Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

The cherry blossoms were at their peak around the tidal basin in Washington DC late last week.

It was probably the best walk around the tidal basin in my 30+ years in the area:

the blossoms were near perfect, the temperature was pleasant,

there were lots of people but few crowds, and

the monuments (Martin Luther King Jr., Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson) were nestled in the blooming trees.

One recent change: the scaffolding that had been around the Washington Monument since it was damaged by an earthquake is gone (i.e. repairs are complete).  The flight path for Reagan National Airport is along the Potomac so I managed to catch a picture of a plane descending with the cherry trees and paddle boaters on the tidal basin.  Enjoy the slide show from our walk around the tidal basin!

Magnifying February Trees

The trees of February still look starkly bare. I decided to take a closer look at some of the trees around our yard. I labelled cups and cut twigs to take inside to photograph in comfort rather than braving the cold and overcoming the clumsiness of gloves.

The pods on the tulip poplar were dramatic at close range. Many of them have already disintegrated - the seeds flying away with the wind - but these still had enough to look like ‘flowers.’

The cherry tree buds are already enlarging. I took the pictures through an 8x and 22x loupe to get the magnification I wanted.

I did the same for the oak buds….and then couldn’t resist a closer look at a wound on the twig with the 8x loupe.

The maple tree is beginning to turn reddish at the tips of the branches. And the magnified images show the buds are colorful. They’ll become more so over the next few weeks.