Sunday, January 5, 2014

Neighbors on Ice

Dog in Charge of Alarm Alerts
Neighbors on Ice
Bob the Dog Forgoes Skates
How I Would Look on Ice
The dog-alarm goes off like a barking bomb. It seems too intense for a mere barn cat wandering across the pasture and yet it's Sunday meaning, that it can't be a delivery driver.

Ilya, head-husky of the four-pack of dogs, stands guard at the western window with it's over-looking view of Elmira Pond. Ears pointing forward like furry radar, he is looking at something. Thinking it might be a moose, I grab my camera.

No moose, no marauding cats nor terrorist UPS drivers...just my neighbors on ice. Silly dogs, ice is for skating.

Elmira Pond is slick for sharp skates. Gone are all the drifts of snow, melted away by Pacific Northwest rains that left clumps of ice clinging to grass and ground. It also polished the pond into a mirror of sheet ice. When it was crunchy, I dared to walk upon the pond, but now I stay away and leave the ice to those who can lace up and perform toe-loops.

Their skates cut fine swirls into the ice, etching their afternoon fun. Bob, the family's fluffy black dog trots across the ice, trying to keep pace. You can almost see him digging his toenails into the hard surface to gain better traction. My dogs think they want to go skate, too, like Bob.

One child has taken up the position I'm most familiar with--it's a move called "butt-loops," where the skater turns round and round on the ice in the flat-on-the-butt position. I don't even require ice-skates to manage that maneuver.

Unlike our neighbors north and east, our temperatures are just below freezing (not below zero) and our skies are deep blue (not it's-snowing-again-white). So it is the perfect day for our closest neighbors to enjoy some Sunday Silliness on ice.

For more Silly on Sundays, join blog host, Everything Susan.





18 comments:

  1. stay warm and enjoy some hot cocoa while staying indoors ;)

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  2. I've a feeling you would look about as good on ice as I would, Charli, as yes, butt-loops is my style! Too funny the dog's toenails digging into the ice - I instantly heard that silly sound of chalk on a chalkboard - Shivers!

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    1. Bob was clutching as he walked! I imagine we would do the same!

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  3. fun blog. Love your security system! :)

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    1. It's loud but not always accurate. The security system fails to understand that cats and delivery drivers are not really out to take over the world.

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  4. Ah... takes me back to my childhood when we'd don skates and go to our local pond. Funny how we never seem to feel the cold back then! Must have something to do with being 8-year-old.

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    1. For me it was the slopes--I could never feel the cold when sledding or skiing!

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  5. I never did master that whole balance-a-body-on-a-sliver-of-sharp-blade kind of thing. There is something so right about seeing a family ice skating. It is All American, is it not? Norman Rockwellesque. Made me smile.

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    1. I have trouble enough balancing on feet! But I used to be a keen downhill skier...years ago. Yes, it is as warm a apple pie to see a family skating. I had fun watching.

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  6. Gorgeous photos! I'm not so sure I'd be wanting to skate on that pond though...and I sure wouldn't want to fall in and swim in it! Scary!

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    1. Thanks! It's solid, but I always feel that same trepidation. In Bayfield, WI there's an actual "ice road" that goes from Bayfield across a bay (of Lake Superior) to Madeline Island. I just couldn't quite bring myself to drive on it!

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  7. Up until we moved to California when I was 14 you'd find me skating outdoors all winter long. Now when I see ice i tip toe across it as if I fall I may break something :)
    Great post, story and pictures. Thanks for linking up again Charli!

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    1. Ha, ha! I shuffle across ice. If I do fall, it won't be ice breaking! It's a fun blog hop, Susan...say, where in California? That's my home-state...born in Hollister and grew up in Markleeville (near Lake Tahoe).

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  8. I have never been ice skating in my life, but I do know all about skating across the ice on my backside and about those doggie alarms :)

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    1. I've only skated a few times, but my hubby grew up in northern Nevada and every year he and his siblings would ice skate on a reservoir that froze over. Are your doggie alarms loud, too?

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  9. I tried to learn how to skate, but just never was able to master it. It so much fun to watch others skate though.

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    1. Olympic figure skating is one of my favorite sports to watch! So graceful...I know my limits!

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