okay, and now for a post of some significant length:

the turning of the seasons creates in a me a whole new awareness of nature. i've written about this before, i know, but i just felt it so much today. the 32mph winds did uncharacteristicly little to detract from the warmth in the air, and i felt utterly suffused with life. most of the trees are soft pastel explosions against a beautifully clouded sky.

my new favorite is slightly misshapen, an oblong rather than rotund clustering of color above branches that seem to reach out like a cat stretching. it has leaves and flowers both, palest pink against soft green. every time we walk past, i slow down and stare at it. my friends smile indulgently and i protest that just because i see it everyday doesn't make it any less beautiful.

in this city, i sometimes feel far removed from the rhythms of the greater world, the sigh of the ocean and skies filled with so many stars...

it's just a matter of making sure to see what beauty there is, hold it close.

maybe it'll rain tonight. it's hard to tell through the car radios and cigarette smoke, but i think it smells like rain.