Family's 9-Foot goose nests in Leavenworth

LEAVENWORTH – A nine-foot tall goose made of snow has temporarily made its home in Leavenworth for as long as weather permits.

The impressive snow creature sits off of Suncrest Drive, and can be seen from North Road. Building one each year is part of Greg and Judy Harris’s annual family tradition.

“We definitely get slow cars. We'll see people driving down North Road and then they kind of like, slow down and stop, or they'll come up here...The propane guy delivered propane this morning…and he says, ‘I gotta ask, how'd you build that thing?’ Oh yeah, people are certainly curious,” said Greg.

It started with a simple snowman six years ago while the Harrises were building their house. When they settled into their home the next year, they tried a moose – inspired by their cat named ‘Moose.’ The four-legged animal was structurally impressive, but nowhere near the size of the creations they would create in the years following.

Greg, an engineer, took the building process to the next level, designing and creating frames that could support the weight of a towering yeti, or a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Each year, Greg will typically spend hours looking up 3D models of his idea, figuring out the scale, then building a frame that will support for the surprisingly heavy weight of melting and refreezing snow as it withstands temperature fluctuations.

“He likes the building process and figuring it out. He and my son, who also is an engineer, go down in the barn and come up with what the frame is going to be, or what the frame needs to be in order to be [supportive],” said Judy.

The day after Christmas, Greg and Judy, plus their two kids’ families, spend a few hours building the snow creature together, then pose with it for next year’s holiday card. In addition to the yeti and T-Rex, they’ve also built a nutcracker to go along with a Leavenworth theme, as well as a giant beaver, which suffered quickly from an abnormally warm winter. In the height of ‘The Mandalorian’ popularity, the Harrises built a Baby Yoda with three hot dogs for fingers.

“The next day, we got up and the fingers were missing and the sticks of the fingers were laying on the ground…[Our neighbor’s dog] ate the fingers,” said Judy.

With the exception of the nutcracker, the couple tends to stick to a ‘snow creature’ theme when choosing each year’s creation. The Harrises are both birders by hobby, making the goose a fitting next choice. While it may resemble a snow goose, to them, it's a Hawaiian goose, also known as a nēnē (nay-nay).

“Judy's ‘grandma name’ is Nene. She chose the name Nene. She's Nene to our grandson, so that was really the inspiration,” said Greg.

The goose will last as long as weather permits. This time of year, Greg typically watches the weather carefully, rebuilding the creature where he can.

“I try to keep them up because, you know, like you have a hot, warm spell, and then everything melts, and they start showing their bones and stuff. And then when it gets cold again…I go out and redo it. But at some point, it's not worth it. I just let it go,” said Greg.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media