What winter looks like in DC

I will start with this picture:

That sure looks like ice or snow doesn't it? But surprise! No it isn't. The street is actually white with salt. This was on February 12, the day after the latest storm warning fire drill. They clearly were really excited about salting things in preparation for the forecasted storm.

Here's what the actual snow accumulation looked like.

Yep. That was about all the snow we got. I think people get way too excited about it. They should just prepare to stay home for an hour or two if it is icy in the morning. We had salt dust (I think it is usually magnesium chloride rather than sodium chloride, isn't it?) blowing around the streets for three or four days. We finally got some rain to clean it up but that makes me wonder about the impact of those chemicals on the water treatment system and ultimately on the river.

In more cheerful news, here's a picture of the flowering plums in front of the Hirshorn.

That was on February 11.

Here's the Washington Monument too.

I don't know why it is on it's side! I can't seem to fix it either. Argh. Oh well. I guess you will have to look at it sideways.