I-95

Some readers may recall that while I was in grad school, "notes from I-95" was part of the title of this blog. As it happens, I do take 95 to work, but I am on it for maybe 8 minutes: not enough time for little things observed to stew into a story. Even on that short stretch, I still see a vehicle or two with a DVD player, and I note plenty of roadside trash -- two of my old, favorite topics.

Not unlike trash in appearance, snow litters the sides of the highway right now. As predicted the snow that fell on the "northeast" began falling as snow somewhere north of here (Ashland? Fredericksburg?) and Capital City got rain. It did turn cold after our winter showers, lingering in the teens for a couple of nights in a row and maybe hitting 40 during the day. In the sun. You know how when you don't knock the snow off your car roof it can stick up there for a long time, only to slosh off at the slightest curve (or a quick stop)? The effect is much more impressive when the ice and snow fly off and 18-wheeler (or even an SUV: one stuck in south-bound rush hour yesterday had a hood full) onto the side of the road. And in the shady places, these fallen sheets of snow are lingering, like bizarre flat rocks or rounded partial packs of copier paper. The most snow cover we'll see this year, it seems.