The Great Skate Project

Last winter I spent a lot of time wishing it was colder. Mild weather made the ice mushy, and I idealized the frosty conditions that would lead to a perfect rink. This winter I got what I wished for. The ice rinks have been in excellent shape. But just getting home from work without hypothermia seemed like a triumph some days. (I exaggerate, but not by much.) Summoning the energy to leave my cosy house to voluntarily spend time in arctic weather was daunting. I wondered if I should start a new blog called the Great Hibernation Project. Now the days are getting lighter and the cold snap is easing. My Great Skate adventure isn't over yet! This weekend, I'll be looking for a new rink to skate on in Orillia. Until then, here are some photos of my grandmother, taken when she was in her late teens, enjoying a frosty day of skating in North Bay. (I miss you, Grandma!) This snapshot was taken in 1941. There's no date on this photo. Love the mit...

I spent most of my childhood Christmases at my grandparents' in North Bay. On Boxing Day, we'd go to my aunt and uncle's farm in Powassan, and there'd often be a family shinny game on the frozen pond. These photos were taken in 1984. That's my sister in the grey snow pants, my uncle Steve on the left and my cousin James in the middle. See how far away the barn is? The house is closer to the barn than the pond. Skating on Boxing Day meant taking a long walk first. It also meant trying to keep up with the hockey skills of our uncles and cousins. The little guy in the second photo is my cousin Luke. Aunt Linda is there too. I asked my dad why we don't have photos of Boxing Day skating from other years, and he said "probably because it was too bloody cold." Too cold to take photos, not too cold for skating. Another memory I have of Boxing Day skating is trying not to cry as my feet thawed in the warm house afterward. Good times.

When I was growing up, my grandparents lived at Trout Lake in North Bay. We spent our Christmas holidays there, and the weather was nearly always cold enough to have a rink on the lake in front of the house. I think this is where I learned how to skate. That's me on the left, with weak ankles. My brother Paul is standing next to me. The date on these photos says 1978. Note that we're still in the era of non-snazzy snowsuits for kids. One winter, Trout Lake was frozen but there was no snow - we could skate all along the shoreline. There was also another place to skate at my grandparents' house: a pond created by a beaver dam in the bush behind the house. We were very lucky kids. With our cousins, Peter and James.

The rink is a lot smaller than I remember. The date on this photo says 1975, which means I either four or five years old, depending on which side of the year this photo was taken. That's me on the right. On the left is Shani, the girl who lived next door. The rink is in our backyard in Brampton. My dad built it. We are dressed for an arctic trek, even though we are only about 12 steps from the back door. These were the days before children's snowsuits came in colours other than navy blue, brown and grey.