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kbmum
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« on: January 23, 2005, 08:58:06 PM » |
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I live in Massachusetts, and we're having a blizzard right now! We have 20 inches of snow outside my house, other areas have more. There are hurricane-force winds and white-out conditions across much of southern New England. The storm isn't going to end until sometime tonight. Some places could get close to 40 inches!  I don't think we'll be able to get out of our driveway until sometime tomorrow afternoon, at the earliest. |
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Anna
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« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2005, 10:04:45 PM » |
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WOW!! I'm in southern California and it's sunny and in the 70's!  I hope you all are all safe and well provishioned to ride out the blizzard. |
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savage727
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« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2005, 10:18:28 PM » |
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Good luck to you down there kbmum! The weather reports said Cape Cod is being pounded still with hurricane force winds and could get an additional 2 - 4 feet of snow. I live in up state New Hampshire and that is usually the kind of storms we see but thankfully not this time as the storm stayed well south of us. It looks like we only got about 5 inches out of this one.
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kbmum
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« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2005, 02:06:38 AM » |
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All of the skiers must be bummed that the storm didn't hit further north! We have about 30 inches in front of the house and the storm isn't done yet. Like most of our neighbors, we've decided to stay in today and deal with the mess tomorrow. It's about 10 degrees below zero with the wind chill (that's Farenheit for you Celsius folks  ), so I'm not all that keen about trying to clear the driveway at the moment. It wouldn't make sense to do it now, because it's so windy, all that powdery snow would get blown back into the driveway. I'm much happier staying inside, making hot chocolate for the kids, and watching two good football playoff games this afternoon. Fingers crossed we don't lose power! |
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Roz
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« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2005, 07:09:44 PM » |
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Talking of blizzards and cold storms we started with rain last night, which turned to snow, and then to hail, and then to sleet! I biked in in the sleet - and it was MOST unpleasant, within 3 minutes I bore a striking resemblence to Frosty the snow woman - it made my face sting as the crystals made their way into my eyes at speed (and of course I was squinting to see where to cycle), when I saw Mark I almost giggled as he resembled a polar explorer with snow stuck to his eyebrows Not a pleasant experience I must say! *Mental note to self - must not be too stubborn to take the bus in effort to keep fit when risking life in snowstorms  * |
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kbmum
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« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2005, 08:14:18 PM » |
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My husband has been outside using the snow blower for about 10 minutes, and he looks like that!  I woke up this morning to find out that we're getting another snowstorm on Wednesday, although nowhere near as big as this one.  I'm really looking forward to June! |
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MakTheYak
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« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2005, 08:29:07 PM » |
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Right - but prior to that all the UK forum members are coming over to use your snow for winter sports like Snowboarding and skiing... got any frozen lakes nearby? |
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kbmum
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« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2005, 08:34:46 PM » |
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As a matter of fact, yes! I live next to a cranberry bog, and there's a small lake that's used to water the bogs. It's frozen now, and as soon as the company plows out the roads, people will be ice skating and ice fishing.
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Roz
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« Reply #8 on: January 24, 2005, 09:00:11 PM » |
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people will be ice skating and ice fishing.
Erm I will show my ignorance, I don't know what ice fishing is but I daresay it involves a hole in the ice... now how does that mix in with ice skating? Or is that part of the sport? Watch the posey skaters fall in the hole? The more you catch down there the more points you get? |
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kbmum
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« Reply #9 on: January 24, 2005, 09:08:45 PM » |
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Let's just say the ice skaters and the people who ice fish peacefully coexist! Usually, anyway. The people who fish cut a hole in the ice, set up their fishing poles, then spend most of the day sitting in chairs around the hole, drinking beer. The skaters can see them from a distance, so they're able to avoid falling into the holes. |
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Roz
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« Reply #10 on: January 24, 2005, 09:20:27 PM » |
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Ahh ok! So do you ice skate yourself? What's it like ice skating on a real lake? Does the ice freeze pretty flat or can it be a bit of a bumpy ride?  |
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kbmum
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« Reply #11 on: January 24, 2005, 09:27:21 PM » |
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I used to skate, though not very well. When I was little, my whole family used to have an annual outdoor party at a lake -- there were picnic tables and barbeque pits so we could eat and stay warm, and we'd skate, sled and go snowmobiling (both on the trails and on the lake). As I've gotten older, I much prefer to be inside, warm and dry!
It depends on the lake, but there are spots that are smooth and spots that are bumpy.
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Roz
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« Reply #12 on: January 24, 2005, 09:40:19 PM » |
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Hmm I think I had best continue to hone my skills before trying fen skating then. I am used to bumpy surfaces on skates but not on the ice variety At least the water here is not deep! But then again the ice won't be so thick either |
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savage727
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« Reply #13 on: January 25, 2005, 05:47:58 AM » |
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Ice Skating on lakes and ponds is alot of fun. Like kbmum says the surfaces vary from really smooth to some bumps and cracks. You have to watch out for the cracks as you do not want to get your skate caught in one.
I grew up skating on frozen ponds at our local public park. It was quite large and lighted for night skating. There was a board walk from a hot house down to the pond so you had no problem walking with your skates on. Inside the hot house there was always a roaring log fire and a concession stand to get food and hot drinks. This is when I grew up living in Connecticut.
Here in New Hampshire we have a town skating rink with extra smooth ice and skating on local ponds and lakes. People who live near the ponds and lakes plow off areas to skate while the town maintains the local skating rink. I learned to skate on both Hockey and Figure skates.
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Roz
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« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2005, 10:59:22 PM » |
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Nice once Ed, you'd be a natural on inlines.... now hurry up and get better and come over to see us... Ice skating European style: http://universkate.free.fr/seasons1.mpg (don't know WHAT that guy at the end is up to - obviously some talented martial arts person feeling left out!). |
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kbmum
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« Reply #15 on: January 28, 2005, 01:08:49 AM » |
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Well, it's just getting ridiculous around here now. We had another storm that started yesterday morning and ended mid-morning today, which dropped 10 inches of snow. That's on top of the 30 inches from the weekend storm. I used the shovel so much, I bent the handle.
I suppose it's too much to ask to not see another snowflake until, oh, December?
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rns91294
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« Reply #16 on: January 28, 2005, 01:25:27 AM » |
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Wishful thinking kbmum.
On the topic of ice skating, I love it!! I used to skate at the Deptford Skating center (roller skates) and took lessons along side Tara Lipinski. We had the same teacher. She then moved to Texas to tkae up ice-skating and went on to wn the Olympic Gold.
I would just be scared to skate on a lake. Too afraid of falling in. But when I went to Massachusetts, I saw people ice fishing. Now that is something I would LOVE to try.
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savage727
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« Reply #17 on: January 29, 2005, 05:52:39 PM » |
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That is a cool story rns - skating with Tara Lapinski! Ice Skating on ponds and lakes is extremely safe as long as you give the ice long enough time to harden and thicken enough to support the weight.
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kbmum
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« Reply #18 on: January 30, 2005, 03:26:33 AM » |
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We've had unseasonably cold temps, especially at night (below zero Farenheit), but the lakes around here haven't frozen over enough to skate on them. My kids are 5, and this winter we've been teaching them to never go near ice on a lake unless we tell them it's okay. Before my husband was born, his brother drowned after falling through ice, so it's a big issue with the family.
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Roz
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« Reply #19 on: January 30, 2005, 06:30:08 AM » |
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Very sensible Cindy. I first raised my eyebrows when you guys all said how common skating on lakes is - but then I have been considering your climate and it does seem to make more sense. Here children have the fear of the Lord himself put into them about frozen lakes but our lakes do not really get frozen like yours do so generally it's not safe at all (although I have seen archive pictures of Londoners skating on the Thames but that was a long time ago). Here in East Anglia much of the area was once saltmarsh and has been drained over the past 400 years. These lowland areas are called "the fens". Occasionally in winter a farmer will flood his field and then wait for it to freeze over and apparently all the skaters can then use it - to be fair this is better suited to our climate as if we fell through the ice in thin parts you'd be ankle deep in muddy water... unpleasant but not life threatening (but also not good if you chose white skates ). Sadly the fens haven't frozen whilst I've lived here as I'd love to give it a try although I'd need 2 weeks notice to import some skates from the states so I'd not get it sorted in time I bet  |
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