Ice

We spent the afternoon at the park.  The sun was out and it was cold, but it was a good afternoon to be outside. While listening to the kids playing on the swings, I walked down to the water.  I was surprised how much ice there still was.

Hearing some cracking, I thought some animal was walking in the cattails.  It took awhile before I realized that I was hearing the ice cracking and breaking up! It sounded similar, but different, to when you walk on ice.

Calling the kids to meet me, I asked them what was making the noise.  Mark was the first to understand what he was hearing.

We played around awhile, experimenting with throwing rocks, testing how thick the ice was and trying to break it without getting wet.  We laughed at ducks as they swam through the open spots and then broke the ice trying to climb out.  We explored the different heights of where ice was and admired the patterns they made.

All to soon, someone got cold, and we walked back to the car. We walked slowly, enjoying the cooler weather and breaking as much ice as we could find on the road. It was a wonderful afternoon!