you can’t fool me, sparkling jewel-green lake michigan. this time last year, i had just started commuting to work along lake shore drive, and i was blown away with how beautiful the lake was – sparkling turquoise, the color that makes you think of shallow, sandy shores in the sun-drenched caribbean. as i later found out, that color, peculiar to lake michigan in late march, is because on st. patrick’s day, the city of chicago dumps a vat of green dye into the chicago river. even though the river has been engineered to run backwards (away from the lake), when there are heavy rainstorms the river sort of burps back into the lake, and so over a stormy week in march the dye can leech slowly back into the lake. kind of disgusting, but it sure is pretty when matched with bluey-grey storm clouds on the horizon and a rain-swept sky.

i watch daily for signs of spring. on sunday night i spotted some orangey-yellow crocuses pushing up through the soggy dead grass of my neighbor’s lawn. the willows in lincoln park have that fuzzy red orange haze around them. this morning i noticed patches of grass in the lakefront park that were distinctly greener than they were yesterday. i study the stark outline of trees against the spring sky, looking for some indication of the first buds and emerging leaves, but so far, nothing. it’s been the longest, darkest, coldest of winters. will spring bring more than mild, forgiving air and shades of green? and if not, is the metaphor enough?