Cripple Creek Ice Festival 2018~ pt.3

The second weekend of the Ice Festival saw record crowds fill the streets of Cripple Creek. And the additional sculptures added to the magic. 

The sculptures stay up for an additional week for visitors and residents to enjoy. Can't wait to see what's in store for next year!

Cripple Creek Ice Festival 2018 ~ pt.2

While the first day of the event brought a snowstorm to the area, the second day was gorgeous! The beautiful sunshine allowed people to fully enjoy the frosty creations.

In Cripple Creek, no event is complete unless there are DONKEYS!

The City had another shipment of ice brought in before the second weekend because in the past, the ice has melted in the warm temperatures, causing the sculptures to look a bit sad. But this year was different. The cold stuck around all week and the new ice allowed the sculpting teams to create more beautiful-ness. 

Next time we'll take a look at the second batch of sculptures and some night-time views.

Cripple Creek Ice Festival 2018 ~ pt. 1

The Cripple Creek Ice Festival takes place every February for two weekends. What a great way to break up the winter doldrums. Only thing is, it really hasn't been much like winter around here. We have had such extreme temperature swings! Almost Spring-like for a few days, then a storm blows in and brings us a small amount of snow and some frigid temperatures. The last couple years has seen warm temperatures for the Ice Fest and the ice begins melting not long after the first day. But this year was a little different. We had snow arrive on the first day and moderately chilly temperatures continued throughout the first weekend.

The Ice Festival is an interactive ice sculpture event with a different theme every year. The public is encouraged to touch, sit, and enjoy the sculptures carved by the sculpting teams. This year's theme was Renaissance in Ice with five professional ice sculpting teams who turned the downtown area into a medieval wonderland complete with an ice castle, dragon ice slide, carnival games in ice and for the adults a martini ice luge.

The ice was brought in on two semi-trailers over the course of two days- about 180,000 pounds of ice from the Great Lake region of Ohio. That would be 600 blocks of ice each weighing 300 pounds. It was fun watching the process. 

The ice is shrink wrapped for its protection

All manner of items were used to sculpt the ice - axes, chainsaws, blow dryers, kitchen utensils. Whatever gave the carvers the ability to shape the ice.

Next time, we'll take a walk down the street as another storm moves in and we'll view the finished sculptures. 

February ~ Friends & Frolics

While searching for a couple of photos to use for this post, I happened upon the file that was of my trip to the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens. I almost closed the file thinking who would want to see pictures of flowers this time of year - when the world outside is brown or grey or white and filled with cold, blustery winter winds. The flowers would only remind most of us of how wintery-weary we really are. But then I started looking at all the beautiful flowers and realized that seeing all that color, all that vibrant life was quite refreshing. And so I thought I'd go ahead and share some photos with you. I hope you enjoy this brief respite from Winter. It won't be long before we can enjoy our sun puddles outside on the hammock.

January was a blur. The entire family battled one nasty virus after another all month long. Not sure how many boxes of kleenex we went through. We were finally able to close the chapter on Arkansas and now we are seeking our mountain paradise. Life finally seems to be settling into a not so bumpy groove.

February is flying by as well. There are signs of Spring in the front flower bed - daffodils are stretching their long, lithe leaves, the mints are greening up beneath their warm, leafy blanket, and the apple tree buds are beginning to swell. It has been a mild winter here this year. Not near as much snow or temperatures as cold as I remember from years back. While I enjoy seeing all the stirrings of Life, I can't help but wonder if we're going to have another hot, dry summer. I would rather shovel snow all winter and not see daffodils until March, than worry about water restrictions and wildfires. 

I am working on scheduling fairs and shows for this coming year and hope to soon have a list posted in the sidebar. I have new projects wanting for attention on the workbench. And I have begun work with polymer clay. As always so much to do and so little time.

I am often ask where and how I find some of the weird stories and artists that I post about. Some come from my own surfing, some come from Hubby, and some come from my Sister. And some come in email form from readers like you. This month (and possibly into March) I am going to feature weird posts and artists that have been suggested to me. A heart-felt Thank You to each and every one of you!  ♥

February Walk in the WildWoods

Adventures in Building Snowmen

The first two weeks of February brought snow storms our way. Each time we got about 4" of the lovely white powder. 

We don't get a lot of snow in this part of Arkansas. So, when we do, the "Kids" have the urge to go out and play in it. Especially because the snow won't stay around very long.

Hubby and a friend (we say he's one of our 'stray' kids) went out to try and make some snowmen before the snow melted away. 

One of our Mals, Boreas, kept stealing the arms of the largest snowman. Guess he wanted to build is own.....

February Fun

January just sped by. Those frosty days were a blur of paint, paper shredding and creativeness. And I still did not get as much accomplished as I had hoped. But then I always seem to make lists that take way longer than the time I have to get them done. Mostly because I sometimes dilly-dally along the path......

And February is shaping up to be another busy month. We are planning on listing our house the end of March and still have gobs to do - mostly little projects. But you know how those 'little projects' take up more time than the big ones!

And here in Blogland, we will be continuing on with the Fairy Tale goodness. I'll continue the journey into Fairyland with fantastical flora and photography.

Also, Danni of The Whimsical Cottage is devoting the whole month of February to Faeries! She'll have many guest bloggers stopping in to help provide us with lots of Faery Fun!

So Don't Touch That Dial!