Meadowlands in Winter Make Me Wonder

1. many legs of giants, 2. box bridge, 3. abandon, 4. icy, 5. whoooshhhh, 6. pont d'hiver

The train ride from the city to Montclair isn't known to be a scenic route. The Meadowlands are widely considered a victim of environmental assault so vile it brings Naqoyqatsi-esque images to mind, and the accompanying smell is equally nauseating.

I don't know if it's because the environmental initiatives are finally accomplishing something, or because the light was just right reflecting off the snow--but on my most recent ride home for the holidays, I will venture to say that the Meadowlands seemed rather magical. Hundreds of birds were flying in the winter sky and I hardly saw any litter on the ground. The urban landscape of highways and bridges suddenly seemed to tiptoe across the fields rather than trample them.

This may not actually indicate progress of any kind, in fact, it may just be an appreciation for a barren wasteland that I hadn't yet realized. Whatever the case, finding beauty in the unexpected is always more interesting to me than seeing it where you're supposed to, and this particular experience actually gave me a glimmer of hope for this seemingly wasted habitat. I snapped these through the train window, and I hope they show a little bit of the whimsy that I experienced traveling through.