It may be mid May, but the temperatures in the PNW have still stayed below the 60s, and it still feels like spring. So in recognition of that, here are a couple of photos from the spring cherry blossoms at the well-manicured blooms of the University of Washington Campus
Seattle
WA USA
Cherry trees are not necessarily rare trees. After all, there are likely more than a million of these spread around the US, and plenty more around the world. Yet their puffy pink and white blooms attracts crowds like clockwork every year who come to take photographs of one of natures miracles. Perhaps it is their fleeting nature of transformation from barren branches to bountiful blooms to scarlet foliage that draws in crowds.
As a consequence, it is near impossible to capture the blooms without also capturing the throngs of humanity that visit the area. I chose a frigid morning hour to capture a moment of zen at the University of Washington campus, long before the hordes arrive to the placid grounds.
Seattle
WA USA
As the boundaries between work and home are erased (for some), the lines between the days of the week are also getting blurred. In the past years, I'd look forward to traveling as the spring season rolled around into the Pacific Northwest. They'd be the delightful breaks that motivated me to complete work early and plan for my next sojourn. These set the boundaries that defined my year in perspective
But in this new era, that is no longer the case, and as the days roll on, I have to find new mile markers to define my life.
I am blessed that I can continue to work remotely, which is not the case for many in this beautiful city. My heart goes out to those who keep this city (and others) running like a well-oiled machine despite the sever restrictions we face now.
Seattle
WA USA
The bus took it's own sweet time, winding through and around the forested mountain ranges in the eastern part of Honshu island. Through the wide windows, the life and landscape of rural Japan sped by: snow-capped peaks waiting for the summer sun with glacial blue waters heading down from them, terraced farms in every available piece of arable land in the valleys below, and bright green buds of the deciduous woodlands standing side by side with the evergreen conifers in the hills above. And in-between were tiny farmhouses with the vestiges of cherry blossoms, the perfect epitome of village life in Japan.
My destination was the village of Shirakawa-go, an old village in the Gifu Prefecture of Japan, that was so set back in time that it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, partily due to the unique farmhouse style called the gassho-zukuri. And while the day, with gentle spring sun and mild temperatures, was perfect for visiting a place like this, it also drew in a thousand other tourists who all had the very same idea. I wandered through the village, transported back to a simpler era of feudal farming and sericulture. And were it not for the contrivances of modern civilization, I most certainly would have been. To be fair, that is the main draw of this picturesque village set amidst snow-capped peaks.
Here is a sampling of that beautiful timeless village, replete with cherry blossoms and modern selfie-stick carrying tourists...
Shirakawa-go
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
