July 30, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Skating.

The hockey rink has a walking track. The ice is kept in all year which means the place is always chilly. For me the facility is excellent because the track is level, has a rubber floor and has a wall or a rail on either side. It is a safe and easy place to walk. But it is boring walking around the oval where the scenery never changes. Yesterday was an adult skate so I was able to watch them as I walked. I am easily amused after all. First I found the best skater on the ice. The first thing I noted was his hands in his pocket. You have to be a good skater if you can skate without your hands out to the side. The skater was older with white hair and he appeared to be from India. I wondered if he learned to skate when young and was brought up in Canada or if he learned as an adult. He skated patterns on the ice, first in one direction then reversed his path. I waited to see if he would repeat the patterns backwards. He finally did. Now it was obvious. He never played hockey when he was young. Even young hockey players can skate as fast going or coming. He could skate backwards but not well. He needed to concentrate. Two teenaged girls skated wearing hockey helmets. This two alternated their speed. Sometimes they zoomed around the ice and sometimes they just skated barely moving their skates. I tried to find a pattern but could not. Four young adults just skated the whole time around the outside edge of the rink. The young ladies wore tights and a skimpy top and I wondered if they had once were figure skaters. Of course, I did not find out any information about any of the skaters but it kept me b busy trying to figure it all out.