Minoru Park

Three days a week, I run in a park closeby. Every day I go there, the park presents a fresh facade to me. Every day it seems changed: there is a flower I hadn't seen before; the lakes look more disturbed, the water looks greener, the trees look more laden, the rabbits have changed hues; something or the other has changed in the park.

This week, I started my running routine on Monday. It was raining. Not the usual dreary, cold rain that is so common in Vancouver, but a misty drizzle like the water from sprinklers. I like that kind of rain. It is very invigorating. Because of the rain, the usual amblers were absent. So it felt quiet, like in the eye of a vaccuum. The park was wet. Every leaf and flower and bark in the park looked washed. The birds were huddling around and idling. The patter of rainwater on the lake looked incredible, as musical as the tap of the piano keys by a virtuoso pianist.

Rain evokes the color in the world as strongly as it evokes the smell of the earth. There was also faint smell of roses wafting in the air. Speaking of roses, did I tell you that this was the first day I saw them in that park? I can't believe that I had missed them in my previous runs! That's why I think that this park magically turns its look around every night. Maybe it wears a new costume every night!

On Wednesday, the weather changed. It was sunny. The sun was out bright and early. A bold blue sky mottled with a lot of silvery clouds formed our top. There was a gentle cooling breeze.

Everytime it is sunny, I notice a lot more life in the world. Perhaps my senses are more alert in sunny weather. Perhaps a lot more people, a lot more birds and animals, venture out at that time. True to that trend, on Wednesday, I saw a plethora of life around me. Squirrels and rabbits and geese and cranes. People, people, people. Indians, Chinese, Caucasians. Everyone was ambling along with elan. It was quite a sight to take in. The park looked more spacious lit by the sun. The lakes looked sparkly. There were more roses. Can a rosebud bloom in just two days? It seemed to me like on Wednesday there were a whole lot more roses in that little plot in the park than there were on Monday.

A skunk had just done its business and the place was reeking of its odor. The rabbits and the geese were basking in the glorious sunshine.

Just in two days, the park had changed its look from a mild, pleasant one to a brisk, bright one. I adore that park. I adore running in it.