Just a few scenes from Washington DC, near the Tidal Basin and along the Potomac River, near sunset Friday night. The cherry trees are just barely beginning to open, especially the “weeping sakura”, the willow-like species from Japan. The main trees, the Yoshino, will be in full bloom in a couple of days, now that our cold weather has (finally!) moved on, allowing the warm Spring air to coax the blossoms out. I will have some photos from the peak in a couple of days.
This past Saturday, as part of the DC Cherry Blossom Festival, they held a kite-flying festival on the grounds of the Washington Monument and on the National Mall. The day was perfect for kite flying, plenty of breezes in the morning, cool but not cold, with just enough puffy clouds in a crystal blue sky to make the kites stand out. I got some great photos of the kites and the flyers (there was as much color on the ground from people’s coats as there was in the sky) of all ages. I also managed to find a couple of early cherry blossoms, on three trees that just couldn’t wait to bloom. Most of the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin have yet to bloom, but they’re in the late stages of budding, so the coming weeks should have an explosion of petals!
Here are some of the photos, I’ll have them all on a photo page soon. Enjoy!
Two girls in their Springtime finest!
Wings Over Washington!
桜を見ãŸ! A few lonely little cherry blossoms peeking out of their buds early, getting the jump on their cousins (and getting a couple of early photographers, too!)
THERE you are! Another tree with a few handfuls of cherry blossoms
Chinatowns in all big cities are pretty much alike, but the one in Yokohama is very colorful at night, just like most of urban Japan, and much more so than the DC Chinatown. Here’s a prime example:
One nice thing about living in the DC area, you have a chance to go downtown and see some of the beautiful monuments and other scenery on nice early spring days. Continue reading “Some DC springtime pictures”
