You might be surprised, but cherry blossoms are a year-round thing for me. For example, one of my nieces sent me this photo of my National Geographic book that she saw in the Newseum gift shop when she visited in July this year. I always find that thrilling.
For me, it’s not just about the books, it’s really about the trees. I love spotting them in gardens and in parks any time of year. Each variety has a lovely, distinctive shape, and I am grateful for the shade they provide in the capital city’s sweltering summers.
Their bark intrigues me too, though that is more of a winter pleasure for me to look for. Speaking of looking, I remember a National Park Service Ranger mentioning that these trees have a primitive form of sight. They can sense what angle the sun is in the sky, which will trigger the production of proteins that lead to their flowering. That’s one reason the trees don’t bloom earlier even when the winter is warm.
I like to think the cherry blossom trees “see” me, that they know I visit them all year round, not only in the spring when their ethereal blossoms draw millions to Washington, D.C.