Gravity + water + frigid temps = winter art

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

One of the joys of driving on Popple Dungeon Road every day in the winter is watching the evolution of self-creating ice sculpture at Peter Delaney’s place, where the blacktop ends and the gravel road begins.

Each fall, Delaney brings out a wooden structure he’s created that supports a hose that brings water – by gravity feed – from a spring up in the hills. The hose points straight up from the top of the Delaney’s 20 foot tower and with a cap over the end that has holes to create several streams that will keep running no matter how cold the weather gets. When the water starts running, the human has no control over what form the ice will take. That’s up to the variations in temperature throughout the winter and the amount of sunshine the tower gets to etch away at the south side, which faces the road.

In previous iterations, the sculpture has been massive twisting and undulating shapes, a caped figure with a crown and what can best be described as a blue toadstool/icicle.

This year is shaping up to be one of the more interesting. Early cold snaps turned the water spout into a tall thin sculpture that resembled a hooded figure, its arms crossed over an object like a sword.

Then, the recent warm-up exposed the wooden top of the tower, temporarily breaking the visual spell. But forecasters are promising a week or so of frigid temperatures that may restore the hooded figure or create an entirely different shape.

Time will tell and, if you’re in the neighborhood, slow down and see what you think it looks like. You can leave a comment below and click on any image to launch a photo gallery of past sculptures.