first ice day
Looking at the forecast last week I was already starting to get excited about the last Park Day of the calendar year. It was going to be the fourth straight day of below freezing temperatures! There would be ice again! In preparation Leah even took Zion out to get new skates, since the ones he was using last year bit the dust just as winter turned into spring. As it happened it wasn't a perfect day—the weather warmed up ahead of schedule, and lots of people were away so there were just a handful of us there—but it was still delightful to get out on real ice for the first time this winter.
it'll bear
Well, real-ish... a hole somebody had smashed showed that it was only a little over two inches thick, which while strong enough to hold all of us isn't enough to make me feel like crossing the whole pond or anything. And there were all kinds of bumps near the shore, which is where I felt safer, so the skating wasn't the best. I didn't even get my skates on, actually, though Zion and Elijah had some good attempts. It's hard because we were doing so well last winter and we wanted to pick up right where we left off, but the ice wasn't quite ready for us. And even worse, today was the first day of a crazy warm snap so all the ice that's formed so far is going to melt before next week! I only hope it gets cold sometime this winter, because ice is my absolute favorite.