E. 28th Street, May 2007

I can't believe how fast the seasons change. Just a week or so ago it seems I was luxuriating in the shadow of clouds of pink cherry blossoms, and the leaves on the horse chestnut outside my window were new little flags of pale green.

Now the trees have shed their blossoms, which piled up on the ground like pink snowdrifts, and the horse chestnut is a dark, heavy "Curtain of Green," to borrow a title from a Eudora Welty story.

We recently had a few bursts of cool temperatures, but I think we might finally be done with jacket weather. We're poised at just the right spot on the thermometer, when I can walk to work in shirtsleeves and not be too hot or too cold.

And just now, as I lay in bed typing with my coffee and my cat next to me, we heard the rumbles of summery thunder amid a downpour that obscured my view of the Empire State Building and left the leaves of the horse chestnut dripping.

The perfect balance, as spring moves into summer!