Still chilly in the park by the river these mornings. Sharp waves on the water, though sunny and bright. The buffleheads are still here, and the Brants and mergansers, too. Snowdrops have been up about two weeks. Nothing else is blooming, but now that the snow's gone crocuses, daffodils, and even tulips are slicing up through the soil as fast as they respectably can. Joggers and dog walkers are much more cheery and numerous than they have been for months. Today, I watched a guy with a dog setting up orange cones. He'd tell the dog to go ahead, the dog would sniff and then nose over one of the cones. The guy would take the treat the dog had unearthed and give it to her. They did this a number of times. They were both obviously having fun and I finally had to ask the guy what they were doing.

He told me, "We're playing three-cone monte."

I love New York.