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Edina resident finished a three-level, 22-feet tall ice castle in his backyard
For the last seven years, James Westin's ice castles have melted before he could finish them.

That has not a problem this year.

Helped by a cold and snowy December, the Edina resident finished a three-level, 22-feet tall ice castle in his backyard recently. It will be lit and open to the public 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7 to 9, at 4501 Garrison Lane.

Westin started construction on the castle Dec. 5 and has spent about 200 hours working on it. Volunteers from the University of Minnesota chapter of Habitat for Humanity have also put in 300 to 400 hours.

The castle is made of a combination of snow and ice. Westin uses trashcans, buckets and sleds to make ice blocks and a snow/ice mixture to make sturdy columns and arches. He quickly used up all of the snow in his yard, so he looked to the snow on Lake Nancy. "I've got a lake in my backyard. We cleared off half of the lake," Westin said.
Posted by: Icerigger 2008-02-08
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=224638