockey skates. 😉
Oh that would go over even better!
Yeah figure skates might be more comfortable. And personally, easier to skate in because of the toe pick. Eventually it won’t hurt so much, but I always find my feet a little sore after skating. Maybe they are the wrong size or are laced too loose or too tight? Did he go somewhere to get properly fitted? The fit can make a huge difference.
We were out on Monday building a snow man, and discovering bunny, deer, and dog tracks in the snow (and some coyote too, I am sure, as we see them every summer running along our street).
Thanks for the tips, Meghan. It sounds like you had a fun snow day.
Looks like fun! I was curious – how do you know when the ice is thick enough? I’ve always felt nervous when skating on ice over actual water.
We use the very unscientific approach of walking out on the ice. If it doesn’t crack, we walk a bit further out. If it still doesn’t crack, we jump up and down a few times. I realize this is probably a good way to go for a winter swim, but so far we’ve been okay. We did learn that this pond really doesn’t like to freeze. I think it must be spring fed and the flow of the water keeps ice from forming. I think I’ll probably be a little more cautious this winter.
O.O ..how deep is it?
Deep.