Walking on water

Snow covers the frozen pond

Snow has fallen again and a thin layer covers the surface of the already frozen pond.  Since the pond has frozen over completely, the ducks are nowhere to been seen. Perhaps they have found another temporary watering hole.  Even as we looked out on the desolate pond, we couldn't help but notice a set of tracks laid in the fresh snow and stretching across the pond.  Clearly, the frozen pond had not scared off everyone as something had clearly ventured across the frozen ice leaving a pattern of tracks on the snowy surface.

A pattern of tracks stretched across the pond

Tracks on the pond

The hobble wobble

demonstrating the hobble wobble

All the snow on the ground and the sub-zero temps brought about by the "polar vortex," inevitably led Topsie and me to engage in episodes of the hobble wobble.  The hobble wobble comes about when due to an extreme cold affliction of the extremities, we have to lift a paw in the air and hobble along on the remaining three paws.  Generally, in the course of a walk, each paw takes its turn off the ground leaving us to hobble along in an alternating three paw hop.

The pond freezes over

The ducks clustered together in the frozen pond

It's been cold the last few days, so much so that the pond has frozen over, at least around the edges.  Luckily for the ducks, the center of the pond has remained warm enough to prevent any ice from forming.  Unluckily for me, its been so cold that Tinkerbelle has made me wear the dreaded sweater. I've expressed my displeasure on the subject of the sweater by going straight under the dining table at the first sight of it followed by a game of dodge as Tinkerbelle tries of catch me. Unfortunately for me this game always ends the same way as the picture below will attest.

Wearing the dreaded sweater