New York City, May 8, 2017

★★★★ The contradiction between the high warm sun and the cold air was confusing for a few hours, till the edge was finally off the chill. The still-new green of the trees was blazing and tossing. There were clouds enough to make the light in the middle distance different from the light close by; pedestrians were sharply drawn while the Empire State Building was dull and indistinct. Even the gray interludes had a luster to them. The white-brick tower shone clean and pure and then faded, the grime on its bricks darkening into view in the weaker illuminati0n of the cloud shade.