three little words

Except for the initial few days, my adjustment from living in urban Hong Kong to rural upstate New York has been un-noteworthy. Sure, mass transit here is so unpopular that Rochester actually abandoned their subway system. Breathing clean air and seeing stars at night: that's something I enjoyed getting used to again. But in the past couple months, there has been nothing so extraordinary that warranted a blog entry. Most of my audience is American, so what is there for me to discuss that would be new to you?

The answer has just three little words: lake effect snow.

Sure, most of the Northeast gets snow... in the winter! Right now, it's mid-autumn! The leaves literally just changed color; due to the 'mild' weather, this year's leaves stayed green longer than in past years. (I've seen snow in Colorado and the Adirondacks in early November, but those places saw their leaves change color weeks before we did.) I guess there's no better reminder that indeed I am not in Hong Kong -- or in Boston -- any more than seeing snow before Thanksgiving. The forecast calls for up to six inches of lake effect snow, and I did drive through more than a dusting of snow tonight.