A fleeting fortress

Patrick Moynihan, 5, and Skylar Moynihan, 4, find the ice castle they built along with their dad and neighbors to be a cozy hideout. Busy builders create castle from the wintry white stuff Vernon — Neighbors and friends spent 26 hours building this ice castle, not even stopping to go in the house for dinner. Dinner was brought out to the builders who took a brief break for nourishment. The castle — more than six feet tall — was built in the Moynihan family’s front yard in the Pleasant Valley Lake section of Vernon. Patrick Moynihan Sr. put the snow in a pile on Saturday, Dec. 20, and the team then set to work building and carving. The castle was up through Christmas Day, until rains and warm weather took it down. The builders “had a blast building it and look forward to the next storm,” reported Dawn Moynihan. “Another one will be built,” she promised. In addition to Patrick Sr., builders were Megan Logue, 14; Eamon Logue, 11; Hunter Nelson, 13; Grace Logue, 8; Patrick Moynihan Jr., 5; and Skylar Moynihan, 4.