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Of the second half of the month, Earth Day last Wednesday offered the only blue skies we've experienced in DC. I pedaled around the city on my new orange bike (haven't named it yet) searching for stories I could include in a long-term photography project documenting the city while we shelter in place.

I often head out with several ideas, and my first two hadn't worked. Then I rolled past four people who looked a bit too official for their particular location. Neon vests and proper yard tools, but the property appeared abandoned. I could feel that nagging internal itchiness that tells me I've stumbled into a story.

I introduced myself and the project and asked what the deal was. Guerrilla gardening!

The activists planted for an uncertain future, but they were, most literally, grounded in the present. Fear claims no mental territory when you're battling a stubborn root. I immersed myself in my work, and they in theirs.

The world has seemed much darker than the stretch of rainy weather in DC, so I offer a few bits of light that have brought me joy – the kinds of links I return to and the kind of emotion radiating from "Girl Skating" above (v. much reminds me of a more carefree "Little Dancer").

• this subtle poster of the moon
• "The Eclipse" by Alma Thomas
• river fingerprints
• whales and watermelons
• the treasures hidden in footnotes

I don't attach poets to all months, but e e cummings walks hand in hand with April in my mind. Best delivery I've heard? Stephen Colbert. Hope you've all interacted with some verse for National Poetry Month.

Shout out to the new readers from all over the world who attended my CreativeMornings FieldTrip today!