Or should that be, sproing?
Yes, winter is done and Ottawa is into its compressed Spring, which operates much as a compressed spring does when the pressure is released, sproinging into life, full life, all life all the time . . . for about 10 days. The flowers don’t last long, but they are spectacular while they do.
We started with the tulips in my own garden . . .
. . . and moved on to the slightly more extensive Festival of Tulips downtown.
Then the magnolia tree in our shaded backyard burst forth, less troubled by scavenging scumbags, er, squirrels than in other years.
Finally, the ornamental crabapple in the front yard did its 3-day-wonder trick. As I type this, these photos are from yesterday when the flowers peaked: Today, a light breeze is already lifting the petals off the twigs.
And so it goes: Beauty is transient and yet persistent. Fragile and yet utterly reliable. Gloriously diverse and yet one.
Something, I guess, like life itself.
Isabel – and now we have a squirrel on our new passport. What were they thinking? ‘They’ obviously don’t have a magnolia tree is their yard.
John – 🙂 I know, right? Why don’t “they” check with me before doing these ill-advised things?
Spring in Ottawa ALMOST compensates for the winters.
Jim T – Almost. (Now I feel like a Spartan, responding to Philip of Macedonia.)
For a few days, we understand the progression of leafing, blossoming, greening as a quick lesson to prepare us for the patient waiting for harvests. Choke cherry led the way a week ago as the daffodils faded. The ancient apple trees bloomed on Friday. On Saturday the lilac bushes flowered. The bedding plants are for sale today like fireworks that will keep on exploding in hundreds of local gardens. IF I bring mine in, because we have frost warnings for two nights in the week ahead!
Laurna – IF, indeed. 🙂 Ottawa has a lovely succession of flowering trees in the spring, and I sometimes think about the people who planted them. Did they think at all about the people who would enjoy them for decades to come? Many of the trees look old indeed, to a Prairie girl.
Isabel
Spring or whatever, the photos are beautiful.
Tom
Tom – Thank you.