New York City, March 8, 2015

★★★ Helicopters streaked upriver with rose-stained cumulus behind them in the west. The idea of the thaw was enough to draw one outside, though the truth was that whenever the clouds came on, the damp chill of the fugitive snow made things less than nice. Curtains of spray blew off the scaffolds, the flying grime-water impossible to steer around. There was no need for boots, really, but it was necessary to keep reminding the children to step away from or over the puddles in their sneakers. Water poured through the round drain openings in a manhole; ice ruble lay in chunks by the curb. Caulk curled up out of a sidewalk joint, too ruined for spring to save.