New Yorkers and Mother Nature approach spring in different ways. On the first sunny day after months of dark, dreary weather, New Yorkers will flock to the parks and break out the tank tops and sandals, even it’s 50 degrees out. Mother Nature, on the other hand, likes to take her time.

My parents came to visit in early April, their first time in the city in almost 20 years. They live in southeastern China, and seemed relieved to have passed over the desolate New York winter. I looked around for things to do outdoors and decided it would be a good time to visit to parks and botanical gardens. According to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s website, cherry blossoms were in bloom, as well as magnolia, forsythias, narcissus, and other nice-sounding flowers I wouldn’t be able to point out without placards. Perfect. We would do a nice stroll around the garden, then maybe head to Central Park and see all the flowers and trees in bloom there too.

Nothing was in bloom. Patches of stems and empty trees filled the botanical garden. The rose garden was equally barren, with a locked gate and a sign that said “Closed until April” (the month we were currently in.) We read rows and rows of signs for flowers that have yet to grow. Some visitors with DSL cameras devoted undue attention to the rock garden, the only place that wasn’t barren. And Cherry Lane, site of the much anticipated rows and rows of cherry blossoms, had just rows and rows of empty trees. Those skeletal trees and shrubs became the backdrop for about 30 family photos; after all, there’s no need to waste good natural lighting.

Central Park had the same barrenness of the botanical garden, and about five thousand extra people also trying to enjoy “spring.” Sheep’s Meadow, one of the park’s main tanning spots in the summer, was as crowded and bikini-filled as it usually is mid-August. Joggers wearing sports bras and spandex shorts ran by more sensible people in long wool coats. We took off our jackets, rolled up our sleeves, and pretended not to notice the 10 degree temperature change as we alternated between being in the sun and being in the shade.

Around 4 in the afternoon, we finally admitted defeat and exhaustion. There was only so much sun you can take if the patch of ground you want to sit on is still rock hard from the cold, and the view of trees in the shade reminds you of a Tim Burton movie.

As soon as I brought my parents home, they fell asleep on the couch, while ice cream trucks rolled by outside, ringing their merry, optimistic tune.

- by Diana Kuan of Indietrekker fame