It’s jacaranda time again here in San Miguel de Allende, and I’m swooning. These huge, majestic old trees, regally enrobed in pale-purple, bell-shaped flowers, seem to be everywhere now, dotting the city’s already colorful palette with this added, lavender-like hue. (See my previous post, “Jacaranda Time,” April 2, 2016.)

Yesterday I decided to make my afternoon walk jacaranda-directed. Wearing only beat-up running shoes, well-worn jogging shorts, and an old cotton tank top (fitting for this 86-degree weather) and carrying only my two-pound weights, plus my pocket-size Canon camera, I set out to capture this ephemeral beauty (and get my daily dose of exercise in the bargain).

Because jacarandas are so BIG, and the cobblestone streets of this old colonial city so winding and narrow, I soon realized I had to aim my camera upwards and/or stand at some distance to begin to get the full effect:

And then I had an inspired thought:

Why not look down on them all?

But, I wondered, from where?

Ah! It came to me: From the Rosewood Hotel’s elegant rooftop bar!

Oh, but would such a ritzy place even let me in, the way I looked?

(My mother used to say, “People judge you by your shoes” – in which case, I would surely be judged a bag lady.)

I approached the handsome young attendant at Rosewood’s impressive entryway and asked in my still-hesitant Spanish, “May I take some photos from the Luna bar, please?”

He smiled (Mexicans, I find, are so quick to smile), and answered, “Si, claro” (Yes, sure).

I, of course, was the only woman at this tony bar wearing five-year-old running shoes that would horrify anybody’s mother and showing too much old leg and scrawny arm than any self-respecting older woman would dream of doing. But, hey, I got what I came for. And these photo-trophies made me feel enviably rich:

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Yes, April is jacaranda time here in San Miguel. April is also National Poetry Month in the U.S. and Canada. (See my previous post, “You Never Know,” March 31, 2018.) You may be happy to know I’ve extended the deadline for submitting a poem. Several friends have e-mailed me to say they were working on this assignment. So to them – and to all – I say: It’s not too late to send them in. Please do!