Over Here

an ice fishing hole that is slowly thawing.

Ian seconds the ice fishing hole idea.

Nice try. Unfortunately not right, however.

Something to do with melting snow?

I think it has something to do with an insect and frost. Maybe something coming out of its burrow to welcome the spring and all (turns out spring in Seattle has meant snow a lot this year, too).

Calin, that is lovely. You and Jean are both right in that it’s a winter scene, but so far, you’re still pretty cold, as it were.

A window to the soul of a stuffed animal?

Alex, you’ve almost got it! OK, not quite. But I like your style. Keep working on it…

A snowy car windshield with a circle melted out of it.

Jean, I really want you to be right, but you just haven’t got there yet. You’re definitely closer than Alex, though…

The ground under the eaves where an icicle was dripping.

Calin, that’s a good guess! But again, not correct. Do you think it’s time for a hint?

yes!

ooh ooh, it’s a patch of snow (in April), where you sat down a cup of coffee. (she thinks as she fixed herself a cup of coffee…)

Jean, another good guess. But…

OK, here’s the first hint, about scale: The black circle you see is approximately as big as my hand.

So much for my “nostril of a yeti” theory . . . unless it’s a really, really big yeti.

Is there any other kind of yeti? (Why does that remind me of Joe Jackson?)

That is not to say, however, that that guess was correct. But do keep trying, Alex! Difficult as it is to judge, I would say that you’re getting closer.

Somehow the white stuff looks more like shag carpet or some kind of fleece than snow.

A snowy latrine hole. (In Mali, they’re about the size of your hand.)

Alex, I agree with you, but it is in fact snow—or rather frost. Jean, you’ve got an important part of it: it is in fact a hole. It is not a latrine hole, however.

Is it the top of some sort of receptacle, such as a trash can or recycling bin?

a snowy, hand-sized donut hole.

Was the hole left behind after you moved something?

Ding ding ding! A dark-horse-candidate from nowhere (or perhaps from Brazil) has swooped in to win the contest!

Alejna, you have guessed correctly: What the picture shows is the hole in a glass-recycling dome, here in my neighborhood, during winter. Usually these domes—which are very common in Europe and stand about 5 feet tall—are white or green, but in this case it was completely covered with frost, which I thought was quite striking.

Thanks to all of you for a most enjoyable contest!

Thank god!

For what?

Might I say that my first guess was a hole. Furthermore, how do you know for sure someone hasn’t used it as a latrine? I think I should get an honorable mention.

OK, Jean, you get an honorable mention for saying it was a hole. This answer was in a sense correct, despite being highly underspecified.

I seriously doubt anyone has used it as a latrine, since this hole is four feet from the ground. It would have to be a man with extraordinary aim or a woman with excellent balance and good traction. Not to mention a very warped sense of appropriate behavior.

Hey, I don’t know what those Swedish do. Sunlight deficiencies can make people do strange things. ;-)

Don’t forget about sunlight overdoses! It’s already so light here that it doesn’t get totally dark at night. Upcoming blog post on that…

Gregory, var det någon eskimå där inne i igloon? Kanske en mycket liten inuit som kan krypa in och ut? Möjligt är att de sätter öppningen högt upptill för att undvika att vilda djur kommer in? Kan du grönländska förövrigt?

Daniel, här kommer mitt svar på grönländska:

Ikktapüütktchentipitlattilmuanjaktaa!

Eller kanske var det gränlöndska.

En igloo var en bra tanke, men so vitt jag vet är det ingen som vill bo i en igloo som är full med glasskivor. Det är svårt nog med en massa snö, skulle jag tro.