See, now this I do not understand.

The cold spell that's been holding New England in its icy grip broke last night, which means that I was able to leave my house without wearing my 3/4-length down coat for the first time since... November, I think. And I woke up this morning with pure, warm sunlight pouring into my room (finally, I've missed it so much), and I snuggled down under my *very* soft new sheets from Bed, Bath and Beyond, and -

- I realized I miss Florida.

Oh, my GOD, do I miss it this morning. The beach, the salt air, the palm trees, the vibrant exotic flowers, the endless baking sun, the sunsets, the sea shells, the weirdos and the humidity and the clouds that hang like sculpted mountains in the sky. I miss watching a sunset at Crabby Bill's on St. Petersburg Beach while having a mai tai and listening to Jimmy Buffet. And I don't even like Jimmy Buffett. Now, I have not missed Florida in anything more than a passing twinge since I left it in March 2005.

Sigh. Perhaps I'll take the Boston Ferry to Cape Cod this weekend or something. I might just need to be near the ocean. Even if it is too cold to swim in it.

That said, Boston is beautiful in the spring. I'm working at the Simmons School of Management for the next few days, and it's located in this beautiful ancient building on Commonwealth Avenue with high ceilings and natural skylights - old, oval-shaped skylights that mirror each other on every floor, so natural sunlight runs all the way through the building. It's really a stunning work of architecture.

What's exceptionally beautiful about the location, though, is the fact that the entire street is lined with Saucer Magnolias, planted ages ago by a feisty woman who loved the elegant, flowering trees.



This is the best image of the street that I could find online. It doesn't do the experience justice, but just imagine that you're walking down a street and every single garden you can see all the way down the street looks like this, with a just-blooming variation of massive, hot pink or scarlett or peach or ivory blossoms, and it is just breathtaking:



Clearly, once my tax return comes back, I'm going to have to buy a digital camera so I can take pictures of Spring in Boston. Because it really is quite something.