Sunday, December 30, 2007

Where The Hell Have You Been?


Good question. I am glad you asked.

Tens of - if not one or two - people have wondered how the skating has been at the Four-em so far. We have only skated on the ice twice - December 25th and 26th. Since then, temps in the day have been too warm (mid 40's!). However, despite the melting, it dips below freezing at night, and I have been able to walk on the surface every day since the initial skate. The ice is far from smooth. Bits of leaves, twigs and crap have fallen on it, and slowly burned into the surface. I've shoveled, scraped, raked, and squeegeed the surface, trying to keep it as clean as possible for when the 'big freeze' finally happens.

Tonight I went out to check the ice and was surprised to find it frozen solid. So, I laced them up and had my first hard core skate of the winter. Just me, the snow falling, a stick, a puck, and 2 Molson Canadians. I am hoping I didn't wake up my neighbor, Jim, who has to get up and plow later tonight. I missed the net a few times and the puck really makes a BOOM when it hits the boards.

I was skating hard and working up a sweat until the snow got too thick and I had a hard time keeping the puck moving forward. Deb took this picture from the bathroom window, at my request.

I will never tire of the silence of the night as the backdrop to the sounds of my skate blades scratching the surface of the ice. Each time we set skate on the Four-em ice is different, but the satisfaction is always the same.

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