~*~ a celebration of spring ~*~

It's my very favorite time of year - Cherry Blossom Time. The cherry blossoms never last long, and they bloom at different times each year, but as soon as they appear, I know that winter is gone and sunshine and warmth are not far away. The cherry blossoms are fickle - sometimes they bloom at the end of March, sometimes they bloom during Easter, and sometimes they don't bloom until mid-April. And so every spring I play a guessing game of when the trees will begin to blossom. And every year, I anxiously await sighting the first buds. This has been one of my greatest joys of living in northern Virginia. I have fallen in love with the cherry blossoms.

Last week I was in Boston. It snowed six inches while I was there. The snow took me by surprise because I'm in cherry blossom mode, and I was not prepared for winter to reappear. When I returned from my trip up north, I noticed that the branches of the cherry trees had begun to swell. They were filled with little tiny buds just waiting to burst. Exciting stuff for a cherry blossom girl. And so all this week, I've been on the lookout for the first blooms. By mid-week, they finally began to appear! After a long winter of looking at the dull, brown landscape, I could not resist walking outside and looking at nature's splendor close up. Every year, I take pictures of the cherry trees, because I am truly amazed at the wonder of spring, and for a girl who loves color, spring is the time when the world turns from stark muted brown to a rainbow of hues that transform the landscape into a world of vivid color and brilliance. How could I not love spring?

I took these pictures yesterday, in celebration of spring and in honor of John's birthday. I used my new little Canon PowerShot SD900 camera set on macro mode. The pictures are unedited. The sky was actually that blue. And the tiny petals on the blossoms were truly as transparent and delicate as they appear in the photos. The tree that I photographed is in my front yard. It always intrigues me how the deep pink of the buds turn to a pale shade of blush when the blossoms burst. I tried to capture the various shades of pink in these pictures. (Double click on the collage to see an enlarged view of the blossoms.)

Next week my kids will be on spring break. The timing of spring break always coincides with the National Cherry Blossom Festival, and for some reason Mother Nature likes to pour rain and blow wind during spring break. Once that happens, the cherry blossoms will be gone. It only takes one windy or rainy day for the blossoms to fall from the trees, and if we don't take the time to appreciate the beauty of the blossoms before the rains come, another year will pass until the trees bloom again. Like I said, cherry blossom time doesn't last nearly long enough - only about a week. I'm hoping to take the Metro to the District on Monday so that I can walk along the tidal basin and see the original cherry trees in full bloom. If the weather report remains true, Monday will be the official day the trees reach their peak. The National Cherry Blossom Festival marks the beginning of a two-week long celebration of the cherry blossoms and the commencement of spring in Washington. This year is the 95th year anniversary of the trees. In 1912, Japan gave our country 3,000 cherry trees as a gift of friendship. Those trees are now considered national treasures. To see them in full bloom and in all their splendor is a sight to behold, and I really hope my kids agree to accompany me on my adventure.

Yes, I love spring. And Cherry Blossom Time is my personal celebration of the season.

Comments

[ScrappingMommyof3]

Thanks for the GORGEOUS pictures Kelly! I have never seen cherry blossoms in person, but it's on my 100 things list!

Hugs~
Christyne

[may]

I adore cherry blossoms, and once I was lucky enough to be in DC for spring break and see all the trees in their glory. Even at 13 I knew it was a thing of great beauty. :)

I hope you got to go and have a blast!

[Helena]

Gorgeous photos Kelly! We've got some beautiful trees blooming here.

[Tawnya]

oooh so beautiful! love the photos!
love spring! love you! :) hugs, t

[Kerry]

I went to school in DC and I remember finally getting downtown to see the Cherry Blossoms - they lasted about 11 minutes!
I was so disappointed. I thought they lasted all Spring, lol.
The are so beautiful. Enjoy!

[slammie]

ours have already fallen off and been replaced by green. *sigh*

[Randi]

In our neighborhood, its non-bearing plum trees that blossom first. They were out last week and this week they are almost gone. As Kelli use to say "Our street is a sea of pink" when they fell. My daffadils are in bloom right now with the tulups ready to bloom - I have one that is showing color. We had to cut down our gaint aborvitas in the back (they were 25-30 feet tall). The neighbor behind us cut what was over the fence and killed them. After 22 years you would think that he would have trimed them during the years but he didn't. We are now in the process of redoing our back yard. Putting up a 6ft fence - wish it could be taller - we are elevating our garden another foot so the top of the fence is about 8 feet from our backyard. this way we won't have to see him. got to go..Michael is home and it is time to finish putting in the fence post.

[Angie Grimm]

Kelly,
I too love the cherry blossoms. I can't wait until they bloom but it will be several more weeks around here. The "benefit" of living in the Midwest...

[tracy whitney]

Your post gets me excited to see blossoms around here, but we have to wait 'til MAY for those pretty buds.

[Susan]

I love the blossoms, too. When I worked in downtown DC I would wander over there every year. But next week I'm going to FORCE my kids to go into DC with me whether they want to go or not (and they won't!). Thanks for the pictures.
Susan.