On Thursday, March 17, 2016 (St. Patrick's Day), it was a very warm day in San Francisco. This was a break in the rainy slog of winter, and we decided to go to the Golden Gate Park Arboretum, to see what might be blooming.
I had three favorite moments.
One was discovering a scent that words cannot capture. Sublime. Divine. It came from the Camellia japonica variety called Mathotiana. Slight scent of pepper, of lemon, and more prominently jasmine and honey. Maybe a little cucumber too. So sweet and refreshing.
Another thing was wandering through the muffled territory of redwoods. You can put your hand on the bark, and just feel the age, stability, and strength of these large trees. I could stand there with my hand resting on the bark for a long time, feeling safe and grounded.
Then, there was a far-flung edge of the Arboretum dedicated to children's gardening outings. Nobody was there, and we found a bench surrounded by lots of singing and chattering birds, and it was just so warm and full of the buzz of life.
Mundane, all in all, but the power of the sun and the new spring season distilled for me into a heady couple of hours.