After years of wanting to see the famous DC cherry blossoms, I finally got to -- no excuse now that I live here! On Friday after work I went down to the tidal basin. The festival officially began on Saturday, and my thought was to get a "sneak preview" before the teeming hordes arrived. It was a good call; there were lots of people there Friday, but it was a relaxed vibe just before sunset, and not overly crowded. There were lots of lovers--scruffy 'emo' teen couples, middle-aged couples, gay couples, the works.

A lot of people were wearing pink, or pink accents. (The blossoms are not all pink; many are white). Cutest of all were the Japanese babies, in particular one chubby and rosy-cheeked one wearing pink socks. The dominant sound was the clicking of camera shutters. Biggest surprise: Remembering the orange groves of my Arizona youth, I was anticipating delicately perfumed air, but the cherry blossoms have *no scent*! In one area there are old, gnarled trees that have not only branches but lots of tiny sprouts and seedlings coming out of the trunk and roots: even these are producing flowers on stalks less than an inch high.

I don't have photos of my own to share, but there are many good images on the site below, including some nice shots of the area in fall and even in winter:

www.dcphototour.com/Washingt...-06.shtml

Happy spring!