A Cherry Season

Cherry Blossom Memories

The annual Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC is winding down. The 3,000+ trees that reached peak bloom this week are dropping their petals, and yes other cherry trees and spring blooms are starting to get their dress on but the massive swath of color and bloom is wrapping up.

Peak cherry bloom is kind of a frenzied time, particularly for photographers--you know you only have a day or two to catch the trees in all their glory. And you also know it will be you and several thousand other photographers, tourists, and sight-seers trying to do the same thing. Mother Nature is often capricious, but somehow she seems to be the most so at spring time. This year we had days and days of cool, even cold, weather that kept pushing the peak bloom time further out, delaying the glory. Then, boom, heat, 80-90 degree days. The cherry blossoms popped and it was game on!

I took many photos of the trees and blossoms. This one with the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial in the background was featured on the NBC Washington photo blossom page. This photograph sums up this cherry season for me.