Skating

Finally the rare combination of a few days of frost, sunny weather, weekend and a low wind, but primarily -no snow, has occurred. That particular set of prerequisites usually means possible ice-skating. It's too early to find thick ice along the coast but small lakes or, in this case, a bog nearby to where I live. The bog is only about 50cm deep so many families come here with there children so they can learn how to skate. 

Most of us have brought coffee, fruit or sandwiches along (for some that is the only reason for being here) so the atmosphere was very nice and friendly. Even though it's not very deep some found that the ice was very thin in places. The parachute skater you see in the extras went through once, but continued skating after he got out of the water because he was only wet to his knees and didn't want to stop. He told me he was competing in this kind of thing so he was used to it and well dressed. 

It can be very difficult to see exactly where a stream runs into the bog. In the case of where the main picture is taken, the ice is only about one and a half cm thick. A no-go-zone, if you've seen it before it's too late. I have to add a couple of extras today because it was such a beautiful day.