Although I have now lived in Canada as long as I did in the United States, my thoughts still turn to Washington, D.C. at this time of year. My eldest brother is still in the Washington area and I envy his access to the annual cherry blossom festival. The blossoms are at their peak as I write this. Washington does have a lot of cherry trees:
While the cherry trees near the tidal basin, where the monuments are located, are the most famous, they are also the most visited. If you are ever in Washington at this time of year, do a quick tour of the crowded tidal basin but for real enjoyment, visit the less popular areas.
As I was looking for pictures of Washington's cherry trees, I came across this 1896 poem by A. E. Houseman. Loveliest of Trees captures the wonder of the cherry tree in bloom while contemplating our limited time for viewing such beauty and the importance of taking the time to do so.
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now of my threescore and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
Perhaps someday the crabapple trees blooming at the Owen Sound Regional Hospital will bring similar thoughts to the minds of others.