SPROING!!!

It started yesterday at 6:32AM. I heard it over the hissing sound of my morning shower. It woke my wife from her sleep. When I looked out the east window, there it was, a glowing orange orb above the horizon of Mt. Tabor, rising in a sky that was - how can I describe it - blue! I heard it again when I stepped out to get the newspaper from the front porch, only this time it was hundreds of small "sproings" as the flowers on the dogwood tree threw open their pink petals to bathe in the warming glow of the morning. The sproing cacophony grew as we rushed through the house throwing open the closed windows of winter to let the outside air flood our rooms with an almost liquid sweetness. I dug through my closet to find a short-sleeved pastel cotton print shirt for a mid-morning stroll in the neighborhood.

The sproing cascade grew louder as we approached Hawthorne Boulevard, where the previous day had been like so many others with a few people here and there. But on this day the sidewalks were like a circus of color and laughter and songs and smiles. People strolling just to stroll. Panhandlers and petitioners politely positioned with their asks and their "have a nice day." Musicians, including a rag-tag bluegrass band of joyous teens entertaining people at the bus stop. The outdoor tables at the corner pizza shop overflowing with laughing, youthful patrons, their tank tops revealing rainbows of tattoos below hair of pink and blue and green. The entire scene bathing in 70 degrees. Sproing -what a day!

The forecast for the rest of this week: low 50's and rain. Welcome to Portland.