The Dangers of Country Life, IV

[oloriel]

Imagine that there has been frost for three weeks straight.

Imagine further that temperatures have been rising since the past full moon, with yesterday marking the line when air temperatures reached above 0° (Celsius, that is).

Imagine that the first thing the air does with the lovely new warmth is drizzle.

What happens to the roads?

BLACK ICE, that's what happens. The entire road is coated by an almost invisible, finger-thick, perfectly smooth layer of ice.

Got out of the driveway (thank all the Valar we'd never shovelled the snow away; snow's got grip) without a problem.

Got onto the road and... stayed put.

Couldn't go ahead, couldn't break, couldn't steer. You try getting up a hill on black ice.

Only thing that worked was rolling backwards (down the hill) and, by some amazing driving skillz, getting back into the driveway.

You can hardly walk on that road without flying.

So much for Corpus Linguistics.

*sighs* Well, the prof will have to accept this. I think this is certainly a case of force majeure. (Could walk to the bus station, and, assuming the main roads have already been cleared of ice, take the bus to Cologne. At this time I would be almost an hour late.
Can as well not go at all.)

Even the cats keep slipping.

Comments

[arwensommer.livejournal.com]

... Yergh... Am I EVER glad that out here, the temperatures went from -6 to +4 in a single night, so that by the time things got colder again, there was next to nothing LEFT on the roads to freeze! But I'm glad you got back into the driveway safely!

[furius.livejournal.com]

It's 28C here today, I read this entry in horrified and respectful silence....Has the weather always been this way? How long does it last? (Suddenly gains new respect for people and animals who survived in Germany throughout history..)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

The past years it has generally been warmer than 50 years ago (or so they say), although where I live there have always been a few weeks of constant below-zero temperatures. That is considered normal winter-weather.
Where I live, the below-zero stretches tend to occur regularly in the months of December and January, occasionally February. They rarely last longer than a week or two at a time though. Higher up - especially in the Alps - the chances for really long cold stretches are higher.
Our winter is neither the coldest nor the snowiest you can get - up in Skandinavia they still have "real" winters, not to mention the northern parts of Russia. Even in the US there are places that make Norwegian winters look mild in comparison. Yes, the weather has always been this way, except in the Little Ice Age (16th to 19th century, I think) it was even colder (hence the name, of course).
The image of "perfect" winter, with months of frost, white Christmas, snowmen etc hails from the Little Ice Age and has survived until today. Of course, months of snow were more romantic and less of a difficulty when people didn't have to commute twice a day's journey on foot to work ;)

[satismagic.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see the slipping cats. LOL!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Aw, you cruel, cruel person! You want to watch cats - the very paragon of grace - humiliate themselves on the ice? Your feline overlords will not be pleased!
;)

[mirien.livejournal.com]

Even the cats keep slipping.

And I bet they were none too pleased about it either! How dare the surface upon which they place their paws disrespect them in such a way (bet it was funny though! *grin*)

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

I bet the cats aren't so amused about slipping but add me to the voices who want to see that vidded. Náro. Gnihihi. *ducks*

Anyway, glad you are safe. *hugs*