The Frost Heaves are Here!

One sign of spring that we don't like to talk about is the frost heaves.  Now for those of you from warmer parts of the world let me explain.  During the winter and ground freezes deeply, as it starts to thaw in the early spring it thaws from the surface down.  It also thaws unevenly some places, for instance over top of a culvert thaw quickly whereas the surrounding area thaws more slowly.  This difference creates unevenness in the road surface.  This unevenness (the frost heave) is most noticeable on our roads especially the secondary and back roads that have not been built to a high standard.  Frost heaves also bring out small orange signs placed by the Highway Department that say clearly enough bump.  The trick is to determine which ones you can almost ignore and slow down only slightly for from the serious frost heave that will launch you and your passengers out of your seats. Of course some of the signs are camouflaged by the surrounding snow banks making the actual bump a surprise all its own.
 
Sometimes you can tell just by looking how bad a bump is and you can slow down as needed at other times it's impossible to tell making for slow going as you crawl along expecting the worst at each sign. Last night I drove home from Unity College in the dark.  My route was on one of those roads that is very frost heaved.  The trip home was slow but still bumpier than it ought to have been.  The good news is that clearly spring is on the way because frost heaves are caused by slightly warmer weather and the ground starting to thaw.  It won't be long now until the ice goes and it's time to get back fishing; we do still have the mud season to get though but I can't wait.