The Tree Expedition Begins
The dangerous pond sirens beckon.
Proof of a successful crossing.This morning broke cold and sunny. How cold was it? So cold your snot would freeze just at the thought of blowing your nose. Not a pleasant experience I can assure you. (Actually it was 5 F this morning at sunrise and about 12 F when these pictures were taken.) Such challenges from Mother Nature cannot go unanswered, and so Catherine and I ventured out to get a Christmas tree and some evergreen boughs to decorate the house. On the way back I got curious about the thickness of the ice on the pond. Last year I was able to start walking on it near the end of January, and although I never drilled and measured the thickness I'm guessing it was over 5 inches. With the good run of cold weather we've been having, I figure it is probably 2 inches already this year. The next interesting question of course was whether the ice would hold my robust weight at this early date; I mean Winter hasn't even officially started for heaven's sake. Actually I had a partial answer to that question since I had crossed at the narrow shallow end a few days ago. That gave me some measure of confidence. Still, crossing 20 feet of pond 4 feet from the shore where the water is only 2 feet deep isn't quite as exciting as crossing right in the middle of the pond where the water is 4 to 6 feet deep and the bank will seem impossibly far if you break through. After asking myself what Peary would do, I struck out and completed this perilous journey successfully. If the weather holds, I'll attempt the lengthwise crossing in the next few days. Wish me luck.
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