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From Melting Roads to Waking Bears



 “The asphalt washed away again, along with the snow”, “The patches simply "melted away" - Russian jokes about roads in spring. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? 

I read online that some of the streets in Tomsk look just like our Hawthorn street, Elm street, you name it. However I have to admit streets in New Bedford are getting patched. 

In Tomsk, the post-winter cleaning of sidewalks has begun. Over the cold season, 35,000 tons of sand-and-salt mixture were spread on the city streets.

According to the city administration, Mayor Dmitry Makhinya has issued instructions to promptly collect the sand deposited on sidewalks and roads over the winter, before the spring winds begin and the snow melts. It is worth noting that the dust storm season in Tomsk typically begins in late April or early May, when the snow has completely (or nearly) melted and dry weather sets in.

Do you remember my photos from a previous blog? Well, in the outskirts of the city there is a lot of snow along with “rivers of melted snow”. In the middle of the city there are potholes and sand.





The snow hasn't quite melted yet, but the ticks have already woken up.


The first case of a tick bite in 2026 has been registered in the Tomsk Region on  April 1 in the village of Moryakovsky Zaton, in the Tomsk District. The mother discovered a tick crawling on the child and a puncture site on the child's face, near the right eye. Such behavior is characteristic of male arachnids. According to the mother, the child had not left the premises of their yard. The affected child was taken to Children's Hospital No. 1, where he received an immunoglobulin injection.


Rospotrebnadzor* stated that the incident signals the emergence of ticks following the winter season. Their activity begins in areas where the snow has already melted. April 1 is officially considered the start of the epidemiological season in the region.


Ticks can carry dangerous infections. These include tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, and other diseases. These conditions can be severe and lead to serious health complications.


But it is not only ticks that have woken up in the Tomsk region.

The first instance of a bear emerging from winter hibernation this year has been recorded in the Tomsk Region. The predator was spotted on April 2 in the Bakchar District, a representative of the region's Department of Hunting and Fisheries told vtomske.ru. Last year, the first case of a bear awakening was registered on March 15–16 in the Chain District. This was followed by two more sightings of predators in the Zyryansk District, and another—on March 18—in the Shegar District.


On Sunday Russians observe Palm Sunday. Next week - Easter. 


Happy Easter!


*Rospotrebnadzor is the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare of the Russian Federation. Established in 2004, this federal agency operates as Russia’s primary watchdog for consumer rights, public health, sanitary standards, and epidemiological surveillance

As usual, links to sources:

  

https://vtomske.ru/news/214342-trotuary-nachali-myt-v-centre-tomska-posle-zimy

https://vtomske.ru/news/214306-pervogo-prosnuvshegosya-medvedya-zametili-v-tomskoi-oblasti

https://vtomske.ru/news/214332-pervyi-sluchai-prisasyvaniya-kleshcha-zafiksirovali-v-tomskoi-oblasti-postradal-rebenok




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