...is bright, still, and cold. Yesterday's monsoon blasted almost every leaf from every tree around here. Did a job on the trees on the hillside across the way, too. Not a lot of damage, from what I saw early this morning, except I guess to Bea's office. Everything okay over there?

No water birds this morning except seagulls, white on the sparkling river; but a flock of sparrows found one of the few female cherry trees on these streets and was having a fabulous time at their communal breakfast. For a long time NYC only planted male trees, the better to keep the streets free of slippery fruits (cherries, plums, crabapples, ginkos). It seems, though, that the pollen the males put out is an allergen and contributes to respiratory problems. So the Million Trees NYC program, as it plants, is redressing that balance.