Physiology of Thaw

The great melting has started, fascinating! for about a week we have had daytime temperature above 0° and above all no snowing. As a result the snow has started melting away, and is greatly reduced everywhere.

In New Haven has almost completely disappeared, here in Farmington is still the dominant feature of the landscape. As much as I was enthralled by fresh snow covering the landscape with its sound-proofing veil, I am mesmerized by the process of melting , that is more complicated than one can think. First of all, few basic facts, known to everybody but to be reminded anyway, snow does not melt easily, it is not few hours at positive C° that will make snow melt away.

As fresh snow is lacking the result of few temperature excursion above melting point is that a icy layer get to be created both at the bottom and at the top of the snow. The behaviour of snow moulds depends on what sort of base they lay. Whether water is absorbed and other factors like colour, temperature, direct or indirect exposure to the sun or other sources of heat. . On cement for instance, water freezes and thus produces this ice area at the border, on top and likely at the bottom of snow piles. Another sign that the snow is melting is that the surface that was so smooth and regular starts to become uneaven with irregular patterns due to the repeated process of melting and freezing.

More outstandingly snow areas starts to recede at the borders, at the corners and around trees, thus uncovering whatever lies underneath, grass, mud, tar and so on. Around tree trunks a depression is created that slowly frees the wood from the white embrace.

In urban areas and along the roads the behaviour of snow thawing is altogether different seasons, celestial bodies and traditional imagery is not useful and we need to resort to other sorts of images to convey a fitting image. To keep roads and sidewalks free snow is piled up alongside often to waist height. After a week or so without new snow, unregarding of temperature change, snow along roads with decent traffic will become grey from the dirt spashed over by the wheels and exhausts passing by. They start to look like masses of translucid dust being deposited by giant snails in a colossal transmigration.

Larger piles look like they are ill or cancerous woulded creatures, or freakures. As if remnants of a failed alien invasion (don't they choose always small towns?), they lay there, like dying blobs, under the deadly sunrays, and humans, that only a week before walked shy and careful along the white space, like en endangered species in a conquered territory, throw litter empty bottles and sigarette butts onto them, as a final humiliation of the defeated enemy