Spring in Brooklyn

In Arizona, where I was bred, seasonal change consists of a slight ebb on the thermometer and the landscape moving from brown to khaki-brown. In Brooklyn, the seasons actually look different. Come summer, the neighborhoods are green and sunlit and sultry-hot. In autumn, the leaves saturate orange, red, and gold, and fall to carpet the sidewalks. In the winter, the city and its trees look sparse and gray. The sun hides behind low clouds. Snow falls on occasion. Snow--that white, fluffy, cold deliciousness we dream about as children.

And then the City springs back. Tiny green leaves and pale blossoms cluster on the tree branches, and flowers spill out of planters on window sills. Drawn by the color, people spill out of the brownstones, rediscovering friends of last fall on the streets of Brooklyn.