It is usually a struggle to get a decent rink made in time for Christmas. We bought a rink kit a few years ago, but without the right kind of weather, it still won’t work. Some years, winter arrives early with a huge dumping of snow in late November, but it’s often just a lot of snow and not enough cold. (Yes, we want it cold.) We’re usually not lacing up until well into the new year. Last year, we tried it in a new location – let’s make it bigger! - and in the end, we didn’t have a rink at all.
Two weeks ago, we decided to get a jump on things, so we rolled out the plastic and started flooding. Four days later, we had a rink. Who knew? Since then, we’ve been out for a skate and some shinny every day. It’s not a very large rink, but it’s crystal clear and spectacularly smooth, and it’s in a very pretty setting. It’s in the old location, actually; a few steps from the house, and surrounded by snowy gardens.
Late mornings, when the sun is at its brightest, and early evenings, just before the temperature drops, are our favourite ice times, but the hours in between are spent toboganning. As much as I love being on the ice, I prefer the pain-free activity of whistling down a steep hill into a snowbank. I’ll take snow in the face over a bruised tailbone any day.
We’ll use almost any type of equipment for sledding. We’ve got an old wooden J-style toboggan, one of those pink foam sliders, and we may even have a couple of Crazy Carpets lying around, if I look hard enough, but the indisputable favourite is a plastic garbage bag. We tear a hole for the head, and two more for the arms, and pull it down over the whole snowsuit, like a plastic dress. The boys love it. They fire down the hill, head first, like penguins, and when it’s time to repeat, they simply carry themselves back up the hill, burdened by nothing except the weight of their own boots.
Outside of skating and sledding, I’ve managed to do the occasional snowshoe trek around the property. I would have done it on skis, but my ski boots are disintegrating rapidly and I don’t know what shape my poles are in. To some, this is the nightmare of living in Canada – dealing with all of this weather. But I like my four-season climate, and I love my Caledon winter.
About GoGreen
What a *SWEET* rink. I’ll be turning my backyard at the new place into a rink this upcoming winter for sure. I’ll aim for the same size as you, Christine!
Make it as big as you possibly can. Ours was big enough for an adult and a couple of kids (usually in their boots), but with any more than that, real hockey or real skating became somewhat difficult. Still fun, though.