RIDGEFIELD — Long before Easter and Peter Cottontail came along, a colossal rabbit hopped along the open expanses of southwest Washington dropping eye-popping eggs that confounded and amazed primitive man.
Amid gray, overcast skies Wednesday night, this long-since forgotten rabbit behemoth dropped three “eggs,” all eight feet in diameter, inside a roundabout on Highway 502 in Ridgefield.
Hey, it could happen, right?
The sight of the giant creations confused some and excited others. But business owner Mary Tierney knew the “eggs” weren’t the work of a giant, Paleolithic saber-toothed bunny.
“There aren’t just random prehistoric Easter eggs lying around,” said Tierney, who owns Organic Boutique on Pioneer Street in Ridgefield. “So it had to be art.”
OK, here’s the truth: TLC Towing of Ridgefield placed the “eggs,” which are actually painted concrete mixing drums, in the roundabout Wednesday night. The project’s purpose was to bring added excitement to Easter and give locals something to talk about, TLC Towing owner Cory Wells said. He agreed with Tierney that mixing drums looked like “prehistoric eggs.”
The “eggs” will be removed within seven to 10 days, Wells said.
They will not be part of Ridgefield’s second annual Heron Gate Easter Egg Hunt. The event will be held at the Heron Gate Building at the city junction April 23 beginning at 11 a.m.
TLC Towing’s massive Easter “eggs” were a smash hit with locals. They were painted light blue, lime green and pink, and featured crude drawings of fish and flowers, as well as the letters “TLC.”
“It’s great,” Ridgefield Mayor Ron Onslow said. “It gives a little bit of celebration to the season.”
Onslow recalled seeing a similar display a few years ago, but did not know if it was the work of TLC Towing.
TLC Towing previously celebrated Easter with oversized “eggs,” but has not the past two years due to the company’s busy work schedule, Wells said.
The timing worked out this year, and the company got old mixing drums from Glacier Northwest. Employees painted the drums and wrote their names on them, leading some students in the area to believe the “eggs” were a senior prank.
The installation was erected under cover of darkness. Upon seeing the “eggs” Thursday, Wells had a reaction similar to others in town.
“It kind of makes you excited,” he said. “Hopefully it will make other people excited.”
Barb Blystone drove past the display Wednesday night. The sight of them sparked curiosity, concern and wonder.
“My husband thought that a cement truck had fallen over,” said Blystone, owner of The Dancing Rabbit in Ridgefield, a shop that sells gifts for all age groups. “It was dark and we couldn’t see they were colored.”
The installation’s intent was clear in the daylight.
“It adds levity to a time when a lot of people are stressed,” she said. “It’s a great thing to bring to the community.”
Talented artists are not as rare in Ridgefield as some would believe, Tierney said. It’s just that most of Clark County is unaware of their works.
The site of the “eggs” left her with a “visual of a huge bunny dropping eggs,” she said.
“Whoever did that was so clever,” Tierney said. “I love it when people think outside the box and do something random like that.”
Ray Legendre: 360-735-4517, or ray.legendre @col_smallcities
