Whispers of Spring

There’s a rumour that Spring may be on its way.  You wouldn’t know from the bitterly cold weather but the trees seem to have a better handle on this than us.

The village is known for its cherry and almond trees; in early Spring as they come into blossom they are absolutely beautiful.  Almonds, cherrys and peaches are all drupes; trees that produce fruits with a hard central stone.  They also have similar blossom ranging from almost white through to a fairly bright and cheery pink with all the intermediate shades making an appearance.  Our tiny peach tree was slightly ahead of the game with its blossom in mid-January, presumably helped by its sheltered spot in the garden.

There’s something about the blossom of these trees.  On hearing where we’d finally bought a house an aquaintance mentioned the spring blossom.  Some years ago she lost her husband and was finding life incrediably bleak.  In early Spring she ended up in the village, just as the trees were in full blossom.  She said:

Seeing the blossom on the trees that day, that was the point at which I thought maybe life might be worth living after all.

On a wander through the village last week we checked, yet again, on the trees.

Some are just starting to come into flower including what appears to be a sweet almond tree next to the church.  Due to a change in levels it is accessible from the church side and not from the other.  Presumably this explains why one side was stripped bare of nuts whilst the other was not.

Almond trees don’t look very appealing in winter.

Last year's almonds

But when they start to blossom?  It’s enough to make the heart sing.

The first of the blossom

Advertisement