After two years of lacklustre snowfalls, Pat Brodeur is revelling this winter.
The Midland man has returned to one of his passion projects by again creating snow sculptures that leave local residents in awe.
“It kind of follows the mythical creatures theme I’ve got going,” Brodeur says.
This time around, his backyard is filled with a sunken ship and a sea monster known as a Kraken that's legendary for giving sailors nightmares.
“It’s huge, it’s massive,” says Brodeur, who was happy to get back into it after two years of mediocre snow-sculpture making weather.
“It’s a lot of fun doing it for sure.”
And you can’t really have a Kraken without a ship so Brodeur created two structures in his backyard showing off both his skill for originality and sheer grandeur.
The Kraken is a legendary sea monster from Norse mythology that is said to be so large and strong that it could sink ships. The Kraken's legend is thought to have possibly come from sightings of giant squid, which can grow to be 40–50 feet long.
Brodeur estimates the overall structure of his creation measures 50 feet in total with the Kraken itself reaching 18 feet into the sky.
“I knew it was going to be big,” Brodeur says, adding the latest endeavour was “way more labour intensive” than his two previous efforts.
He got some help lugging snow from the front- to backyard when his and wife Mary's two sons Justin and Cole were home over the Christmas holidays.
“I knew it was going to be a bit tricky, but we got lots of snow so it helped me prepare,” Brodeur adds.
One side of the boat features a fire-pit so they can go out and enjoy a fire while admiring the creation under the stars.
And Brodeur points out that’s kind of how the whole thing got started several years ago.
He had created a fort to shelter the fire-pit over the winter months when a young neighbour happened by and commented that she liked “my castle.”
“When she called my fort a castle, she said ‘you need a creature’,” Brodeur recalls of his 2021 creation.
So Brodeur starting thinking about what kind of creature would best fit with the castle theme. Well, a dragon of course.
Brodeur then set about creating the dragon that proved to be a hit with not just neighbours, but area residents who would travel to his Wawinet Street home to take a peek at the fire-breathing beast.
“That’s where it started,” Brodeur says. “It was during COVID so people needed a distraction. It was kind of neat and I enjoyed doing it and people liked coming to see it.”
In 2022, Brodeur followed the mythical theme by creating an ice cabin and a giant Yeti, an ape-like creature purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia.
And he also found a good use for the old blue recycling bins, which he notes are the perfect size for forming snow and ice blocks.
And what will he do for another encore next year?
Brodeur hasn’t yet decided yet, but he will likely come up with something that’s sure to delight the young and young-at-heart.
But visitors are more than welcome to drop by to take a peek of his latest creation.
Brodeur adds: “People are definitely invited to come and see and have a look. Not a problem.”
