New York City, August 14, 2017

★★★ Dark clouds hung under lighter clouds and the black shapes of birds crossed below them all. The air was still and the ambient temperature seemed to require no thermal exchange. People with armloads of real-looking, mass-printed protest signs walked past a film setup where people held stagey-looking individual protest signs. A little breeze stirred but the light stayed flat and disorienting. The grays above smoothed out; the sun was a compact dot posing no threat to the naked eye. The after-dinner game of catch in the forecourt had to avoid a puddle of melted ice cream. A spritz of rain fell and then thin blue spots emerged. Ripples of pink and blue spread over the suddenly glowing west, and wash after wash of new color appeared, always cut with other hues for contrast, ending on a rich violet topped by indigo.