A walk on the COLD side ...

Today was a sunny, breezy, bitter cold day.  It was the kind of day best observed from inside looking out the window, sipping a nice cup of hot tea, and not experienced directly.  So of course I took three of the dogs to Shubie Park for a walk.

I expected to find clear paths after Friday's rain.  Sadly, they were slick and lethal.  The fact I was optomistically wearing running shoes didn't help.  I walked stiffly and slowly on the icy paths, seeking out areas where gravel had been stewn. 

Lake Banook runs along one side of the Shubie trail and its surface was frozen and glass-like.

Not far off, I could see people walking on the ice to explore a normally inaccessible little island. 

More amazingly, in the distance were ice boaters whizzing rapidly across the sheer surface.  

Later, on my way home, I stopped to have a closer look at the ice boaters.  They were travelling at wonderful speeds, criss-crossing each other's paths and clearly having a lot of fun.  But look more closely !   That's open water on the left side of the picture.

The question: "What were they thinking ?" comes to mind.