Day 69: Not for chickens

Day 69: Not for chickens, originally uploaded by susanvg.

Driving can be hazardous in Montreal. In winter we fight snow and ice and then there is pothole season. After a winter of freezes and thaws (e.g. tomorrow they predict a high of 9C with rain and by Thursday night it will be -13C) they appear on every street. The rain gets in, freezes and expands and works away at the pavement.

I love the French term, nids-de-poule - chicken nests. But they are certainly not for chickens. Our streets turn into slalom courses as we weave in and out trying to avoid them. The car in the photograph is driving down the middle of a two-way street. Then there are the nature-made speed bumps as the earth heaves and settles with the weather. They have wounded many a car. Wheel alignments and suspension problems keep mechanics busy.

Occasionally the holes become so large that they seem more like ostrich nests than chicken nests. There are even web sites telling us how to deal with potholes and where to report them. So I drive carefully - eyes looking down, ready for the jolt as you hit the bottom of a particularly large one.