My thoughts from a few days ago
Today it seems like the harshness of winter is in retreat. The sky is a harmless white-gray, and there is no threat either of cold wind or cold rain. And for some reason, there is a pervasive smell of doughnuts in the air. This seems to happen at times in the city, that the air surrounding several blocks takes on a characteristic scent. Normally it is at least mildly offensive, but I forget those times in favor of these rare bakery-type smells. For instance, there are times when a large portion of the downtown smells just like chocolate chip pancakes, so much so that I thought the city might be implementing a smell campaign by chemical means. Now I realize that even if the city had such outlandish olfactory ambitions, they wouldn't extend to Hyde Park, so it is probably a natural phenomenon.