Skated last night, under the lights, in 22 degrees with a light snow falling - it was magical! Like a picture postcard. I hadn't been on skates more than once in 20 years and I was amazed that my skating legs came back right away!
It is work to get a rink started, but also good exercise if you think about it. I grew up with one and my dad helps me get is going. We used lawn edging to outline it back in November since we haven't had much snow the past few years, but now we have more than enough - LOL! We have had over 16 inches since Sat? On top of what fell last week.
Our rink is about 35 x 55 feet this year. You can have 6-8 kids on it just skating around, but it can get crowded if you are trying to play hockey. If I get the two trees taken down this summer I will make it 55 x 70 next year. Haven't seen the water bill yet, but it isn't as much water as you might think.
I bought a thing called the rink rake (www.rinkrake.com) and it acts like a little Zamboni only using cold water. There are also instructions for making the sides of your rink and stuff on there. YOur S4 would love it. My S5 skated for the first time a few weeks ago and is doing very well. My S3 has also tried it a few times. I have them push a child's chair around to help with balance.
Maybe I'll post a picture of it one of these days. If I can figure out how to do it.
totite
"Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative..."
