A walk in the park

On my way back from the bookstore today, I was driving over a bridge by Gallup Park (Lin Kiat and I used to eat sandwiches there in our hmm...courting?...days) when I saw a bunch of people on the frozen river. I was intrigued, and I also remembered that I hadn't been to the park for a while. Not since last fall when I walked by the river with my mom. So I made a turn just in time and parked in a muddy car park right by the path.

The sky was perfect - blue, a few strips of cloud - and the river was still frozen and covered with snow that was slowly melting (the temperature today was 2 degrees celsius - very warm!). I walked off the small pier and actually stepped onto the frozen river! It was a great feeling. I wanted to walk out further, but didn't dare to. The crowd I saw were indeed ice-fishing. They were sitting rather far out, sitting on overturned buckets and holding their reels in the sun. I wish I had my camera with me.

I went back to the path and walked further down because I wanted to get a closer look at the white geese on the river. There were two pairs. One pair was sitting comfortably out there, their bottoms snug in the snow. Another was strolling about. In one place, the snow had melted, leaving the glassy surface of the river. And when one of the geese crossed it, his lovely webbed feet began to slide a little with each step. He was unfazed and actually seemed to enjoy it! I watched them for a while as they made little webbed footprints all over the snow, like tiny arrows telling you, this way, this way! And when they spread their wings, what a sight! I'd never been more enthralled by these beautiful migratory birds. I wondered where they would fly off to after today.