pond meet ice, ice meet foot
A brief taste of winter before the unseasonable warmth returns -- it's been quite cold the last few days.
So cold that the pond is frozen. Not just pretty to photograph ice like last time either, this is thick, solid ice. I really want to walk across it. Really.
I gave it one more night of freezing (15ºF/-9ºC or a little lower) and then decided to give it a go:
Mission successful! In fact, it was exceptionally solid -- no chance of falling through here!
I did a little sliding. Fun!
In fact, I wonder...
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| Those are some old skates! |
Nah, that would just be frustrating. The pond is way too small.
You may be wondering how the stream is doing since the pond is frozen solid. I know I was:
It's fine! I know moving water doesn't freeze as readily as still water, but when it gets that cold for a few days, this should be a tiny glacier. It's not!
What's the secret?
It's a birdbath heater! I put it in the top of the stream and it really does the job, at least for brief cold snaps. I keep waiting for the extended cold spell that will force me to shut the stream down for the winter, but it's not in the forecast. We're going to be warming up into the 40's and 50's in the next few days, so the stream is safe for a while -- which is good because I miss it when it's off.
I'm thinking about those hockey skates again now...
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I love looking at winter photos! It's supposed to be 66°F here today, so you could say we're skipping winter. That is until a front from Alaska swoops down early next week.
Skate, skate, skate!
I have serious pond envy!!
I guess it is possible to put a clear tarp over the entire pond to trap in the heat and then stick a fish tank heater with a thermostat to prevent the pond from ever freezing if you ever raise fish in there.
It will be fun in a couple months when it doesn't freeze over anymore and you can do stuff with the pond. Just make sure it doesn't become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Steve - The pond should be deep enough to let fish survive even if it freezes over, so the tarp/heater combo would be overkill. Plus the fish should take care of any mosquito larvae.
Sounds like that makes sense as long as fish can handle colder temperatures and like mosquito larvae.