I went for a skate on the shallow pond...shallow means I can skate on thin ice. It was about 4 cm thick....with no cracks. A few cracks formed near me but only in the uppermost 1 to 2 cm of the ice...some interesting patterns. The upper ice may have been colder and more brittle than the ice in contact with the water beneath?

There were two frozen newts or salamanders on top of the ice, one curled up and the other in walking position. They were 20 m from the shore or more. I was debating whether to take then home to thaw out but thought it better to just mess with nature a little, so i put them in the grass at the edge of the pond. Wonder where they were headed? And, why?
Chris