It’s rare for Vancouver area lakes to freeze over to the extent that people can skate on them. I remember being on Como Lake in 1988, and it’s been a couple of decades since Trout Lake, below, was frozen.

With clear blue skies and word that we’ll return to milder weather next week, people of all ages were out today making the most of this temporary winter wonderland.

There were more than a few people playing shinny on the lake.

Shinny is informal or “pick up” hockey.

It’s played on the street, in lanes and – for the fortunate – on outdoor ice.

You don’t have goalies or set positions; you do have pre-teens playing alongside men and (in the case of this game) a woman.

When you play on a frozen lake, there’s no luxury of zambonis.

Instead, people bring shovels and – in this group’s case – you do a bit of synchronised shovelling.

Here in Vancouver, people know this is a rare opportunity. They’re happy to lace up their skates …

… and so players are happy  to wait for the shift change that’ll see them back on the ice.