One of Those Moments

...when you're walking along and you notice it's lush, green, warm, breezy, and lovely, in a way that it will never be again, because July 11, 2007 will never be again.

When you notice that the gardens that people have tended in the city, during those hard, chilly, rainy spring months of April and May have exploded into verdant paradise, a gorgeous parade of green plants accented by flowers in purple and yellow. Plants of all shapes and sizes, all leaf types and textures. Flowers on the way up, at their peak, and on the way down.

Entire ecosystems, existing under these blankets of green, completely unknown to us...the rich soil taking in the rain and providing nutrition for all sorts of plants, flowers, insects, and, yes, even weeds...

It's easy to keep your head down, taking care of your daily business, walking with earbuds on or bags of groceries in your hands or worries on your mind. But just staring at the plants, the blue sky, the interesting clouds, with a pair of fresh eyes...it's as good as any art museum. And it's free.