Signs of Spring

It's the third weekend of April which means it's Blossom Festival here in the Hood River Valley. Blossom Festival is a special time that attracts tourists from all over the state to our little fruitful corner. Our valley is covered in apple, pear and cherry orchards and in April they are in full, fragrant bloom.

Usually.


For the second time in recent memory we have NO orchard blossoms during Blossom Festival. There is nothing. It's tragically sad. Especially for those people that traveled many miles to revel in fragrant blooms only to be disappointed by a still wintery landscape.

They should have called ahead.

Our spring has been cold and wet and many orchardists are even worried that their trees will have any fruitful blossoms at all. We shall see in the next few weeks.

I did find one of the most beautiful flowering trees in our town in full bloom today.

This flowering cherry in the parking lot of my bank gives a spectacular show for about two days then rains down petals to coat the asphalt in pink. Spring has arrived! Someone alert the apple trees.

Today was also the opening day for Little League Baseball.

All of us parents in the stands were cheering the fact that we were not sitting in the rain. Sun would have been nice but we were very glad to settle for dry heads. Our bums were dry only because we remembered to bring plastic to spread onto the wet bleachers.

I also went to the annual Blossom Festival plant sale to buy some shrubs for my church and found the whole place was a mud hole after yesterday's rain. I sank to my ankles with every step. Now I need to clean my suede boots.

Thus is springtime in Oregon!