Have you ever watched and listened to life around a pond? It has life, stories and sounds all its own. It is far different from a lake. As different as the city mouse is from the country mouse.

Our farm, we purchased nearly 10 years ago, has a grand little pond on it. One of its best features is that it is fully visible from the back of our house. I watch it daily from our big kitchen window. In summer both east and west porches reveal its wonderful, special sounds as well as lovely view.

Scarcely 8-9 feet deep, nothing big can float on it nor live in it. Yet it has its own wonderful ecosystem as well as giving us loads of big fun.

We have had little boats on it, fished from its banks, watched snapping turtles, painted turtles, dug up crawdads, listened to happy bull frogs in summer, bird watched, and even had a supper provided to us from it.

But the most fun it offers is ice. We have ice skated on it only once. We mostly scoot around on it in our farm boots.

Our grandsons are enthusiastic fisherman. Fishing year-round, brings many hours of excitement for them. They do not care the fish are small. This great joy has been taught to them by their dad (who always has a fishing pole ready).

They happily invite me to join them, which I always do. I watch while they do everything. My only job is snapping photographs.

Ice fishing is especially fun. Partly because it does not happen often and because it is WAY fun to ‘walk on water!’

This past weekend provided such a time. Our grandsons are just like their dad. They would rather fish (and hunt for that matter) than eat. So, directly after a “have to eat” breakfast they make a mad dash for the pond all the while gulping down their final mouthful of food.

The ice is amazing. Clear, glass-like, smooth as butter. A pebble would slide across from shore to shore.

We stay on the tree-shaded colder side as there has been a bit warmer weather recently. The ice on the shaded side is thick and trustworthy.

My grandson fusses at himself for bringing the incorrect pole this time. He told me ice poles are much shorter, but this was the only one he could grab quickly enough on the way here and that sure was not going to stop his plans.

But it paid off! The boys caught a few fish!

I can feel the cold finally creeping up through my farm boots. Time for this granny photographer to head to the house.

‘But wait’, Honey-Pie says!

Ice fishing is fun. Have you ever gone?