Ottawa’s annual winter carnival, Winterlude, opened on Friday. The weather hasn’t been what organizers had hoped.

Last year the Rideau Canal skateway didn’t open at all, the first time that had happened in 50 years. The Canal is the centrepiece of the festival, so its closure put a damper on the celebrations.

This year the canal has only been open for a couple of days so far, in January, before once again closing due to warm weather conditions. We just haven’t had enough nights with cold temperatures to allow the skateway to freeze.

Sometime later this week I will check out the ice sculptures along Sparks Street. When I was there Thursday they were done, but still under wraps, waiting to be unveiled with the festival’s official opening Friday afternoon. (You can check out last year’s offerings here.)

But one sculpture, not made of ice and titled INSTA, was already open for viewing. The bright hues drew my attention.

INSTA is meant to represent a pack of wolves as if seen through thermal imagery. The idea is to recall our close connection to nature.

I leave it to you to decide if that comes across.