When the River Freezes Over

A new dynamic comes into play when a pond or river freezes over in the Midwest. Real estate, navigable previously only for boaters in good weather, has suddenly appeared on the scene. For kids growing up in Indiana, there is a whole new reality to explore, territory to claim, play to be had.





We live right on a riverbank, and what had been inaccessible all summer and fall is now there for the taking. One can stand beside the dock and look under it. You can see what kinds of vines and nests are hanging in the tree branches that extended out over the river. You can actually look in the wood duck nest box and see if a small owl has claimed it, which often it has.





The kids come out with their sleds and saucers, and attack the ice. They pull each other with ropes and twirl sleds in circles. They have snowball fights and sword fights with sticks. They yell, scream, shout, and no one can hear them in the cold. What a great thing to experience as a kid.





I've seen mink or ermine bouncing shyly along the bank, gracefully hunting. Squirrels and songbirds show up cheerfully against the white back drop. Hopefully a smart man I know will chop holes in the ice with an axe in various places, to test its thickness. But invariably, regardless, kids will venture out on their own after many days of bitter cold, braving the wrath of fearful or cautious adults who seem them. The kids just can't resist.





Snow angels, snow nests, snow men, snow forts - I just saw a huge snow leaf-ball. The creative possibilities are endless. And the kids get out there while they can, exploring this newly-existing real estate, exploiting it before it's gone, mushy and faded, into slushy slop and eventually cold fluid again.

Checking for tracks in the snow (deer, rabbit, raccoon, cats) are good clue-solving opportunities for kids. Looking through clear ice to see things on the river bottom, they marvel. The miracle of ice, water, and nature is there for the taking. Sure, the cold grows tiresome, and we begin to yearn for spring and warm weather, but there really is a time and a season to enjoy the magic of the cold, the river ice. There's nothing much more romantic than skating on an icy night with a big full moon overhead, clutching the mittened hand of your companion - takes you back, doesn't it? Indiana, you're not so bad after all.