Sunday, March 23, 2003

Spring
It has been a long, tough winter around these parts. More snow than usual, more cold than usual, more war foreshadowing than most. Yesterday on the first full day of spring it finally felt like the winter was over.

Most of the trees are still bare. The weeping willows show a soft blush of yellow-green, but you can still see through the branches. Spring typically comes in waves of color. The earliest sign is white with snowdrops and early croci peeping out. Then there is a yellow wave of forsythia, daffodils, and willow. Close on its heels comes the pink of cherry blossom trees and dogwood. This is a glorious time to live where I do.

By this time the cherry blossoms are usually peeking out, first the weeping cherry and then the Yoshino that surround the tidal basin. Not this year. But yesterday I saw massings of lavender croci and lawns struggling to turn their brown cover to bright green. The sun felt warm on my arms as I walked about enjoying the world. It would have been perfect were it not for the code orange sound of low flying jets frequently drowning out the birdsongs.

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