Ginger Snapped

The sap is running. The maples are tapped. Five gallons collected already. They go outside to check the containers and find themselves pulled toward the stream, pulled by its frozen allure, pulled by sound of the trickle of water over and around the stones of the ford, pulled by the desire to smash the ice, even as they stand on it. Snow covers the frozen stream; it is no longer smooth and skate-worthy. It's crunchy, and it echoes underneath in the space between the flowing water and the ice ceiling. But in most places, the ice is still several inches thick, so they walk along it anyway, occasionally stepping onto the banks of the stream where it has cracked, following the tracks of deer who smartly skip from the bank of one side to the safety on the other side. They walk to the island, then they keep going--all the way to the marshy pond, where cattails rise up out of the ice like an army protecting its territory with seed head ammunition exploding into fluff. She thinks the marsh...

On the way home from the doctor's office, she thinks about anatomy--tissues and membranes, and how these thin walls keep everything from falling out. Veins keep the blood in, membranes keep the organs in, skin holds it all together. Amazing. But sometimes these pieces and parts fail. Sometimes something springs a leak, or stops working, and there's only a thin membrane the width of one's skin stuck holding the pieces and parts together.

Just in case you wanted to know: 10 Questions NOT to Ask a Writer

The snow gives way to the cold. The backyard which has been home to a sled run through the trees down to the pond, now has other allures. The stream has frozen almost solid. Solid enough to walk on. Solid enough to skate on--if you have skates. If you don't have skates, a sturdy pair of boots does almost as well. Slipping and sliding, pretending to turn and spin, bypassing pine cones and leaves frozen to the surface. The ice downstream of the springs is clear, glass-clear. So clear that she can see the water flowing underneath, see the detritus being pushed by invisible forces. Her son even saw a tadpole swimming under the ice a few days ago. How can that be? she wonders. It's six degrees out. The ice upstream is cloudy, filled with tiny bubbles. Though it lacks the clarity of its cousin downstream, it is flat. Flat and perfect for sliding. Back and forth they go, up and down, wary of the few areas where the ice is cracked and bubbled. Grabbing at trees to stay upright. Preten...