Oh, the weather is warming up, and it is simply delightful. A week of sub-freezing temps is about all I can take. I had a zippy ride to school up St. Charles to meet my seminar students. I arrived a bit out of breath, donning my grown up clothes (right leg rolled up) and my bike shoes, still riding yesterday’s first-day-of-school high. By the time I was headed home the temperature was way up, and I pedaled as fast as I could, just happy to be outside and not cold. I stopped to take this picture of an empty lot at Freret and Napoleon, empty save for the few remaining concrete steps and bits of foundation in the foreground. I wonder what used to be here, what lives were lived in the house at the top of those stairs. And I wonder what’s going to go there now. The house on the right has been rebuilt, but the house on the left is still in need of a lot of work, and that house in the background is completely blighted. Other homes on the street, though, have undergone much repair. It’s a street that’s coming back, I guess, though it’s not always easy to tell what is the state of things. If someone does build here, I wonder where those steps will end up leading. I got back on my bike, pedaled home, and wished I had the time to ride much, much further. Yes, I need a good bike ride.