Ice, and More Ice

There are reasons I've neglected my blog.

They are called "degrees" and the lack of them has distracted me substantially. We're in the grip of below-normal temperatures, and while it is sad to have to accept that we're losing plants in our landscaping, it is also a rare opportunity to experience ICE.

We moved to this place in the summer of 1997, and once or twice, we've seen skim ice on the birdbaths or at the edges of the pool. Somewhat differently this year, what we've seen in the back yard is not skim ice, but solidly frozen birdbaths and ice on the pool from rim to rim over 3/8 inch thick. Easily thick enough to hold a couple drinks at pool-side.

The first morning that the pool froze, I went out and gingerly poked a finger at the ice, thinking that I would encounter slush. Not so, not so. It was hardened ice, and a little more pressure created a crrrrraccckk-ing sound I remembered suddenly all too well from my childhood, of testing ice on the creek with a gingerly placed rubber boot. Oh, irresistible. I had to play with it.
And picking out a sheet of the ice, I tossed it across the pool and watched it shatter against the surface and skitter, making a very agreeable kash-chinkle.

When is the next time this kind of freeze is going to occur? When granddaughter Lillian is maybe, 16? She's not going to think it's a cool winter sport to skate pieces of ice across a pool by that age. So of course I alerted her and her mommy to come play with the ice.

That was yesterday, and lest you think that it was really nice out, I will admit that shirt I'm wearing in the pic is good to 40 degrees for short stints, and is really too warm to wear indoors.

When I invited Lillian to come toss ice today, she wasted not a single second in donning outdoor clothes and coming to play.


I wonder how much of this icy event she'll remember? She's not quite five ... and that was as good a reason I could think of to have Bernie man the camera and take some pictures of this strange season. As Lil prepares to pitch her chunk of ice across the frozen pool, I have both a grip on the back of her sweater to make sure she doesn't accidentally fall into the icy water, and the other hand has hold of Howie by his ruff, to make sure he doesn't try to chase the enticing thrown object into the pool.

Best of winter sports, in many years.