The Town is in a Tizzy

I noticed at Walmart last night that the entire bread isle was empty. I thought maybe they are just letting stock get ridiculously low before restocking. Then today, in a panic, my husband was looking for a light to keep the pump house warm. Oh, by the way, it's going to be cold here, it's about 12 degrees according to our thermometer, and it's not going to get above freezing tomorrow. The expected low is 9 degrees tonight. So the whole town is freaking out. Want to know how to scare a southerner? Tell them it's going to be below freezing for 24 hours. All the lights where gone at the Lowe's in Madison, and Athens. And all the bread was gone at the Madison Walmart and Ingles. Is this really cause for panic? It's not a damn ice storm or a hurricane. My reaction to the weather forecast, make sure my ice rink is ready. It was really windy last night and this morning and one of the sides got blown in and water started to leak out. Even though it was 30 degrees all day, the wind and sun kept the water from freezing. It was also blowing leaves into my 12' x 24' wading pool. So I ventured out before sunset, when the wind calmed down, to rake the leaves out of the pool/ice rink. Then when the sun started to set the ice began to set as well. But I think I might have ruined it. I decided to add water to the low corner, and the water started to make the ice melt. I turned it off to allow it to refreeze, but when I came back to check on it an hour later it was still just barely freezing and there was puddled water out side of the spot where I had the hose on the ground, and that water wasn't frozen either, even though it was now 20 degrees out and dropping. Maybe it was more like 12 degrees, because that's how cold it was when I finally came in. This worries me, is there a leak? Is the ground too warm? Is the well water too warm? It's about 60-70 degrees once you start tapping into the fresh reserves. Will I have a rink by morning? Well this is what we have land for, to conduct frivolous and un-important experiments, such as these. I also tried flooding a flat spot in the back yard, and down in the low cold spot behind the barn, but it didn't pan out. The water sank into the yard, and the grass behind the barn is to high. I don't want to drain the well over this.
1:19am
Well I just went out to check the rink. It's freezing, not complete, maybe 1/4 to 1/2 frozen. There appears to be a leak near the top corner, because the puddle there near the border is not frozen, cold, but not frozen. I hope that the leak or the rest of the water freezes before too much more leaks out. I did opt for the cheaper thinner gauge Walmart tarp.

Just What I was Prayin' For

No not more money, or a job, but a large sinking cold air mass from Canada, or even better, a permanent change in the weather patterns which would bring regular cold temperatures, freezing, and snow to the south. sure southerners hate me, but now they can hate me even more. Still, the forecast calls for some of that brutal midwestern weather to sink our way. It's already in the 20's tonight, and the high tomorrow is near 40, and low over night temps around 20 for the next few days and high day temps of around 40. I was hoping if I could flood the yard or some low spot, maybe by tomorrow I would have a nice little ice rink. Well the hose was too short, and the house doesn't have a spigot, so I had to run the house from the pump house. There are a few low spots in the front yard that pool water when it rains, but I couldn't reach them. The best spot in my estimation, would be the low area behind the barn. It's always colder there than any where else on the property. Again, the hose couldn't reach. I need to come up with a temporary, portable rink. Maybe plywood, and a tarp? I also don't want to drain the well dry trying, in vain, to recreate  winters of my Wisconsin childhood. It's what I really want. I'll just see how my first attempt looks when I get up tomorrow.