…back of my neck getting dirty and gritty.

Well, not really. But maybe a little sweaty, and slick with suntan lotion. I’m in Brooklyn, New York, for the weekend, visiting my family—including my elderly mother—and it’s predicted to reach the mid-90’s here today. So I did my exercising, a fast three-mile walk to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and back, early-ish in order to beat the worst of the heat. I succeeded, as it turns out, thanks to a couple of phenomena for which a walker in the heat can be especially grateful.

The first is shade. The entire way was lined with enough trees that I was never in the full sun for more than a few seconds at a time. Those few seconds made me realize anew that on a hot day shade can make all the difference between comfort and suffering.

The second is breeze. Still air is oppressive in the heat, but evaporation does indeed produce cooling, as my fifth grade science teacher avowed. Today the slight but constant movement of the air was just enough to take the edge off.

I also am pleased to report that the law-abiding dog-owning citizens of Brooklyn have made the sidewalks a pleasure to traverse these days. No more need to look down every step of the way to avoid the dog excrement that used to be so plentiful. Now one can look up and notice that here in NY it’s several weeks ahead of New England in terms of the flora. Roses are in their riot of bloom, and the hydrangeas are starting to take on blue tints. There’s an almost Mediterranean feel to the place, and the youngish girls are sporting those sundresses I saw in all the store windows about a month ago while I shivered and felt as though there would never be a chance to wear such things.