Icy mystery solved

Caroline Chute, a former Connecticut science teacher, is the sculptor behind Blue Hill’s mysterious hearts of ice. Photo by Christine Guinness.

Feb. 16, 2026

By John Boit

BLUE HILL—After last week’s story about the mysterious hearts made of ice that appeared along a Blue Hill shoreline, the creator of the sculptures has now been revealed.

Caroline Chute, who lives in South Blue Hill not far from the section of shore called “The Nub” where the icy hearts appeared, says she “didn’t realize it was going to be such a big deal” when she started propping up sea ice and carving it heart sculptures.

“I went out there for the full moon and started playing around with them. Then I started standing them up,” said Chute, a retired science teacher from Connecticut who moved to Blue Hill two years ago.

Her tools have been simple: a hammer, screwdriver, pruning saw and garden trowel. People who see her working on her creations shout words of encouragement as they pass by, she told The Rising Tide. The sculptures are sometimes lit up at night.

Others have also been inspired by Chute’s creativity. She recently came across a mother and her young daughter making their own hearts–or, in other words, spreading the love.

The Rising Tide welcomes artistic endeavors from our community, and showcases them here in our “Create” section. If you have something you’d like to submit—a poem, a picture of a painting, a photograph, a music recording—send it to info@risingtide.media. We’d love to publish it and give you an audience for your creativity.