skating on thin ice (start the music)>>>

In response to Tina's skating post, I have to say that my most memorable time on the ice was when I went skating with my dad and brothers on the slough Northwest of Abraham at the age of 5 or 6.

You guessed it, the ice was THIN, Very THIN, one half inch or so, and crystal clear. The water in the slough was shallow, a foot or two deep. I followed the brothers and Dad, and being last in line, I could see that we were skating on waves of water. In other words, a wave of water would move along in front of each skater. The ice would make a krinkleing sound as it flexed. There were patches of bull rushes almost everywhere as we were skating along the perimeter of the slough. I could see the moss and other green growth in the water under the ice. Stopping was not an option, because if anyone had stopped the ice would have given way.

We used very different equipment in those days,

I also went skating on hilly ice a little earlier in that same time period.

There had been some surplus irrigation water that Dad had diverted into a brush pasture not far from the canal down at what was known as the "Flat". The water had ponded in a sandy area that had high and low waves in the terrain. With brush known as grease woods on the tops of the high spots. The pond must have frozen to a thickness of about one half inch and while the ice was still flexible, the water under it seeped away, leaving the surface of the ground covered with a sheet of ice. It was like skating on a gentle roller coaster.

This may sound far fetched, but it is entirely true. I was there, and I skated on it.