Lay the daylight out of me.

Today someone did my bidding. Granted, it was just that he pick up a chicken. But he did, no hesitations or questioning. Just grabbed the chicken and picked it up, and didn't think to wonder why until it was in his hands. Then he started to question things. The funniest part of it, at least to me, was that even after I said I didn't need the chicken, that I just wanted to see if he would, and joked I was trying to teach him independent thought, he kept standing there, chicken in hand. Then he finally put it down.

We'd also been joking about what the best movies were for hyper-specific types - road movies, pirate movies, that sort of thing. When he said Ready Player One was the best Easter movie, I looked him dead in the eye and said, "Go stand in the corner and think about what you've done and don't come back until you're ready to apologize."

And he went and stood in the corner.

The corner-standing was mostly to play along with the ongoing jokes, and I like to think just a bit in part because...well. Anyway.

Yesterday wasn't as funny, but still memorable. There'd been a lot of forecasts with the possibility of rain, and combining that with spring marching onward at long last, it seemed like the last good day to head up and see Manhattan's cherry blossoms in both Sakura and Riverside Parks. And it was: the thin overcast clouds of the morning slipped away to full bright sky by the time I went out walking.

There were bees in the blossoms and the wooden trellises up on Broadway. A woman was out walking her parrot. The magnolias were in a fading glory, faded flowers still clinging on and the bright green of new leaves almost ready to make its appearance. The blossoms were a great show on every tree I could find them, and it made me glad for all the different types of cherries around. Some were budded without any flowers yet; some were shedding petals in favor of leaves; some were in full bloom. The contrasts of textures, colors, and scents might not have happened on a year with a more balanced seasonal shift, but it happened this time around, and it made for a happy afternoon walking beside and beneath them.

A few days ago, after morning rains, I stopped to look at some blossoms in a still puddle. See them reflected from below, get a sense of the depth and shape of the trees by looking at them from upside-down. Yesterday it was a lot of deliberate looking at them from below, seeing their shapes against the sky. It's something that has yet to get old for me.

Tomorrow it's back to the usual routines, which include catching beauty where I can find it. That part, at least, is worth looking forward to.

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for luxurious chocolate cakes? Someone requested I bake one and I'd like to knock as many socks off, if possible. Beer, wine, and/or coffee inclusions a plus.