My childhood ice skating memories take place in the outdoors on local ponds, swamps, and, for one amazingly icy week, the frozen front yard. In another nostalgic winter pasttime article, the N.Y. Times looks at the disappearing custom of outside skating, with warmer winters reducing the amount of skatable ice. The accompanying slideshow of this year’s good skating conditions recalls the hockey games, cold fingers tying skates, beginner slips, and friends with ponds, albeit with a few more helmets than were worn in my youth.