Bradford pear snowcones already are melting away in shades of green. Red buds and early aza-leas are showing off. In below-Broad gardens, weeds are in full bloom. Pine pollen dusts parked cars and slow-moving pedestrians. It's not just Charleston politeness, it's spring.
Office workers take their lunches outside on sunny days.
Strollers take shortcuts through Washington Park and pause to read the inscriptions on the W.L.I. monument, the men stealing side-wise glances at secretaries and salesgirls taking lunch. Raptors circle overhead, eyeing unwary drakes. Possums, raccoons and sly foxes gambol in nighttime back yards on James and Johns Islands, switching outdoor security lights on with sleep-disturbing regularity. Canada geese fatten on lush grass at local golf courses, taking on fuel for further flight north. They are part of the grand awakening, too.