Stop and smell the road cones

Was it that last snow?

Was it the re-emergence of the sun?

Rising springtime temperatures maybe?

I don’t know what exactly sets off the infernal bloom, but it happens all across the West … every single year … right about this time.

They pop up faster than head shops in Colorado.

They are more pervasive than celebrity award shows.

More perfidious than stupid text abbreviations.

What am I talking about?

Road cones.

Not just road cones either.

Orange barrels, construction signs, reduced speed limit markers, lane closure notices, detour pointers and flashing arrows. I am firmly convinced they are...