Snow Zoo - An Ongoing Saga

A thing I really enjoy about my street this winter is the "snow zoo" that one of my neighbours is building. I've never met the person responsible for it but I admire their snow-skills. 

It all started with just one bear - which was fantastic enough. I thought this was the best variation of a snowman I'd ever seen. My mind was already blown at this point...

And then one day, suddenly, the lonely bear had a bunch of new friends!!

I took this picture while going by in the car. You can't see all the brilliant details so I'll list some of the finer points:

• The dog in the background has a big tail, front legs, and big ears all separate from the main structure... (like, not just "packed on" to the body), 
• The kangaroo actually has a little joey in its pouch, and it isn't "stuck onto" the mama, it's a fully-fledged little sculpture, separate from her body. 
• The detail of the hair in the lion's mane, face, and paws.

More recently a gorilla and a baby elephant were added to the zoo (or is it a circus?)... however I wasn't quick enough to go by with my camera and, unfortunately, the warm weather really took a toll on the sculptures. 

So, this used to be an awesome gorilla...

And this used to be a cool, little elephant... 

(Sidenote: the elephant is on the front lawn of the neighbour's house - the zoo is expanding!)

 

At this point, due to the thaw and the traffic, the bear is starting to look pretty gnarly but you can still see the profile of the gorilla really well in this picture...

I walk or drive down my street pretty often so I'm fairly amazed that I've never caught the creator in the act... but yesterday the local newspaper featured a picture of the zoo (in better days, before the gorilla and the thaw) and I found out the name of the creator!

So...

Dear Roger Wilson, 

Well done and keep it up! Your work has warmed my heart this winter, especially on the dreary days! Thank you for being awesome and sharing your zoo with the neighbourhood!

An admirer, 

R.