Breaking through the Ice
Posted: 23 January 2015
This morning was bright but chilly and the lake was frozen. The "Green Team" arrived to continue with with the business of trying to remove the remains of the fishing stands from the water. Having removed most of the platforms earlier in the week, the plan for this morning was to remove as many as possible of the uprights which had been left in the water.
Two basic approaches were tried. The first involved two recently cut down trees. A long trunk was used as a lever with a shorter one as a fulcrum. The second method involved tying one end of a rope to the top of the upright and the other to a ratcheted strap wrapped around a nearby tree. Those that could not be removed were going to be turned into perches for whatever birds chose to use them.
I had already cleared a path through the ice before the team had arrived, but in the process, the oar that I had been plunging into the water to break up the ice had got a bit more of a shaving than I had planned. I'll be using wood that I am less fussy about in future. The oar ow needs some sanding down and a few coats of varnish to the edge of the blade.
