Truth be told, I’ve never really been one to walk around outside in the yard just to snap 600 pictures of a gnarly old tree.
Until now, that is.
See, we have this incredible crab apple tree out front that–when the stars align just right–will one day be green and plain and overnight, will explode into this magical, cotton-candy-pink creation that literally takes your breath away.
No kidding. We’ve actually had people stop their cars in the middle of the road and tell us how beautiful our whole street is…
because of this one tree. But look long and hard, because it will only last a couple of days and then, the petals fade and blow away.
Funny thing is, that we’d taken this pretty thing nearly for granted for a couple of years. You know, “Oh, look–the tree’s pink again,” that sort of thing, until one time when it just didn’t ever bloom…at all.
We thought maybe it was a every-other-year type thing.
Then the next Spring we had a hard frost and when nothing blossomed in the yard anywhere, we figured the cold was to blame.
Then last April, we wondered out loud if we had done something wrong or if the tree was old and giving up, or what could possibly be the matter. Almost as if it was trying to soothe our worries, a few scant blossoms appeared…a bare handful, here and there.
So this year, we watched and waited, anxious to see if our tree still had it, or not. And to our surprise, and relief, one day we woke up to all of this…
and this…
and this.
Oh, those delicate, tissue flowers, that beautiful, perfect shade of pink–how we’ve missed you!
Welcome, welcome back.
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