With temperatures in the upper 70s today, Washingtonians are getting their first taste of spring. Not only does the perfect weather motivate people to go outside, it provides us with an opportunity to assess the toll that the Occupy DC movement has had on downtown city life.

I snapped the following two photos at lunchtime, of two public squares within two blocks of each other.

The first was Farragut Square, where food trucks lined the east side, people were enjoying the weather -- hanging out, having lunch and sitting on picnic quilts.

Contrast this with occupied McPherson Square, which was taken over by protesters last fall.

And lest you think that McPherson was always this way, check out Dave Freddoso's before and after photos documenting its descent from a green public space to a mud bowl.