Ice Cutting Winter 2009
Larry Cutting Ice
Pulling the First block
Ice Cutting Team 2009
We are ready for your most important summer need. Ice has been harvested for keeping the groceries fresh and your drinks cool. Over the Christmas break we were able to harvest fourteen tonnes of ice in about three hours. The temperature was minus 15 degrees celsius with a stiff wind. Larry’s chainsaw kept freezing solid and had to be thawed before more cuts could be made. Even with minor delays the job went quickly with many hands to help. We did invite a few farm boys to go “ice fishing” and they eagerly accepted the challenge.
The first picture is Larry cutting the blocks loose with a chainsaw and a metal jig that is well over forty years old. The block he is standing on is the one he is cutting and I still do not have life insurance on him! Notice the spray of water as his blade reaches beyond the ice layers to the open water below.
The next picture is the first block being pulled from the lake. There is always a point where the block starts to pull you in before it commits to being pulled out. Each block weighs about 500lbs. The large block will then be cut into three smaller blocks that will be loaded onto sleighs and pulled by snowmobile up to the ice house. There the blocks are unloaded and stacked into position. Many of you have seen our summer ice house and know that it keeps all the fresh produce at a degree above freezing and is one of the reasons we can offer such great food at Caverhill.
The final picture is part of the ice cutting group. Haley, our new dog had dried out by this time after taking a quick dip in the lake and was happy to be in the picture. The standing blocks are extras that we created an “Ice Henge” with for New Years celebrations. Still energy to play after all the hard work was done.
Ice cutting is a historical event and I always think of the men and horses that supplied the ice for cities in California. Fourteen tonnes was just a drop in the bucket.
We are back to normal after the excitement of the holiday season. Record snow levels already bode well for lots of water this summer. Although temperatures have jumped from weeks of -30 to a high today of 0. Very strange weather patterns that I know many of you are also experiencing.
If you would like to comment on the blog or add a story and pictures of your fishing adventures “mouse” over the “No Comments” just beside the title and click or click on the title. A comment window should open up. I will try to post a few photos once a month.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
