Finally, Colorful Signs Of Spring
A Japanese Magnolia on South State Street is in full blossom sharing its Spring colors with drivers rushing by on a Sunday afternoon. My Final Photo for April 15, 2018.
A Japanese Magnolia on South State Street is in full blossom sharing its Spring colors with drivers rushing by on a Sunday afternoon. My Final Photo for April 15, 2018.
It didn’t help that the weather on a Sunday was rainy and chilly. There were few people outdoors enjoying themselves, and that complicated my photo bike trek. Complicated it so much that the best photo of the day came from my iPhone from the benches beneath the crabapple tree in my front yard.
I’ve many photos from that tree. With kids climbing, hanging, running around, standing in their Easter finery under a shower of petals, and studies on pistils and stamens.
There are usually about a week when it is in full bloom. Sometimes that is cut short by a wind storm that prematurely strips away the blossoms and sometimes the leaves.
The tree is well past its prime. I’ve trimmed it many times hoping to keep it compact. It doesn’t seem to work. It grew a lot more after the larger silver maple trees in the front yard were removed when they became old and began to split and decay.
I told my family that the only thing smart about my photography on Sunday was my phone.
As it turns out, it’s not a bad photo. It’s just from an iPhone.
Editors Note: I did shoot it with my DSLR.
It’s that time of year when the colors seem more vibrant than normal. I’m of the opinion that it’s an illusion only because we’ve just left behind the dull tones of winter and any color other than a monotone gray is cause for celebration.
And celebrate, I did.
I spent the better part of an hour on a short stretch of street in Uptown Westerville watching how the light and clouds moved over a series of Japanese Magnolias at the peak of their spring blossom growth. There was little, if any, petal drop from the old trees that stood taller than their accompanying houses. In full bloom displaying the pinks and purples blossoms from their first growth of a new season their colors dominated the street.
Cars hurrying to pick up kids at school slowed, runners slowed their pace turning their heads to the fertile plumage, and dog walkers allowed their charges to slightly stray when burdened by the beauty of spring.
There were other markers of spring along and near the street. Lawns mowed in front of homes bearing the patriotic colors of flags. Bradford pears brightening the horizon with white blossoms. Collections of small red buds and white plum shrubs and trees dotting yards. Each color marking the powerful surge of spring as the earth renews itself in a splash vibrant color.