In Full Bloom

It's days like today when I am reminded about why I'm lucky to live not too far from our nations capital, Washington DC.  A friend of mine mentioned yesterday that she was participating in an early morning "Ranger Run" through the cherry blossoms, and offered to take anyone who wanted to see them with her.  In the 20 years we've lived here, I've never gone, so I jumped at the chance.  While she ran, I leisurely walked and enjoyed the blossoms along the tidal basin.  

~The Washington Monument from the Tidal Basin~

If you ever get the chance to come here this time of year, it's definitely worth it.  The whole area along the tidal basin suddenly turns pink and white as the cherry blossoms begin to bloom on approximately 3,750 trees that are descendants of a gift from the people of Japan in 1912.

~The Thomas Jefferson Memorial~

The walk by the river under the cherry blossoms is just magical, and on a sunny morning like today, it was the most beautiful place to be!

I love history and trivia, so here are a few more photos and a few more things I learned about the history of the cherry trees that perhaps you didn't know either.

In January 1910, around 2,000 cherry trees arrived in Washington, D.C. About two weeks later, the Department of Agriculture discovered that the trees were diseased and unfit for planting. The department concluded that the trees must be destroyed and so they were burned.  However 24 trees were spared and allowed to grow under observation in an unspecified location.  Today there are eighteen cherry trees growing near Hanes Point.  Where these trees came from is unknown, and  proof that these trees are from the 1910 shipment doesn't exist.  But evidence supports that they are, and it's felt that they are among the most historically significant trees in the entire United States.

On Valentine’s Day in 1912, as a symbol of friendship, 3,020 more cherry trees were sent from Japan. 

Americans haven't always been as enamored by the cherry trees. Three days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, trees were chopped down in what was suspected to be an act of retaliation. For the duration of World War II, the trees were referred to as “Oriental” not “Japanese” cherry trees.

After World War II, cuttings from the cherry trees were sent back to Japan to restore the Tokyo collection that was decimated by American bombing attacks during the war.

In 1991 a few young plants grafted from the trees were gifted back to Japan, and one of them graces the front of a tombstone in a crowded Yokohama cemetery. An adjacent monument reads: “A woman who loved Japanese cherry blossoms rests in peace here.” That woman is Eliza Scidmore, the woman whose idea it was to bring the trees to Washington more than a hundred years ago.  

And finally, just to end on a lighter note and because you may have thought I'd actually have a post without a dog being in it, I will add these last two photos.     

Enjoy your Sunday!