Category: Buildings

Maria, at CitySonnet, has two challenges for March 19th: Sapphire and Cheerful. Her March challenges were planned and written, of course, before the world had changed with COVID 19. The sky in this photo is indeed sapphire, and the tree busting into bloom would normally be cheerful. Indeed, this photo has a serene feel to it, almost as if the streets were emptied just for the shoot, and the four pedestrians were perfectly placed and clothed. There also seems to be the proper placement of red – the stop signs and two out of four shirts on the people. The sunlight is even hitting the westward face of the tallest building.

But this photo was taken yesterday at 5:34 pm. The street should be bustling with people going home or to Whole Foods, and walking their dogs or pushing strollers for a last outing before dinner. The curbs should be lined with parked cars and the parking lot beyond the stop sign on the lower left should be full.

We here in the San Francisco Bay Area are in “Shelter in Place” mode (more on that later), which isn’t a full lockdown, but we are to go out only for necessities such as groceries, necessary doctor’s appointments, or letting our dogs tend to business, and we should not linger.

This isn’t easy, but each day as I walk outside, the beauty of spring causes me to draw in a deep breath, relax my shoulders, and appreciate what we have. Thank goodness I’m not going out in the pouring rain, for instance!

And in case you are wondering why I have so many pictures of this tree and these buildings, it’s because I pass them every day in my walk with the dogs. It’s the prettiest route for our short outing.

Please take care, everyone.