Just a brief post this evening, my dears, so you have a glimpse of our yard, house sky and delicate pink cherry blossoms cast against the golden sky just before sunset. We planted this ornamental cherry tree on a whim about 5 years ago, knowing it would struggle to get enough early spring light to birth its blossoms. We are snuggled for better or worse under water oaks and live oaks, draped with wisps, touches, bunches and even gigantic armloads of grey beards of Spanish mosss. The oaks and the moss are beautiful, of course, but they have a direct impact on what will (or can) grow here. Last year, the cherry tree spit in our eyes, more or less, producing a listless bloom or two and then going back to sleep. This year, perhaps because of the long, chilly spring to which I and Ms. Moon and other have alluded here in the Southeast, it has surprised us with winsome blossoms and a whole new attitude: Look! We're lovely! We're almost as nice as Washington or Tokyo! Don't you love us?I must admit that we do. So tomorrow we're off to the beach (and you know what THAT means, people...a blog post full of fossils and shells and eccentric tales) but for this evening here are a couple of pictures of the quietly gorgeous cherry tree.
Look up, and see the warm butter colored sky highlighting the pink. Imagine the lemon tree right next door to the cherry blossoms. Soon you'll be seeing photos of the pink-edged, waxy white flowers of the lemon tree, with lazy bumblebees humming from flower to flower, all of it still set against the slightly embarrassing excess of the azaleas, at least for a few days more. The low tide calls Rod and me; we know it's not as low a tide as we always hope for, but it does come at noontime. We'll pack a lunch in our backpack, take one or two of the dogs and walk for a mile or two. And then we'll share the view with you. It's a fine thing to look forward to the sharing of those little views of the great ocean and the small magic that happens there every day. For now the magic is in the small pink blossoms and flowers, holding their own under the strong oaks, shielded in patches by the threads of silvery Spanish moss in the treetops.
The first house I lived in as a kid had a beautiful garden and a giant cherry tree in the front yard. I loved the way it looked every spring
ReplyDeleteYou always bring me back to the best of my childood memories. Thank you
Ah- the magic hour. Every evening when that buttery golden light appears, I want desperately to go out and take another dozen pictures of things I have taken dozens of times before.
ReplyDeleteIt's so damn beautiful right now, isn't it?
Love you, girl.
M
Cherry blossoms. I love those type of flowers. There's just something fun and whimsical about them.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, what a lovely thing to say. It's delightful to think of serving in any small way as a gateway to a friend's best memories. I think it's part of the magic of the blog connection.
ReplyDeleteMs. Moon, I could not agree more. Every time the magical hour arrives, I share the compulsion to go outside and take more pictures (and beg Rodney to take more, as he's the better photographer by far) of things I've shot over and over again but can't seem to get over. I love you, too.
Michelle H., there is indeed something of whimsy in them - they flutter and beckon in pink the way some of the most ridiculous and beautiful birds do, like those roseate spoonbills we talked about the other day. And mine are ornamental so they serve no practical purpose (like ending up as cherries). They're just beautiful, for their own sake.
Thanks to all of you.