Icy Road

Whizzzzz. Bzzzzzzzz.

Those are the sounds of spinning car tires on the road in front of our house. I don’t hear it too often because there are few people foolish enough to travel down our ice-covered road, and those half dozen who do, generally amble along at the extraordinary speed of five or six miles per hour. Here is a picture of the road this morning. It was more slippery than usual because of the thin layer of water on top of the ice, courtesy of the warming temperatures.

 

I saw the condition of the road first-hand during my morning walk. I thought my daily hike would be safe since the County Road Commission had sent a truck down the road the evening before, spraying a path of sand on the road surface. Apparently, we have a shortage of sand despite our nickname of “Land of Sand.” The Road Commission truck driver had distributed a thin layer of sand down the center of the road only in quantities too small to be effective. It was treacherous footing even with the added precaution I had taken of installing the wires on my boots before setting out. I was unaware of the ‘ol water-on-ice’ trick that Mother Nature had played on me overnight. I tried walking along the side of the road but the snow was too deep, leaving only the ice as my pathway to the free coffee. When I finally arrived, the coffee tasted that much better.

On my way home, I couldn’t quit thinking about my perfectly serviceable Yak Trax™ that I should have installed on my boots – those fail safe boot add-ons with the carbide spikes that bite into the ice preventing any slips. They were hanging in the same place where I keep my winter boots. I guess it is further reason that no one has accused me of remembering everything. Better make that most things.

Not that icy-roads are a surprise. We are blessed with them each spring as the weather warms and the snowpack on the roads turns to ice. Last year was something of a record; we had nearly six inches of ice in front of our house that lasted weeks as the winter slowly faded, seemingly unwilling to give up its icy grip. Since our weather is warming early this year, perhaps the ice won’t last long and we can get back to zooming down the road in our vehicles with abandon and I can resume shaking my fist at those who zoom while I am walking. It’s a little game I play to amuse myself.

Here is some more evidence of the gradual but early snow melt around our lawn.

Note that one of our neighborhood bunnies used one of my flowers as winter fodder. The bunnies routinely hop around our lawn using my plowed sidewalks and driveway instead of hopping in the snow like they are supposed to do. I keep expecting them to knock on my door and complain if I fail to shovel the snow.

And finally, here is my new fur hat that I wore for my morning walk.

 It is a single coyote pelt, fashioned so that its rear keeps my neck warm and his face is looking out for me in front. In case you don’t understand, I should tell you it’s a North Woods thing that the coffee drinkers all admired. Wearing it made the walk on the ice a little easier. Stay warm, Bill.