Some Lovely Snow, But Not Much

It's been much less snowy this winter compared with last year. And last winter, being my first in Boston, was my standard. I've been pretty disappointed that it hasn't snowed very much. On the plus side, I don't have to wear my winter boots every day to avoid getting my socks slushy. And people who have to plow their sidewalks (the law if you own your own house) and shovel their cars out appreciate it not snowing. It did snow earlier this week, and it seemed to fall as individual snow flakes, rather than in clumps of snow. Can you see in the picture below that the snow is kind of sparkly? It's because the snow remains in its snowflake shape even after it falls, rather than turning into a mass of snow.
Here's another shot of the snowflakes as individuals.
It really snowed very little that day, but the snowflakes were so beautiful, it almost made up for the lack of accumulation. Can you see the narrow post sticking out of the ground? It's one of the markers so the snow plows (were we to need any) would know where to plow, since the grass and paths would be covered up.
I was walking to work with my arms stretched out, watching all of the snowflakes land on me. It was awesome.



In addition to plowing the snow off to the side of the streets, the city sprays salt, sand, and some sort of chemical onto the streets to combat the snow. Here's Greg's car, salted.
Below are pictures of the different types of gunk deposited onto the streets, which then washes down to the Charles River, and then out to sea. I should figure out what this stuff is, and what the environmental impact is. I have to imagine the sheer volume from Boston's streets alone would affect the ecosystem.



Okay, on to happier things. I do love a good snowfall.

This view is from the Museum of Science. You can see the sheets of ice cracking on the Charles River.
Around the end of January, we had a rainy day with temperatures in the 50s. I was worried winter would be over, and with so little snow. Greg assured me this is normal. It's called the January Thaw, and it melts all of the leftover snow, which by this point had gotten pretty gross anyway. I was hoping it would clear the way for a few more major snow dumps but that remains to be seen.

And now, we turn indoors, where Billy had another staring contest with Marley from next door. That cat is a little weird. He just sits there, perfectly still, and stares at us.
I have so much lovely yarn, and several knitting projects under way.
Right now in Boston, at 10am, it is 20 degrees, and feels like 7. But it's 71 degrees in my apartment, and Billy just curled up on me, so maybe I'll wait awhile before going out.