an homage to my favorite snowsculptor

Our snow came Globalwarmingly late this winter season a few days after Christmas. But it amounted to enough to make the snow sculpture people have been asking me about as the sculpting season took its sweet time to arrive. Voila!

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I bought the complete set of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons four volumes worth. I read it to my kids when they were little and it is my all time favorite cartoon. Among them are a great many of Calvin’s diabolical snowmen being haplessly dismembered in grizzly situations that I tried to capture in this one which didn’t require too much of the preciously rare snow available.

I felt some need to explain it to my French pen pal who was unfamiliar with Calvin and his tiger. She had already found a description of the lad that suggested he was a bit of a menace so when I found one with an excited boy seeing a new snow fall and then disheartened when his Dad refused to leave work to play with him I sent it to her because it was without a single bubble of words. She proceeded to add her own in French Papa come play in the snow with me. No I can’t I’ve got too much work. Then after looking out the window at his son he has second thoughts. More descriptions in french follow until the last panel where Calvin kisses his Dad now working late before going to bed. I sent it because what is shown is something more than a kid full of piss and vinegar.

By the way I put carrots and real sticks in to mimic the real Calvin’s snowmen. Dear came and and ate the noses the first night. For the next couple days I took then out before the witching hour to preserve them.

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