It appears to be in the grasp of a green monster, slowly eating it's way across the barn.
The next day, the sun came out, and things didn't look quite as menacing.
In fact, the view of the barn became very picturesque.
But it does give a whole different meaning to the phrase "Going Green."
The Single Block competition is for teams of two, and each entry is given a single block of ice measuring roughly 5 feet by 8 feet and weighing around 7800 pounds. They have 60 hours to create their sculptures, and they had to be finished last night at 9:00 p.m.. Then the judging began, and tonight the awards will be handed out. This year 49 teams are competing in the Single Block. Sculptors come from around the world and this year over 100 ice artist competing. Many of them compete in both the Single Block and the Multi Block, which will start on Sunday. While the majority of the sculptors are from the United States, the sculptors listed for the Single Block competition are also from China, Japan, Germany, Finland, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Latvia, Netherlands, Mexico, Philippines, Spain, Korea, Poland, Monaco, Uzbekistan, France, and Portugal. The first two photos are of a sculpture created by two Fairbanks artists entitled "The Mask." This husband and wife team have won many prizes with their sculptures. This one looks like another winner.
Chainsaws, chisels, drills, and a multitude of other tools are used to carve out the vision of the artists. The next sculpture is entitled "Launching Pad" and is by two more U.S. artists.
It is amazing the intricate details that are created by the artists. The next photo is of "Metamorphosis" and is by artists from Germany and the Netherlands.
As you walk through the busy activity in the last few hours of the competition you hear the sounds of music, chain saws, and much discussion as the finishing touches are put on the sculptures. The next photos is "It's Mine" by an artist from Japan and one from the U.S.
The sculptures will be bathed in colored light at night, and will present a totally different appearance. All of the sculptures can be seen at Ice Alaska's website. Click HERE to go directly to the Single Block index where you can see photos of the pieces in progress and the finished piece, along with info on the artists. 
Many of the artists from around the world come early and begin work on the Ice Park entrance and the Kid's Park. There is a large ice maze, an ice rink, a variety of fun sculptures, and many slides in various sizes. The smaller kids will like the small slides like the one below.
Older kids will like the larger slides.
Then there is the grouping of the luge-like slides that kids and adults like. A variety of sleds are used for going down these, and it always seems to have a crowd.
I've posted on the Ice Park many times over the last two years. You can check those posts out by clicking HERE or you can click on Ice Park in my Labels section. I'll be back at the park several times to catch more of the activity. And, Spring, wait a while!
Among the adult swans there were many juveniles.
Swans are a majestic looking bird, but there were certainly enjoying plodding around in the muddy fields. Somehow you always think of them gliding regally along upon a beautiful lake.
There was a lot of flooding in the Skagit Valley, but the flooded fields and the beautiful view of the valley behind the swans, along with the cloudy sky, made for a lovely backdrop for the swans.
Pulling out even further you can get some idea of the number of the swans we saw. The photo below shows only a portion of this flock, and there were many more large flocks in a lot of other fields.
I am looking forward to seeing the swans again here in Fairbanks as they migrate north to their nesting grounds in April. When they come in for a landing there is no mistaking the trumpeting call for any other bird. We only see a few at a time here but occasionally I am able to get some nice closeups. I have posted photos of them several times when they have been at Creamer's Field, and you can find those posts if you click on Birds-Swans in my Labels section in the sidebar. As much as we look forward to spring and the arrival in Fairbanks of all the migrating birds, I'll post some photos in the next few days of one of the reasons we want the warm weather of spring to hold off for just a while.
To see more old barns click on the barn below to go to Barn Charm, hosted by Tricia.
The favored browse in winter is the tasty twigs off of the small willow and birch trees. The twigs look like large whiskers in the photos below.
After browsing for a while, a rest was in order. For about an hour both moose lay down and napped a bit and chewed some on the twigs.
Then it was time to get up and get back to the ever important work of harvesting enough branches to fuel the engine. 
Ah, more tasty willows!
It takes quite a bit to keep an animal this size going. The calf is probably somewhere around 600 pounds.
The calf made its way through the trees to where mama was resting and they spent another hour or so there, and then they were on their way again. Last week this pair came through our yard about 10:30 p.m. and spent a good half hour munching on the sunflower seeds at my bird feeders. Only a couple of the feeders were knocked down, but all of the sunflower chips were consumed. We watched as mama moose worked her tongue around the chains on my open feeder to get at the seeds, and then she tipped the little box feeder to empty the seeds out. They were about 10 feet from the window so we had a good view, although the dark coat and the dark night did not make for good photos. At one point Marty banged the door a few times thinking it might scare them off, but mama didn't even blink. One thing you don't want to do is confront a moose, so at that point we just settled down and watched, hoping that the feeders would not get broken, and amazingly all were in good shape. I'm not sure sunflower seeds are on the recommended diet list for moose, but the same thing happened a couple of times last year. One thing a moose never forgets is the location of treats. They always know who plants cabbage and wait until the cabbage is just ready to harvest and then they mow it all down. I don't plant cabbage, although it grows wonderfully here. Now if I wanted to invite the moose for a buffet, just for some good photo ops......
I don't know if he was directing a comment my way or not, but Ravens are very vocal.
Then he took flight, leaving behind a spray of snow.
We have a large population of Ravens in Fairbanks, and you see them all over. They are not always easy to photograph though, something to do with all that black.....
Ravens are on my photo quest list. I am always attempting to get that perfect shot! You can check out some of my past shots of them by clicking on Birds-Ravens in my sidebar.
Today I concentrated more on the roof of the barns.
Against the blue sky and the snowy background the architectural details showed up quite nicely.
The roof is a Gothic-arch, a rounded version of the popular gambrel roof found on most barns.
Crowning the roof line is a series of cupolas. Their appearance is a bit different than the normal cupola. They are made out of metal to match the metal roof.
There are three cupolas on each barn for a total of six.
They have proven to be a challenge for me. They are sitting still on a feeder, and then they are in fast flight mode heading for the trees. The same thing happens when they swoop in to the feeders. They come very fast, and even using automatic focus they are at the feeder before I can even get the camera into position. A couple of days ago I got one that is a bit better.
Yesterday I got another as a Jay flew away with a chunk of suet. 
It seems to me that since I am providing them with such nice tidbits the least they could do is be cooperative. They do cooperate for still photos and will sit for a short space of time with a piece of the suet in their beaks. I'm not sure if that's a "thank you" or more of a "nana nana nah nah" pose.
Yesterday was a sunny day and about 10 degrees so I was able to be out on the deck a bit. That helped get some clearer shots. I caught a flight away from the feeder with a chunk of suet in the beak.
I think that's the best I've done so far, but I still need to keep trying. Every day we are having longer hours of daylight so I'll have more chances.
One thing that is the same is the enthusiasm of the dogs to run. The photos below were taken at the starting gate and the noise the dogs made was incredible. 
They are extremely excited to be running and have to be held back at the start.
They love to run and their joy in taking off is readily apparent.
The Yukon Quest has been run since 1984. It gets its name from the Yukon River, the "highway of the north." The route traces the route the prospectors used to reach the Klondike during the 1898 Gold Rush and from there the route they followed in chasing the gold to Interior Alaska in the early 1900s. Dogsleds were the dominant means of winter transportation in those early years and everything that moved went by dogsled, but the dogsled was replaced by the snowmachine and the airplane in the 50s and 60s. Today racing and recreational use keeps this northern transportation tradition alive. Dogs have been used as pack and draft animals by the Native populations of the North for thousands of years. Most of the dogs that are used in races like the Quest are the Alaskan Huskies, which are a cross breed that has been bred for generations for their racing abilities.
