A few weeks ago I visited my father in Massachusetts.
As I walked to his front door I noticed a large tree limb on the ground;
a victim of one of the blizzards.
On my second walk by the fallen limb, I noticed all the buds.
It was 18 degrees outside; I was shivering and thinking about spring.
Looking at the tree limb, I had a sudden impulse to snip branch after branch with my cold, bare hands and stuff the branches into the back of my car.
To some, I probably looked like a madwoman.
My plan was to force them to blossom at my house.
Instant Spring!
Later I wondered whether the branches would ever bloom since
the limb was severed several weeks earlier.
But the tree was in its winter hibernation.
So I recut the branches when I got back home,
smashed the ends with a hammer to help the branches draw in the water,
and just when I was thinking nothing would happen,
I saw a change.
I was not sure what flowers would emerge from the woody stems.
My father has not lived in this apartment for a long time, so I am not familiar with all the trees.
The apartment building is an old school building that dates back to the early 20th century.
It was converted to apartments years ago.
This tree is outside my father's living room window.
I vaguely remembered pretty flowers.
Now these lovely flowers have blossomed in my kitchen.
Check out these beautiful apple blossoms.
A perfect tree to grow outside a school.
In fact, I have always thought
that my father's apartment was the principal's office,
because of the high ceilings, large windows and steps in the apartment.
(I imagine these steps led to the principal's inner sanctum.)
Makes sense that an apple tree would be just outside the principal's window.
These flowers make me smile each morning when I stumble downstairs
to feed the dog before dawn
and
again
each night when I come home
from a long day,
well after sunset.
The beauty of nature and its power to impress, surprise, delight
is amazing.
Spring is coming
as soon as the floods end...
rivers are raging,
roofs are leaking,
basements are wet
but the grass will be green
and the trees will be strong
and the flowers will be abundant.
Patience.
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