Clear Glass Ice

The Upper Basin Chronicles

Chapter 34

Clear Glass Ice

Laura climbed out of the Ford pickup and looked across the roof toward Alexander Murphy. Alexander grinned his "just wait and see" grin. He grabbed the ice chisel and a pair of nested white buckets from the pickup box.

"I'm not kidding," he protested over his shoulder, "this ice will be so beautiful you may not see it again for 20 years, maybe never." He walked east toward Delbert's pond.

Laura had hoped to sleep in this early January Saturday. The first week back in school always felt like her grandmother's wringer washer -- all the holiday colors seemed to run together, and when it was over, everything was near dry and flat. It had been so warm midweek that the kids got spring fever. Then the jet stream fell off the arctic ice shelf and roared down the Mississippi River valley without regard for woman or beast. She was exhausted by Friday night. To top it off, this man (whom she had been becoming fond of) called her at 6:30 a.m. raving about new ice.

The cloudless morning crackled at their steps on flash frozen crusted earth and soybean duff. In four or five more minutes, the white gold eastern horizon would roll under the disc of a glowing sun. Tears would spring to their eyes from its brilliance. The -5 degree morning would not freeze that tear on a cheek, but just slow it down enough for a gloved hand to wipe it away.

Laura made no effort to keep up while carrying only the coffee thermos and a pair of boat cushioned-bucket lids. Alexander, ten steps ahead, pushed through the downed cattail stalks at the edge of the pond.

Laura stopped to admire the illusion of a man walking carefully on a near black sheet of glass so clean it seemed polished by hand.

Somehow, the combination of the purifying arctic blast, deep cold, and a starry-calm, frostless night had left this little Iowa pond looking like a rare jewel on the prairie. In fact, to bluegill fishing folk, that's exactly what it was. Delbert buffered it wide all around, and minded his grass waterways to keep it clean. He'd long ago given up a brief experiment with ag chemicals. Today, he farmed like his father had, mostly with an old Farmall to augment the Percheron team. He relied on extensive rotations, green and animal manure, and timely cultivating. The fish from this pond, Laura knew, would be among the safest to eat in the entire state.

Alexander picked his spot near a sheltered corner. Before raising the ice chisel to strike the thin sheet of clear glass ice (through which Laura could now almost see the fish suspended below), he held up his right hand, palm down, to Laura, and spoke with a boyish happiness in his face.

"Just so you know, I'm fixing you breakfast in about an hour. You're gonna have sunny filets sautéed in butter, the best you ever tasted, scrambled eggs with chives, homemade toast, and sweet apple cider. Mmm-mm!"

With that speech uttered, Alexander raised the long chisel in both hands. Then, as if to strike a much thicker sheet, he bounced on his toes to drive the steel through the ice. The still flexible flat crystal bowed beneath his weight just slightly before it dropped him through with the downward stroke of the chisel. For the second time since they'd met, Alexander's face blushed apple red with wet embarrassment at a sudden, chest-deep plunge into cold water.

A straight-faced Laura looked directly into the sunrise to keep from laughing out loud.

"Cup of coffee?" she asked.

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Next...Chapter 35.

Thanks for these resources:
Safety on Floating Ice Sheets; USACE Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory
Fish Consumption Advice; Minnesota Department of Health
Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood by Sandra Steingraber

The Upper Basin Chronicles, Chapter 34 was written and edited by John Gabbert.

Your comments are much appreciated. Email feedback to The Upper Basin Chronicles, Chapter 34.

The characters presented here are purely fictional, and neither bear resemblance to persons living or dead, nor represent the views or opinions of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.