Isberg's wife, Carol Kumamoto, a professor at Tufts Medical School, inspired his time-intensive hobby after she read an article about building backyard rinks. It seemed easy enough, and the materials are relatively cheap—wood and plastic for the walls, a plastic liner to cover the ground and contain the water.

Over Thanksgiving, he sets up the framework on the slightly sloping ground. Not until several consecutive days of subfreezing temperatures are forecast—often around the Martin Luther King holiday weekend—does Isberg get out the garden hose for the ceremonial filling with water. “It takes about 16 hours,” he says. “I don't go to sleep that night,” lest there be a leak or other mishap. After three or four days, the surface is ready for testing.

“They send me out on it first, 'cause I'm the lightest,” pipes up Robyn, who sports a T-shirt declaring, “Friends are forever, boys are whatever.” Once the rink is deemed safe, the season is under way, sometimes lasting into the first days of spring.

With constant use and changing weather, the rink needs frequent clearing and resurfacing. Isberg's version of the iconic Zamboni—the best-known brand of professional resurfacing machine—is a metal tube shaped like a coat-hanger, with perforations in the long side, and a piece of cloth trailing behind. Isberg attaches it to the kitchen faucet with a hose, then pushes it along the ice, allowing water to drip out and freeze, forming a new, smooth surface.

Ready for the next day's crowd of family and friends whizzing across the ice—or taking their first steps and spills. For Ralph Isberg, creating a backyard skating rink is a labor of love.

Photo: Jeremy Broadhead

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