Kiss the Earth

Earlier in the week, looking at all those piles of stuff in the Convention Center, I wondered whether the Flower Show would look like a show by the time it opens on Sunday. After walking the floor this afternoon, I'd say they're well on their way. It's shaping up - literally.
Lots of happy noise in there. Rock music, traditional Irish music, hammering, electric carts zipping around and the back and forth of bulldozers. This is major work.
Plenty of folks are wearing party hats - green, of course - Irish step-dancers are practicing on the stage behind the castle (we all stop to watch) and you can tell who's been here awhile from the Chinese takeout on the tables.
This is a purposeful crowd. Not frantic. Tired but friendly, amazingly industrious. The air is chilly, for the plants, lights bright, with a faint fragrance in the air. It's so familiar ... part sawdust and dirt, part sweetness. Just like spring, I'd say.