Will Spring ever arrive? (Of course it will. But on a drizzly, overcast Monday in April, it's easy to wonder.) I walked across Central Park yesterday and spent some time at the zoo with family and friends. (It's always fun to watch Gus the polar bear lolling on a rock.) The Park only had the tiniest bits of green showing at the tips of branches. A few forlorn crocus and daffodils peered out, but likely worried that they'd get burned again as they had in the falsely warm days of December and January. How depressing, particularly when family in Virginia inform me that the redbud and camellia are blooming, while the dogwood are just starting to open. I love Central Park, even in winter, but it was so disheartening yesterday to see it still slumbering - in April! No doubt this is the southerner in me, crying out in revolt against the longer winters. "You're wishing your life away," my mom would say to me - as she has for years. But I do long for May and warmer days. If the Purgatory of Catholicism is true, I'm sure there's a place in which it's perpetually late winter. One can sense Spring's approach . . . but it never arrives. (Of course, I don't believe in this bit of Catholic doctrine. Yet references to Purgatory always remind me of a bit of Reformation-era doggerel attached to the Church's practice of selling papal indulgences to secure forgiveness of sins for oneself or departed loved ones: "When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from Purgatory springs." Frankly, I think we do a fine job creating our own Hell and Purgatory right here!)
Not having access to any Spring photos at my office, I've included a couple of twilight photos from the neighborhood. I love the light at this time of day and have taken some of my best photos (and these are not among the best) as that low sunlight sweeps across the Hudson and lights the west-facing buildings of Manhattan. They rather reflect my "sunset" mood right now.
Will Spring ever arrive? (Of course it will. But on a drizzly, overcast Monday in April, it's easy to wonder.) I walked across Central Park yesterday and spent some time at the zoo with family and friends. (It's always fun to watch Gus the polar bear lolling on a rock.) The Park only had the tiniest bits of green showing at the tips of branches. A few forlorn crocus and daffodils peered out, but likely worried that they'd get burned again as they had in the falsely warm days of December and January. How depressing, particularly when family in Virginia inform me that the redbud and camellia are blooming, while the dogwood are just starting to open. I love Central Park, even in winter, but it was so disheartening yesterday to see it still slumbering - in April! No doubt this is the southerner in me, crying out in revolt against the longer winters. "You're wishing your life away," my mom would say to me - as she has for years. But I do long for May and warmer days. If the Purgatory of Catholicism is true, I'm sure there's a place in which it's perpetually late winter. One can sense Spring's approach . . . but it never arrives. (Of course, I don't believe in this bit of Catholic doctrine. Yet references to Purgatory always remind me of a bit of Reformation-era doggerel attached to the Church's practice of selling papal indulgences to secure forgiveness of sins for oneself or departed loved ones: "When the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from Purgatory springs." Frankly, I think we do a fine job creating our own Hell and Purgatory right here!)
Not having access to any Spring photos at my office, I've included a couple of twilight photos from the neighborhood. I love the light at this time of day and have taken some of my best photos (and these are not among the best) as that low sunlight sweeps across the Hudson and lights the west-facing buildings of Manhattan. They rather reflect my "sunset" mood right now.
1 comment:
Your writing, as always, intrigues me (Purgatory, etc.).
It seems maybe that we are enjoying the Spring you're craving, here. But the forecast is showing snow for the end of the week :-(
Be patient, it will come and be hotter than blazes in no time at all and then we will long for cooler temperatures...
Great pictures.
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