This we can not explain.

For the past month or so, a few of us at Volume One have been boggled by what appeared to be a wooden sculpture nestled on the shoreline of the Chippewa River. As seen from downtown’s Madison Street bridge (as you drive/walk towards Family Video), one can faintly see a weird, birdish-looking, yellowish structure right on the water’s edge. Originally spied by online editor Mike Paulus’s wife, it just looks out of place. We just couldn’t take it anymore, so I made the trek down there by traversing the bank from Family Video’s parking lot – hoping to see the sculpture, and (hopefully) some initials carved in there so we can investigate the creator. Well what I originally imagined to be a bird is, in actuality, a weird yellow-faced animal with pointy ears, a huge nose/snout, and round white eyes. It’s about six feet tall, appears to be a section of tree somehow secured over an old pylon, and was at least partially made with a chainsaw. Sadly, there are no initials to be found (unless they’re on the river side – I didn’t want to get wet checking). Every so often we see people fishing down there (and the cooler, fire pit, and chair that were also down there act as further proof), so maybe a few of them felt particularly artistic and made this thing. No matter who did – and we’d love to know! – it’s a great little piece of eye candy and addition to the community. Keep on whittling, whomever you are. More photos below ...