ice ice baby

one of my least favorite weather experiences here is freezing rain. it covers everything in a sheet of ice. last night's rain wasn't too heavy — only 4 mm — but it left a slippery layer of ice on vehicles, roadways, and sidewalks. we chip the ice off of the cars ourselves. if a road is well-travelled enough, it is salted and therefore passable. but the sidewalks are often neglected, especially in a residential neighborhood like ours. it can transform a two-minute walk to the bus stop into a ten-minute experience of slipping, sliding, falling and not getting to the bus at all.