A SHOCK of Color

The weather took a turn last week and a storm blew into the SF Bay Area. Wind blew the last of the Autumn leaves off of the trees leaving bare branches in its wake. Yeah, I know. Mother Nature has been a little confused around here for a couple of months. When the leaves should have been falling and rain filling our reservoirs, it was warm and sunny beach weather. Christmas was a tee-shirt day as temperatures were in the mid-seventies. So weird. But I am getting off the track here. The point is, finally Winter has made an appearance here. . . even if it is more of a late Winter/early Spring.

I was out on my walk this morning. It looked like any other day this past week - gray skies but no rain, skeleton trees and bushes everywhere. Blah blah blah. Don't get me wrong, there is a certain beauty to our winters but it is, nonetheless, characterized by sameness.

I turned the corner heading toward my street when suddenly my eyes were awash in PINK!!! What??? This can't be happening here in the dead of Winter. But there is was - an ornamental cherry tree in FULL BLOSSOM. It was a welcome sight to an otherwise colorless day.

That is why I chose CHERRY BLOSSOMS as my #3 HAPPY THING!

• Cherry trees are among the first trees to bloom at the end of Winter
• In Japan, the cherry blossom (sakura) represents the fleetingness of life
• In ancient Japan the arrival of cherry blossoms signaled the planting of the rice crop
• In the U.S. the cherry blossoms are celebrated as a symbol of the friendship between the U.S and Japan

MORE THAN ALL OF THAT - How can you NOT smile when you see those bright pink flowers on an otherwise gray day?