There are pros and cons to having a mild winter. It is nice to leave the house without arming ourselves with hats, gloves and scarves. The downside is that the pond remains a slushy wet reservoir, rather than transforming into a solid ice rink.

However, there was one week when the temperature turned sub zero. It was enough to freeze the pond and lead Jim to zamboni the ice with the hose hooked up to the hot water heater. (I am leaving out the part of the story where a large crack formed with water coming up from it while Jim was on the ice)

For a few gloriously cold days, the kids skated their hearts out. It took a while for Ruth to get her ice legs.

And may I introduce finesse…

and his brother power…

Good buds.

A couple days later, these guys took to the ice.

They were joined by Ruth and her dog.

Her dog who has perfected the “hover-sit”.