A Blue Box

This weekend, we had over a foot of snow in one day. We built some epic igloos in the backyard, and then, suddenly, POOF! Someone crash landed in our front yard!

Geek out time! It's a snow TARDIS, people! It's made out of at least 98 cubic feet of snow and is definitely bigger on the inside.

Just for a sense of scale, this is my brother (taller than me) next to the TARDIS on top of a snow pile. This sculpture was done almost entirely by the two of us because our other brothers wimped out or started snowball fights! My little sister turned the top of the TARDIS into a little playfort-- I'm going to get those pictures off of Mom's phone to share with you if I can.

We built this as the snow was falling heavily, but it was dark out when we finished. The next day, we had to leave in the morning, and by the time we got back, it had melted! This TARDIS as pictured is several inches shorter than it was originally and has also morphed into the Leaning Tower of TARDIS. It was very straight, smooth and right-angled when we built it-- with half my family destined to be engineers like Dad, there was no other way to do it!

There totally would have been some awesome photoshoots with my siblings and I dressed as the Doctor & Co., only our TARDIS has died already. Silly weather. First you snow in late March, then you decide to hang out in the mid-forties all day? We wanted to make Daleks and Weeping Angels!

(P.S. We love our snow sculptures-- last year we didn't get any appreciable snowfall, but you can see Sir Herbert Junior the Snow Giant and Smaug the Dragon, right here!)


Photo update! Here are some more from Mom:

Snow Sculptures

Are you about done with all the snow yet? This year, we had some of the most snow I've ever seen. Actually, yes, the most I've ever seen. We took the opportunity to build some epic snow sculptures!

{ Be sure to check out our very first snow sculptures, from last year-- Sir Herbert and Eustace the Dragon! }

(click on the pictures to enlarge)

We had snow and ice constantly from December on. This past week was full of beautiful, green grass and warm breezes... no ice or snow to be seen... but today I had to miss Taekwando because of more winter weather. I don't think we'll ever be able to understand weather. Where was all this snow past years, when my siblings and I went sledding on one inch of slushy ice?

It's not all bad, though. Snow can be quite beautiful. The two above pictures are taken from our porch and basement door.

(I apologise for the picture quality-- Mom took them on her iPhone. I was too busy sculpting or getting colds to do any photography.)

We went sledding... (New tricks this year! Purple penguins flying from one sled to another mid-hill, snowboarding with one foot, and fixing sleds with duct tape!)

...and had snowball fights.

That's just one snow fort.

The first snowfall, we made some large snowballs. They were going to be turned into either a dragon or a catepillar, but melted far too quickly.

Adelynn and I balanced precariously on a snowball. And aren't the carrot arms on the miniature snowman darling?

The next snowfall, we decided to make SIR HERBERT II.

{ See Sir Herbert I here }

Now, my dad thinks he's punny. Tell me, why did he name our snow giant "Sir Herbert"?

(Tip: Say it very fast and think about cold, yummy treats.)

Sir Herbert II didn't look like a marshmallow head climbing out of the ground... But you've got to admit that the hands are cool.

Dear Fairy People, meet SMAUG the SECOND SNOW DRAGON.

Smaug the Second Snow Dragon, meet the Fairy People.

We had so much fun with Eustace the Snow Dragon last year that we just had to do it again!

I did the head sculpture over the course of 3-5 hours. It was almost as tall as I am.

(I honestly don't know how long we were outside, and that was over the course of a long weekend when we were also sledding)

Ben did an amazing job on the tail, and all of the piled up snow for sculpting is thanks to Dad and Will, who shoveled the driveway.

(Random note on the aside: Who's ready to see Smaug in The Hobbit movie? Eeep!)

In the interim, Sir Herbert II had half-melted.

While Ben and I were hard at work on Smaug, Mom and Dad directed efforts on Herbert's Head. I think I know where my artistic abilities don't come from. :) LOL, Herbert does look really neat, though, like he just climbed out of a comic strip.

I think this version of Herbert should be Sir Herbert the Second and One-Half. Because you can still see half of Sir Herbert the Second there.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this peek into my family's craziness. Our new neighbors don't know what to do with us. I understand if you don't, either. :)

I think that there is something especially delightful about sculpting snow. This is the only kind of sculpture I have ever done, and the idea of setting a shape free from a block of snow must be the same sort of delight that Michelango felt while working on David. (Well, to a far less genius degree).

But even more than that, snow is so fleeting. Each of these sculptures had melted within a week of creation. There is something about the fleeting beauty (and craziness) that tingles my imagination and sense of adventure.