Cherry Blossoms in DC
Spring has finally arrived to the DC area and it is beautiful and volatile like a bi-polar bride. One day it is hot and 80 degrees with the flowers blooming and sun beckoning you to wear shorts and the next day it is 30 degrees and frigid with a dusting of snow.
This type of weather must be what caused our ancient ancestors to dance for the sun and the rain. In our house, the only ones dancing are the cats. They are being driven mad by the myriad of wildlife that has come out of hibernation. There is a little fat squirrel who has a hump-back and daily eats nuts on our porch, his name is Quasimodo.
He is very well behaved, has excellent table manners and smells delicious to Bentley and Fatty. The last couple of weeks I have enjoyed eating an after-school snack by the window while Quasimodo eats his after-tree-hopping snack. He is great company.
Speaking of "after-school activities" I have never felt more compelled to use each free minute to do something good and useful after school. Teaching days absorb 100% of me: my energy, time and will. So this week that they are off for Spring Break I have BIG plans. Thomas Edison or Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin once said, "Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today." I took that quote to mean, "Get stuff done and enjoy some life!"
Now, my mom is a big believer in taking yourself on occasional "field trips" to break away from the rituals of daily life. When I was a little girl that meant occasionally going to get french fries and playing in a German park after school (we lived in Germany and German parks are really pretty). In high school it meant my dad would skip work and I would skip school once or twice a year and we would go someplace nice, like Annapolis, to the movies and to a diner for lunch. As an adult now it means taking a day or half day to go to a museum or some place I really enjoy. Taking yourself on field trips is really important. It isn't shopping or doing something important but really does wonders to re-energize you for the daily rigors of life. In my case, my feet were still hurting from teaching, the laundry needed to be washed, I had a solid to-do list waiting for me yet the cherry blossoms in DC were in peak bloom so I decided to take the morning to see them. Besides, weekends are the worst to see cherry blossoms, it turns a nice day into self inflicted pain as you battle for parking and crowds like NYC on New Years Eve. All men by the cherry blossoms are in terrible moods normally but if you go on weekends you might get bumped around in the crowds and see many more grouchy faces. Hence, why I went on a weekday morning and left the happy Chef in his habitat. Men don't appreciate battling for parking to see pink flowers...I wonder why.
I dutifully dressed in my pink sweater to match the cherry blossoms and set out down Connecticut Ave, which I decided is my favorite street in DC. The sky was looming with dark clouds, it was hot with moments of cold wind so I knew it could pour at any moment. Nevertheless, I set out. Peak cherry blossom bloom might not last through a storm. The day was great!
And for my favorite pictures of the day. There were several little sisters I saw sharing cover from the rain:
This type of weather must be what caused our ancient ancestors to dance for the sun and the rain. In our house, the only ones dancing are the cats. They are being driven mad by the myriad of wildlife that has come out of hibernation. There is a little fat squirrel who has a hump-back and daily eats nuts on our porch, his name is Quasimodo.
He is very well behaved, has excellent table manners and smells delicious to Bentley and Fatty. The last couple of weeks I have enjoyed eating an after-school snack by the window while Quasimodo eats his after-tree-hopping snack. He is great company.
Speaking of "after-school activities" I have never felt more compelled to use each free minute to do something good and useful after school. Teaching days absorb 100% of me: my energy, time and will. So this week that they are off for Spring Break I have BIG plans. Thomas Edison or Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin once said, "Never put off for tomorrow what you can do today." I took that quote to mean, "Get stuff done and enjoy some life!"
Now, my mom is a big believer in taking yourself on occasional "field trips" to break away from the rituals of daily life. When I was a little girl that meant occasionally going to get french fries and playing in a German park after school (we lived in Germany and German parks are really pretty). In high school it meant my dad would skip work and I would skip school once or twice a year and we would go someplace nice, like Annapolis, to the movies and to a diner for lunch. As an adult now it means taking a day or half day to go to a museum or some place I really enjoy. Taking yourself on field trips is really important. It isn't shopping or doing something important but really does wonders to re-energize you for the daily rigors of life. In my case, my feet were still hurting from teaching, the laundry needed to be washed, I had a solid to-do list waiting for me yet the cherry blossoms in DC were in peak bloom so I decided to take the morning to see them. Besides, weekends are the worst to see cherry blossoms, it turns a nice day into self inflicted pain as you battle for parking and crowds like NYC on New Years Eve. All men by the cherry blossoms are in terrible moods normally but if you go on weekends you might get bumped around in the crowds and see many more grouchy faces. Hence, why I went on a weekday morning and left the happy Chef in his habitat. Men don't appreciate battling for parking to see pink flowers...I wonder why.
I dutifully dressed in my pink sweater to match the cherry blossoms and set out down Connecticut Ave, which I decided is my favorite street in DC. The sky was looming with dark clouds, it was hot with moments of cold wind so I knew it could pour at any moment. Nevertheless, I set out. Peak cherry blossom bloom might not last through a storm. The day was great!
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| Most people were concerned with the rumbling clouds. |
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| I got a great parking spot next to the White House. |
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| The African American Museum is almost finished being built. |
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| Cherry blossoms make a great canopy for picnics. |
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| Note: if you need to use the bathroom near the cherry blossoms the nearest clean one is at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. |
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| Diaper patrol |
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| Lots of people pausing to take pictures and people patiently waiting to cross |
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| I wonder how many people have bumped their heads on cherry blossom branches? |
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| The day seeing cherry blossoms made me feel my mom there in spirit. :) She would have loved them. |
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| Free souvenir. The bag even had a cherry blossom. |
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| Drop of rain on my camera. Hm |
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| The crowds on a weekday are like Times Square normally. |
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| Energy boost |
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| There is this cool tent called David's Tent where Christians are worshiping for 10,000 hours. I heard the gospel music and went in to see what it was. It was very nice. Some French tourists were in there looking quite perplexed and amused. |
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| The rain began and all the street vendors started selling umbrellas like hotcakes. |
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| Plastic Poncho time! |
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| or you could buy a tote with the Obamas to cover your curls |
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| Pick your umbrella! |
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| These smelled SO good! |
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| The line to enter the White House was undeterred by the persistent rainfall. |
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| Hurrying to open the plastic poncho |
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| Trump's new hotel is two blocks from the White House. It looks like DC will get stuck with him one way or the other! |
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| A little mid-western family. |
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| And this Hindu mama gave her little girls her head-cover to share. |
The End and Happy Spring!
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