Days Like These

[kevmac]

Yesterday was a "fun" day... first it dropped freezing rain all morning, followed by a couple of inches of snow and then turned back over to freezing rain. I settled into my couch by the fireplace and told myself that I would check it after the Senators game. At 9:30PM I went out to find the rain soaking through the snow down to the ice. If was only -2'C but temperatures were dropping to -12'C overnight, I need to clear this now!! It took me about an hour but I finally had the 'slush' removed from the rink. By this point, it had stopped raining and it looked like it was clearing up. I decided I would add a layer with the rink rake to get rid of the slush bumps and any imperfections.

I finish the flood and unfortunately it's not cold enough to freeze right away so I can't add another layer. I pack up the hose and bring everything inside. Head back outside and throw some of the standing water off the side with a shovel - trying to avoid those 'quick freeze' humps in my ice. Stand back and admire the beauty of a wet rink! I've earned myself a reward so off go the floodlights and inside by the fireplace to watch the NHL hi-lights with a cold beer. It's a little after 11 by now so I may as well go to bed. Before I hit the sack, let's take one more look at the rink... on go the floodlights and to my dismay the rink looks like a disaster yet again. The winds have picked up and the rink is now covered with branches, maple tree seeds (whirlybirds) and piles and piles of icy slush that the wind has knocked off the surrounding trees from the ice rain that came down all day. Yet again, I can't leave this mess or it will take me days to recover the rink and I need to have it ready for the weekends, right? Bundle back up and grab a shovel. Scrape the beast again - all the while making sure not to look up because the wind is still blowing and ice is flying everywhere. It's a self-declared disaster zone.

In the meantime, it has decided to start raining again. Fantastic! I finally get all the new slush scraped off the ice, all the branches picked up and the wind seems to have died down a little. I take a breather and look up to see none other than snow falling... oh that's just great since that will blend "SO" nicely with the standing water from the rain that just fell. Now I stand in the middle of my rink, curse a plethora of obscenities at the sky, toss the shovel over the boards and pack it in... I'm tired and I can't keep up. Go inside, down two more beer (no longer a reward, it's a calming device now) and go to bed. My loving wife is still awake reading in bed... I tell her what's going on and she replies, 'I heard you cursing outside and nothing you can do, you can't keep going out all night and checking on it'. "You're right but let me go check on it one more time" She chuckles - she knows my passion for my rink. One last check verified that it was just a skiff of snow that fell, no more branches or ice on the rink... check it again in the morning.

Morning came and it looked pretty much the same as I left it last night with a few extra branches, some of those last clinging dead leaves and some pine needs... nothing a scrape today and a couple of floods can't fix - at least I hope.

All in all, it's days like this that make us who we are - we are backyard rink builders. Not many understand what we go through... sometimes on a never ending daily basis. Yet they are happy when they can go for a skate on your ice...

Remember this, never get up hope and never concede. It will get cold and you will skate and it will all be worth it in the end. And if not, there's always alcohol.

[rinkratjoey]

I told my wife today that having a Pond Rink/Back Yard Rink is like having a part-time job. :)

[kevmac]

Compensation for the part-time job is paid for in smiles and laughter...