Blossom Sunday

Pretty much a do-nothing weekend. My only interest was the garden. It was horribly rainy and lousy Saturday, but we headed off to the nursery anyway, to mosey about the plants, immersing ourselves in things that looked like spring. Coming home with a few little flowering items to stick in the dirt outside a window for a little perk-up.

Sunday morning, also cold and rainy was spent puttering around in the dirt again, moving stuff. Just rearranging what made it through the winter, spreading out the crowded stuff. Finding better spots for the tough little sprouts that need more sun or more room. But then the sun came out in the afternoon. The SUN!

We decided to head over to the arboretum to admire the glorious magnolias. There are so many kinds - from big, blowsy, overblown blooms on trees that soar overhead, to little delicate star blossoms on petite baby trees. They are definitely one of my favorite spring blooming flowers, although with my crap sense of smell, I can't pick up their delicate fragrance, although I am assured they definitely do have a pretty floral scent. If you head over there, don't forget your mud shoes, it's a sloppy mess in spots.

And then on to the Quad at the University for the cherry blossom extravaganza. If you've never been there at the peak of blooming, you simply must go. It's absolutely magic, especially on Sunday - family and tourist day. There were gobs of people just wandering around under the canopy. Smack dab in the center of the UW campus there is a plaza planted with ancient cherry trees imported from Japan so that we can experience the same cherry blossom festival as they do. These trees are awesome- huge gnarly things so overloaded with blossoms that you can barely see through them to the sky above. Surrounded by aged buildings of higher learning, they are a little oasis of magic - you can actually feel a sense of wonder and awe the moment you step into that place. Kids were climbing the trees, a little merry band of musicians were plucking out tunes, loads of tourists were lined up taking a million pictures of each other, others were picnicing on blankets on the grass, and dogs were catching frisbees. Everyone craning their necks, gazing upward, outward, backward. It's impossible to capture the entire magnificence of it all on a little camera screen. Just go over there before it's gone.