Monday, February 22, 2010

contented inmate

I've been happily imprisoned in winter for the last few weeks. The
manor has taken on a fabulous Zhivagoesque atmosphere, like one
of John Box's wax creations. Of course, you know I am in snow
heaven. The lovely icicle I showed you last week, now touches the
ground. It measures a deadly nine feet long and nine inches wide, a
record setter, for sure, in the manor book of ice.



Deadly Cold


I know a way to kill a man
and leave no trace.

A clandestine lobotomy
perfectly performed
.
with a crystal ice pick
melting slowly,
silent and odorless;

ingenious homicide.



willow, 2010

(with a bit of inspiration from Walter Mitty)

74 comments:

  1. Now, THAT, as Crocodile Dundee might say, is an ICICLE! Beautiful!

    There was, I think, an Alfred Hitchcock episode where a woman bludgeoned her husband to death with a frozen leg of lamb then cooked it and served it to the investigating officers ...

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  2. I think there was a CSI where someone was killed with an icicle that then melted...

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  3. Yes, Vicki, I remember that Hitchcock leg of lamb episode. Funny that the officers happily ate the evidence!

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  4. Fabulous icicles,especially that huge one! I liked the icicle homocide poem as well.

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  5. There was an Alfred Hitchcock movie about the perfect murder and it was done with an ice, ice pick, that melted away. We knock our icicles down here to avoid little kids being stabbed in the skull when they walk up and try to get the big ones down to play with.

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  6. Abe, I thought about knocking them down, for safety purposes, but I really wanted to see how long this one would get. Don't worry, there's no kids running around the manor!

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  7. That's some icicle! We used to get them pretty big too... and deadly.
    There was also a murder in one of the Dan Brown books where they stuffed snow down a woman's throat to suffocate her. That's the bright side of living a cold place...easy to get away with murder, if you're smart enough :D

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  8. Love the inspiration here ;)

    And I dare say I've not seen any(icicles) quite that large in some time...!

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  9. Uh oh... should we be concerned?
    Awesome icicles! Those will bar everyone from escape.

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  11. Beautiful pictures. I like seeing the cold much more than feeling it. I loved the poem!

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  12. glad someone is enjoying this winter. i am definitely NOT a contented inmate!! sooooo ready for spring!! :P
    great pics!

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  13. From icicles to murder with finesse on a Sunday morning no less, aren't you cool!!!!!!! As a reader of murder mysteries, it is fascinating that anything can become a weapon in the hands of one with motive, and opportunity. The Rain series from Barry Eisler comes to mind.

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  14. That's clever. They are lovely those icicles, it would be a shame to soil them with gross human matter.

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  15. Alfred Hitchcock it is. You are sharp,pun intended, as an icicle. Gosh It is not that gold in Ky. thank goodness and I am not that far away from you. But this weather has been unusual. Not predictable at all.
    QMM

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  16. Delicious poem. Icicles enthrall me, as do your words.

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  17. Oh, no the deadly icicle dagger! You're in your cozy place dreaming up some scary stuff...sounds wondferfully fun!

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  18. yikes! that is one big icicle! homocide with a dissolving weapon - intriquing :)

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  19. Beautiful photos!

    Oh, for the days when police could show up to your house to investigate a murder and the most natural thing in the world would be for you to serve them a home-cooked dinner. Leg of lamb with all the fixin's!

    We've lost much of our graciousness, I fear.

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  20. "The Icicle Man"....yikes... you must write a screen play and star Anthony Hopkins, no less, daaaling!
    :) The Bach

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  21. when my son was five years old he came up with the idea to stab with an icicle - thought it was so clever and original- guess it is innate knowledge by now. Great shots!

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  22. Excellent! Gave me chills. *giggle*


    Listen, I need some advice - come 'round my blog today.

    Cheers,
    M

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  23. Haa! Now, this can't be good, Willow, if you're sitting at home starting to calculate methods of homicide. Sooo glad you took those icicle photos--they're fabulous!

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  24. Willow, you really do have a very cool place (punn intended) and cool photography!

    "Zhivagoesque" --Hee. Waht agreat word. I saw "TransSiberian" last night (from the library) and it definitely had that feel but without the charm, being rather barren and all.

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  25. a delightfully wicked poem...may stay away from the manor til the thaw though...lol. love the icicle pics...really cool!

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  26. Ummm..about the poem, excellently written indeed but you do rather have a somewhat dark side to you, don't you?! :) Any relation to Hannibel in those genes?!! LOL.

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  27. My word, you'd think you had serious cabin fever after reading the poem! Chilling, indeed!

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  28. You bad, bad girl. It would probably work - the lobotomy I mean.

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  29. Wow, it must be freeeeeezing! And I slept under a fan last night! Love the poem.

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  30. yep...Kathy G....I saw that episode! :)

    Our house looks exactly the same way! While everyone is bemoaning spring fever, I'm saying I love it...that cozy, snowed-in feeling. I hope it doesn't melt any time soon!

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  31. "Chilling" poem. That is a giant icicle! We were taking about the one by our front porch and I said it was the biggest icicle I had ever seen...until I saw yours. Happy Sunday!

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  32. John, hee, well, it's not that bad.... BWAHAHAHA!!!

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  33. wow, I don't think I have seen icicles these large-- did not realize you live in such a freezing cold winter place-- beautiful though

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  34. It has been nice to enjoy the snow covered landscape without having to actually go out in it. Alas, tomorrow my vacation is over and come snow or rain I must trudge out to teach the little ones.

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  35. I loved your poem and those icicles are quite pretty. I just signed up for the Magpie fun. Now I must remember to do my post before Tues am. I'm so looking forward to doing something fun and not work, work, work. later dudette.

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  36. Crystal ice pick huh? Well, your weapon of choice still has more time to grow a little, things aren't melting yet are they?

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  37. I'm taping Dr. Zhivago right now! I haven't watched it in years so I thought "why not?!". I'll let you know how it is/was many years later. I do remember being in love with the whole movie and music. Murdercicles...fantastic. How do you drive in all that ice?

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  38. Teri, yikes, I hadn't thought of that! I've got a wonderful vintage rubber mallet that just might do the trick.

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  39. Wow. That's incredible. And so was the poem and my slow realization of how "it" would work!

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  40. The poem makes me think of that old Hitchcock story where the woman hits her husband with a frozen leg of lamb and then shoves it back in the freezer. (I think it was the woman...correct me, if I'm wrong.)

    Ah ha! I see Vicki Lane beat me to it! (We're SO on the same wave-length, Vicki!)

    I wanted to write a murder mystery based on the icicle-weapon. The poem is cool!

    Kat

    (There's not much snow and ice here, right now; we were out in our running shoes today.)

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  41. One state away, Willow, and we enjoyed 60 degrees and sunshine today. Love the poem! The perfect crime!

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  42. Magical icicles and you becoming a crime writer???

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  43. those a fabulous photos! I think our biggest one was about 7 or so inches... and probably man inches at that.

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  44. Very cool icicle. Our snow has melted this weekend! Woohoo! We have been outside all weekend. Such an excellent relief from the cold. I am glad you are enjoying your cold weather. It can really be beautiful.

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  45. It's loverly! Does the outside of your home look Zhivagoesque too?

    Di
    The Blue Ridge Gal

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  46. Now that truly is a record-breaker! Excellent little poem too, btw.

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  47. I'll keep this in mind, Willow, should I ever need to.

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  48. And your thinking like a prisoner too? :-) I know that those icicles can be dangerous...but your monster versions are threatening! Love the images and the shocking poetry, Ms Willow.

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  49. Definitely chill-inducing--fantastic!

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  50. That is frighteningly ingenious. I must remember never to fall out with you Willow.

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  51. Alan, at least not in winter! ;^)

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  52. How very beautiful and what a spine chilling idea!

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  53. Oh Yes! Great poem. I'm hearing the Dr.'s Hollinshead & Danny Kaye's voice... and tapocet-ta, tapocket-ta... -J

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  54. I have just discovered your wonderful blog via Marcheline.

    I look forward to having a good read through your previous posts but from what I've seen so far I have to say I love your post on bells and this one too.

    Killer poem!

    You have how many followers (plus another one now)!!

    Jeanne

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  55. You won! Your icicles are much longer than mine!!!

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  56. Harnett-Hargrove, I was just mentioning this morning, that none of my readers recognized the Walter Mitty connection. Ding-ding! You did!

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  57. Now THOSE are icicles. Never have experienced anything even close to that here. Boggles the mind.

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  58. Damn, Woman! I love the beautiful evil you've written here. Another reason for me to remain single and solitary!! LOL.

    I would have taken a pic of an icicle that stabbed the ground from the second floor roof of my apartment complex. 15, 20 feet?!? But a brief thaw reminded me that we shouldn't procrastinate.

    Wonderful poem!

    Rick

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  59. oh my!!

    wickedly wonderful icicles!!

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  60. I did say I was sorry, didn't I? ;)

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  61. That short and precise poem really captured the rather menacing aspect of icicles. And what an icicle that is! I bet you rush to look at it every morning in case it has snapped off.

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  63. FF, it's still here, as we speak! Although, it's getting a little drippy from the warmer temps.

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  64. Icicles are beautiful and yours is certainly Nature's work of art.
    I'm popping over to check out those soup recipes, 5 inches of new snow are in our forecast.
    Susan

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  65. Wasn't there a movie with an icicle weapon? We have lovely icicles hanging as well. Beautiful, quiet, and peaceful.

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  66. what a way to die! But Columbo could figure it out.

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  67. Ingenious indeed. How helpful that this is the perfect season for the perfect crime.

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  68. What a devious mind! Love the poem:)

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  69. Those are really impressive icicles . . . and the poem is sharp, and to the point, as well.

    I just got home from East Aurora, NY (part of the snow belt, my friend says) and I thought of you -- not so far away, in your wintry Ohio home. I will have to agree that your snowscape makes this season much more tolerable; but do you think that you could love the relentless gray wet of English winter?

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  70. Wow. Those icicles are just huge. I was going to say monsterous, but I didn't know how to spell it. Oups... That would be the ideal murder weapon I guess, in lack of a frozen leg of lamb. But then again, this time of year you'd easily come by a frozen leg of just about anything... ;)
    Peace/ Jo.

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  71. Oh that sounds nasty! Walter Mitty the purveyor of all things imagined. I did a play way back in the day (the 70's) call Thurber's Carnival. I think I was in Grade 10. James Thurber's tv sitcom "My World And Welcome To It" do you remember watching? I remember the young girl with the lisp. How cute! Oh those days! Lovely poem, if not a bit "diabolic". Tres imaginative!

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)