New York City, April 21, 2015

★★★ Blue made a promising start, then surrendered abruptly to gray and a sudden shower. The three-year-old, headed out to preschool, had to be brought upstairs again to fetch boots. The air was suffocating. When the sun did come, the light was all the more dazzling off the wet surfaces. The dampness became refreshing as an evaporative breeze blew. Up on the office roof, the chairs were dry and the sun sent a blurry image of the computer logo through the front of the screen. Sweet, liquid birdsong carried along Prince Street. The maple canopy was thin but in place, nascent green-gold. Blossoms announced trees that had been previously inconspicuous against scaffolding. Sunset was slow, the sky passing through shades of pink, the clouds through purples.