Bird vendors line the part of Beijing West road that leads from my school to the gym. Sometimes I see the vendors carrying their birds around in the cages, but mostly I see the wooden cages hung up on poles or branches so that the birds can be among the trees.
This morning as I walked to the gym I felt a difference in the air, which was still chilly but which felt fresher and lighter. The sun was reflecting off 紫峰大厦 (Zifeng Dasha, the largest building in Nanjing) the way it normally does, but this time the backdrop was a blue sky rather than a smokey grey.
As I walked down the street I noticed flecks of pink and white in the previously dead looking branches. A closer look and I saw that little plum blossoms were blooming, which were so delicate that they almost looked fake.
Ordinarily I don't pay attention to the birds on Beijing West road, but today I noticed that they were all chirping. They probably noticed it is spring, too.