Shoot the Duck
We went skating on Texas Lake today. It was so much fun and an absolutely gorgeous day. It was one of those days when you are so happy that you have friends like the ones who come out on a friggin' cold day to play with you, that you live in a beautiful environment like the Hope area, that you have all your faculties intact (3 years ago to the day that I whacked my noggin badly at same location) and all your limbs work so that you can "shoot the duck" and pick up speed on your long blades and feel like you're flying.
Rudy and I got there first so we got the first zamboni shift. Rudy cleared a huge perfect figure 8 with his shovel. I tried out my cross-cuts on the corners. The snow was so light that I could skate where it hadn't been shovelled yet. It was a little freaky not being able to see the ice beneath my feet. The reason I could do this with a sense that it was safe was that Dan had been to the lake the day before when there was no snow and he said the ice was thick all the way across.
Everyone took their turn at clearing more ice. When the rink was big enough, a hockey game broke out. I stood on the edge of the lake watching because I was wearing speed skates and they don't work well in stop/start activities. At that point I was wishing for a pair of hockey skates. I don't ever do well standing on the sidelines.
Dan started a fire so that we could roast our farmer sausage and smokies. I brought some of Mom's pickles and some buns. Peter brought the necessary chocolate for the occasion and several people brought hot cocoa. Potato chips, nuts and bolts, Christmas cookies, and cashews made up the rest of the food groups. As far as parties go, it was topnotch.
Rudy and I got there first so we got the first zamboni shift. Rudy cleared a huge perfect figure 8 with his shovel. I tried out my cross-cuts on the corners. The snow was so light that I could skate where it hadn't been shovelled yet. It was a little freaky not being able to see the ice beneath my feet. The reason I could do this with a sense that it was safe was that Dan had been to the lake the day before when there was no snow and he said the ice was thick all the way across.
Everyone took their turn at clearing more ice. When the rink was big enough, a hockey game broke out. I stood on the edge of the lake watching because I was wearing speed skates and they don't work well in stop/start activities. At that point I was wishing for a pair of hockey skates. I don't ever do well standing on the sidelines.
Dan started a fire so that we could roast our farmer sausage and smokies. I brought some of Mom's pickles and some buns. Peter brought the necessary chocolate for the occasion and several people brought hot cocoa. Potato chips, nuts and bolts, Christmas cookies, and cashews made up the rest of the food groups. As far as parties go, it was topnotch.
posted by Mo at 4:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home