The city crew across the street from work was mowing a broad expanse of lawn when I left for lunch today. I hadn’t thought about it before, but the smell of cut grass has been notable only in its absence for the last 6 or 7 weeks. With the water restrictions, lawns are barely holding on, forget about growing.

It’s a drought, and it feels like August 15th more than July 1st: you hear lawnmowers about as often as you hear someone say “let’s go for a quick five-mile run.”