A Train Trip Along the Frosty Coast

This has been a brutal winter up here in the Boston area. (Come to think of it, it's all been in February!) Well, in the midst of snow on snow on snow on snow, I traveled to Philly an a frosty day. You know it's been cold when the salt water of the bays and estuaries freezes.

Getting around Boston had become tough, with the transit system we call the T essentially having a melt-down:  shut down for days and limited services when it was up and running.  But fortunately, Amtrak was still running, so I got to Philly and back with some reasonable days.

I always take a seat on the left side, so I can see the coastline:  the beaches and saltmarshes and estuaries that stretch from Rhode Island through the meadowlands of Jersey.  

Even the sky was frosty on the 18th of February, rendering the photos in a natural sepia tone.  Despite the cold and snow all around, there was special beauty in frozen waterscapes that passed by my window.

Since many of these vistas are far from urban, I'm sharing them here (instead of my photo blog, Urban Vistas).

A diffused and haloed sun shines through a frosty sky in Rhode Island

Crossing the frozen Pawcatuck River, leaving Westerly, RI and entering Pawcatuck, CT

High above the frosty waters, a bird of prey has a great view of the Little Narragansett Bay approaching Stonington, CT

Frozen estuaries near Stonington, CT

A weak sun shines over a sepia landscape of bare trees and frozen waters.

Open waters near Mystic, CT

Riverfront walkway next to the tracks at New London, CT

Reconstruction the Boardwalk at Niantic, CT

Frozen estuaries near Guilford, CT

Another frozen stream approaching Branford, CT

Crossing the Hutichenson River, entering the Bronx

Steam clouds rise from power plants in Queens, seen from crossing the viaduct to the Hell Gate Bridge

Frozen  Jersey meadowlands with the Pulaski Skyway in the background

A Snow Globe in October?

October in New England. Fall foliage. Brilliant colors. Hillsides and mountains draped in reds, yellows, oranges, and browns. Leaves falling on tree-lined streets.

That's what you normally expect. But whether it's a sign of climate change or just a fluke of the weather, but the scene was quite different yesteday in Massachusetts. It was snowing! And sticking!

The New England Patriots were playing in Foxboro, Massachusetts while the snow was accumulating on the field. It was like the stadium was in a snow globe!

Was I asleep for 2 months and woke up in December? What's with the weather? First we had rain and cool weather in June and the beginning of July. Then we had maybe 6 weeks of summer when we should have had 3 months. Now snow in October? ¿Qué pasa aquí?