Cold day here today in KW.  Rain is coming down and bringing leaves with it.  For years, when my kids were younger, it was around this time of the fall that I’d start getting things ready to build the backyard rink for the upcoming winter.  For several years when I first built it, I just flooded on top of the snow.  However, that was a slow and weather dependant process that I ditched in favour of buying a big plastic tarp and laying that down inside of a set of boards I’d put up.

Yes, leaves and temperatures coming down were a sign that the backyard rink would soon be in play.  No more though.  The family dog brought the rink-making to an end several years back as well as young skaters in the family who were no longer as young and no longer wanted a backyard rink.

When I stair out into the backyard on a day like today, I realize how much I miss those days.  It would be silly to build a rink just for me wouldn’t it?  Maybe if I could teach the dog to skate, or play net…