Two on pond - Ice at issue!

(gp: January 23, 2010)

The first two contestants arrived at the official headquarters of the Great Gnome-out this morning wishing to establish their official locations for the event. To the great relief of the Gnomish interpreters, one of the Gnomes - name yet unknown, apparently speaks very good English, albeit with a rather odd accent. After some discussion with the gnomes, a junior staff member followed them out onto the ice to clear away the snow from the desired locations. To great consternation, it was found that the ice was soft under the snow cover.

After careful review of the rules, the Gnome-out Event officials declared that time should be allowed for the ice to re-harden now the snow cover has been removed.

At this writing, the first two declared contestants are waiting beside their locations for the ice to freeze up overnight.

In this picture, the first two contestants wait beside their cleared areas. You have to look closely to see the hat of the second gnome as he is a small entity, and can barely keep his head clear of the snow. This handicap does not seem to phase this contestant; he's still smiling!

(Photo: Gerald Putzny - gpi)