Saturday was the first day of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

The blooming period has just begun, with the peak bloom predicted to be between April 1-4 when a majority of the Yoshino Cherry trees will be in full bloom.

But, the city has already transformed into a sea of pink and white. There are thousands of people moseying under petal-covered rows of blossoming sakura trees.

Strangely in Maryland, the peduncle elongation seems to be relatively slower. I suspect it will take much longer before the buds turn puffy white and come into flower. But, even the partially open buds against the bare branches look beautiful when the sun catches them.

We missed the Freedom Walk and the Kite festival this time owing to dampy weather.
Tapi’s reasoning being that the blossoms are better in the shine than in the rain! But, we saw a few people flying kites in the rain yesterday, including a really cute couple hugging and flying a beautiful red kite with a long black tale in the wide open lawn area behind the Jefferson Memorial. It was a scene out of an Amelie-like film!

For some reason, I was more excited about seeing the Weeping Willows by the Potomac River than the Cherry Blossoms. The Willows have to be my favorite trees. They are to me the harbingers of spring. And what a splendid way to invite the season! I love the way they droop airily to the ground, oftentimes with tiny waterdrops on the leaves that shine with a wavering light as the branches put on view an elegant shadow play on the lawn. Yesterday as we walked behind the Lincoln memorial, the rows of weeping willows were just starting to grow. The young florescent green branches were swaying gracefully in the wind, flaunting their shimmering underside. It was a serenely beautiful sight! I know where I am going to be spending most of the evenings this season.

As we walked the three mile circumference around the tidal basin, we observed some very peculiar sights. Like a group of over hundred Purple Martins flying together from one tree to another. It was a very amusing sight. One minute they are on one tree embellishing the stark branches like black silhouetted leaves, and as though they had been pre-programmed on the next course of action, they would all rise up at once, hover in the sky for a bit, swaying this way and that as though being pushed by the wind and then settle on a different tree! And this they did again and again.

Then, next to the Roosevelt memorial, there were a group of Ring-billed gulls standing absolutely still by the water. And all of a sudden a giant brown gull, twice the size of these Ring-billed gulls swooped down from nowhere and settled right in the middle of them. I’ve always marveled at the Ring-billed gulls. They have a very stately appearance about them. It’s always breathtaking to see them glide effortlessly over the reflection pools. But, this majestic brown bird, which I started to call Regull (Hah! Sometimes, I crack myself up!) created an immediate impression of grandeur, dwarfing my favorite birds, who now looked more like his Gull-ible subjects. I learnt later that Regull is actually the juvenile Great Black-backed Gull. I can’t even imagine what the adult bird is like. I believe they are described as the King of the Gulls! (See? Regull!)

I couldn’t get enough of the Tidal basin. There was so much activity going on there that I was getting antsy that I couldn’t be in all places at once! There was street music playing, loads of food tents where we ate some yummy roasted cinnamon pecans and almonds, people sitting on top of cherry blossom trees (!!), students dressed in all kinds of clothes, from urban chic to Japanese wraps, women in sarees, scores of bikers in leather jackets. There was a very cute father and son combo on a trail bike. Sometimes the kid would forget to peddle the bike, and the dad did all the work of keeping the bicycle in motion!

The agenda for the next two weeks is to see as many Tidal Basin Stage Cultural Performances as possible. There is even a Bollywood one called Dhoonya Dance and loads of very interesting Americana and Japanese music concerts and martial arts shows.

Tapi and I will be going to the lantern tour tomorow– it’s a two-hour guide walk at the Basin starting at 8pm. I also want to go to one Cherry talk, and a few more walks.. and finally end it with the April 4th Parade. (How can I speak of April 4th and not think of Annapoorna’s birthday! She’s going to be 26 and all growned up!)

Yesterday’s Earth Hour was really quite. Tapi and I sat on the floor against the Patio glass door, with some candles and talked about very random nonsensical things. It was a wistful night and very romantic. The only dampener, was the bright luminous streetlamp that almost seemed to defeat the purpose of turning off the lights!

We made a list of trails we want to cover this spring and summer. Unlike last year where we did parks in Maryland and Virginia, we will be walking in the city! We thought we’d do some of the ones that were voted among the Top Ten USA Walks by the American Volkssport Association. The DC National Mall and Monuments Walk, The Annapolis Walk, The National Zoo/ Cathedral Walk, the Georgetown Walk, the Manhattan Walk…

I began mine with the 6-mile one in Rock Creek Park early in the morning on Sunday, which was almost otherworldly, with the stillness a stark contrast to the hustle bustle around it (the park is in the middle of the city!!) It was refreshing, but all I can think of now is my sore aching body!

So that’s that. What was that quote?

Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.

Exactly!