Taken what feels like forever ago, in the final days of the final month of 2019, walking through a cluster of downtown Hanoi’s temples, a bounty of rewards awaiting any whose work or habit has taught them to look up.

Unfolding just above eye-level amidst an early-afternoon drizzle awaits a visual core sample, a slow-motion convergence of climate and rainfall, season and daylight, building codes, construction materials, and local craft traditions. These forces grind against one another, tectonic plates generating a kaleidoscope of decay, hues, and wear patterns particular to this season, these several downtown blocks, this momentary snapshot of life on a planet with a collapsing climate system.

No need to “look up” for this one, but couldn’t not share it.