EARLVILLE –  Anyone who has driven on Route 12B between Earlville and Sherburne this winter has encountered an interesting sight. At 114 Reese Road, Earlville, a large ice sculpture can be seen from the road, and every day, the icy temperatures keep the ice sculpture growing.

Property owners Eric and Deb Leinbach said the project started as a fluke.

Eric said he has a small spring on his property that feeds into a pond via a water line that is constantly flowing. “I thought it would be a cool idea to attach a pressure washer house to the end of it and make it snow,” Eric said. When Eric came back the next day, there was no snow, but the water had sprayed all over a tree and created an icy display.

The happy accident inspired Eric to keep experimenting. “Last year was the first year that it’s been big enough to see from the road,” he said. Last winter, the project began in December and the ice sculpture was located behind the pond. Only the top of it could be seen from the road. This year, Eric knew he wanted to do more.

“We began at the end of November,” Eric said. To make the display more visible, he and Deb added lights to the display early, but because of the rapidly building ice, the lights quickly became buried. “The first set shorted out, but we keep adding more as it gets thicker.” Colored solar lights were just added to the front of the display to illuminate it last week.

According to Eric, the goal is to try to get the glacier sculpture to be as big as it can be, but of course, much of that is up to nature. “The thicker and harder the ice is, the more it has that natural blue tint,” Eric said.

The water line sprays out onto two trees that were previously planted on the property. Eric said both trees died before they began using them as a base for the sculpture. Additional branches and tree parts were brought over and ratchet strapped to the existing base.

“We’ve had lots of interest from the public,” Eric said. “If we’re here working for half an hour at least five cars stop to take a look.”

“Our goal is to give people something to talk about and a little fun in the longest part of winter,” Deb said. “It feels good to be bringing smiles to people’s faces.” Eric and Deb welcome people to check out Leinbach’s Glacier but cautioned that spectators should view the glacier from the road. The conditions near the glacier are icy and dangerous due to the constantly shooting water. Those who are unable to see the glacier in person can follow along by searching for Leinbach’s Glacier on Facebook.