Bang, Bang, Bang

[poliphilo]

The ice was thicker this morning. Bang, bang, bang with the axe.

No, I explain to Ailz, it's not dangerous. I'm not chopping with the axe. I'm not going to take my leg off. I'm pounding downwards, using the axe as a bodger, smacking the ice with the side of the axe head...

Comments

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

It sounds like winter has set in. I remember my dad pounding on the rain barrel he kept for garden use to break up the ice so it wouldn't expand and burst the barrel just as you describe. He ended up putting a submersible heater in it because our temperatures would sometimes be down to -20ºF.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Brrrrr. I don't think I've ever lived anywhere that cold.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I grew up in Michigan and have lived in Wisconsin. It gets that cold and colder!

[resonant.livejournal.com]

An option is to put some empty plastic bottles (ballasted with a few stones so they float upright) in the barrel. As ice forms on the top, the bottle will be crushed by the ice, partially relieving the pressure on the barrel walls. Won't help if it freezes solid, though.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

It was pretty cold again this morning, but then around lunchtime the sky clouded over and all the frost vanished. The forecast says it will be a bit warmer for the next couple of days.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Here it has stayed cold all day, but perhaps your milder weather is headed in our direction.