Kid's Park

Many of the sculptors start work at the Ice Park several weeks before it opens and create numerous slides, mazes, ice bowls, and other activities for the kids (and adults) to play on.  Here are a few of their creations.

 

Carving the Ice

Take blocks of ice approximately 8'x5'x3', harvested from O'Grady Pond and known as "The Arctic Diamond" for its clarity..... 

.....and a variety of tools.....

.....put them along a trail through the trees.....

.....and add 45 or so teams of one or two people from places around the world, China, Russia, Germany, Mongolia, Japan, Netherlands, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Mexico, and the United States, and give them 60 hours to complete their sculptures.....

.....and you have the Single Block competition in the World Ice Art Championships underway.  The competition began Monday morning and will end at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, with judging being held after that.  The Multi Block competition begins on Sunday.

Bare Branches

On the Ice

The World Ice Art Championships begin here on February 24th, but already sculptors from around the world are in town and working at the Ice Park on slides and various other sculptures around the Park.  Ice sculptures are also showing up around town.  The one below is in front of the Big Dipper Ice Arena and was created for Hockey Week earlier in the month.

Ice harvesting is in full swing at Grady Pond in preparation for the competition.  I can't wait to see what the artists come up with this year.

Rusty's Vintage Valentine

Many of you will remember Rusty from the many years he sat patiently in our yard waiting for his turn to be restored.  Click HERE to see posts I've done on his journey.

You'll remember that last fall he got moved over next to the shop, but he waited there for several months.

Then a couple of weeks ago he got moved inside the shop.  He's in the process of being torn apart now.  The inside of the cab has been cleaned out, and the seat removed.  

Underneath the seat, Marty found the Valentine pin below.  He brought it over to the house, but wisely chose to only show it to me instead of saying he had a Valentine for me.

I know there is probably an interesting story behind the pin.  Rusty is a 1951 Ford F1, which was a work truck.  The fact that the pin was underneath the seat leads me to believe that whoever the Valentine was presented to rejected it, and deservedly so.  What do you think is the story behind the pin?

The strange sentiment on the pin led me to do a little research.  The first valentines were sent in the 1400s and were handmade.  Manufactured ones first showed up in the 1900s.  When I googled vintage valentines, I found some very strange images, a few of which I've copied below.  I don't think I'll look at valentines in the same way ever again! 

  

Insect Captures.....

......and captors. 

Winter Lace