Tuesday, March 9, 2010

March 9, 2008 Redux

As if I needed to talk any more about the strange winter we have experienced here this year...

The picture on the far left was taken on March 9, 2008. The picture on the right side was taken on March 9, 2010 from roughly the same spot. So, think of them as a Backyard Ice "Before-and-After," or perhaps "Then-and-Now." (Click on the picture to see a larger version.) And although a picture is worth a thousand words, what follows are a number of specific words that I’ve selected to go along with these particular pictures.

The pictures show the “entrance” to my backyard rink. In 2008, I shoveled that corridor by hand through several feet of snow to get to the rink; the drift at the front of the picture is probably close to 10 feet high. With winter boots (and a toque) on, the top of my head is more than 6 feet above the ground, and I could walk under the overhanging part of the drift that juts out towards the left without ducking.

The winter of 2007-2008 was the last winter that I shoveled that much snow by hand, in large part because of the storm that hit on this particular day. So, mainly influenced by the amount of snow we received in 2007-2008, I bought a snowblower in November 2008. It got plenty of use in its first winter – on both the driveway and the backyard rink, of course. Now, the few times that I’ve used my snowblower this winter served only to (a) make sure that it still worked, and (b) remind myself that I still have one.

It’s hard to believe that the scenes in these photos are separated by exactly two years. I can’t imagine any more extreme differences in the overall weather conditions – existing snow amounts, average temperatures – occurring 730 days apart.

What will this view look like next year at this time? I'll be sure to let you know!

Charlottetown Ice

My family was in Charlottetown for a few days at the end of our March Break (March 4-7, in fact) for a swim meet where my daughters Rebecca and Molly were competing. And, since the spectator section of a swimming pool is not the ideal place to spend an entire day (and evening) with a 5-year-old boy, I looked into possibly taking my son Joe for a skate somewhere in town. I was very pleased to find out that Charlottetown has a number of outdoor rinks; ten, according to the City’s website. Unfortunately, the ice at all ten was in “poor shape” as stated on the website; here is something I grabbed directly from it before we went:

Updated: Feb 26, 2010 at 9:00 am. All rinks are in poor shape due to mild weather. Please note that consistent temperatures of – 4 Celsius or colder are required to build up ice on the rinks.

Now that’s what I’ve been sayin’ for the past month…consistent temperatures of – 4 Celsius or colder are required to build up ice on the rinks. That sentence could be the tagline to my blog…if it wasn’t already occupied by “the roofless world of skating outdoors.” Anyway, the complex that houses the pool includes a couple of rinks, so Joe and I did get to go skating after all…indoors, of course.

Oh, and here is an update on the conditions of Charlottetown’s outdoor rinks that was issued just as we arrived on PEI:

Updated: March 4, 2010 at 4:00 pm. All rinks are closed for the season.
Well, folks, looks like that’s officially a wrap..in Beresford as well as Charlottetown. Sigh. :(

But, don’t worry, Backyard Ice fan(s)…I have several blog entries in the works and I’ll be posting them occasionally in the off-season. Stay tuned! :)