We all know that winters in Winnipeg are cold. I wouldn’t even say “can be cold”… But do we all stay hunkered inside until the cold passes? NO WAY! Although my tobogganing days are past, the kids of today still go downhill on their magic carpets as fast as they can.
Skating? Of course! Snow boarding? Sure! And all that with the frigid winter climate we have here? We are Canadians, right? No whining about the temps, please! Ok, I am not completely Canadian yet, I need a few more freezes for that, heh 
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Yes, Canadians are a hearty bunch. But even when I was a kid in Holland, I never stayed inside because of the weather. Of course it was more pleasant when it was not raining, but rain never stopped me.
Last week we went to the Assiniboine Park, to the Duck Pond. The Duck Pond now has officially a different name, but I can never remember it. For me it remains the “Duck Pond”. The season is just starting, the orange warning signs have not even been removed yet. Not that there is any danger of going through the ice, though. I think the pond is frozen to the bottom. Here are a few pictures of the people that brave the cold and come to the park anyway.
The prepared one
The Park is fun for young and old. The elder will also protect themselves from sliding by adding some sharp points under their canes and under their shoes. Way safer that way.
The protected one
Others will put some sharp blades under their feet in order to slide faster, albeit in one direction only . They will take heavy protection, or is it simply because they got the helmet as a Christmas gift? I guess I’ll never know.
Overview of the Duck Pond
The Duck Pond on Christmas Day was not cleaned, it looked like everyone was skating on snow. Some got to find out that this “snow” was harder than expected.
The marked one
Traces show evidence of that . But like any real Canadian, this boy didn’t show any side effects of his close encounters with the ice. He didn’t even slow down when passing the freezing photographer.
The tired one
Others chose to stay close to the ice, making an eventual fall less painful. Or, perhaps it was a simple way to move without any effort, who knows.
Solitary pleasure
Then there were the ones that preferred to go downhill. The Assiniboine Park has a hill where people can come up and slide down with whatever method they prefer. Some prefer on their carpets, the pleasure visible on the face,
The family outing
Some went as a family, staying all close together,
The taster
and others preferred to taste the snow to see if there was perhaps any salt in it that could have made them stumble in some way 
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All of this is in good spirits and nobody got hurt during the shooting of these pictures.
A short post this time, let’s call it Duck Pond Photography, since street photography is not really my “thing” 
until next time…