Cherry blossoms and finally it is spring

by YankeeJim | March 27, 2010 at 05:00 am

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Just a month and a half or so ago and I was reporting from my igloo here in Arlington Virginia. It took nearly a month for the six foot drift by the balcony door to melt. In the process, flower boxes toppled, and potted plants appeared to be wiped out.

Remember the story about the pansies. Well, you folks from the northern reaches in Canada were right. The pansies came back in earnest. I lost some strawberry plants, but the mums are still alive.

Now, I have some sort of healthcare with government assurance. The banks have stabilized and today it is learned that the USA might make a record $8 billion profit from bailing out Citgroup. It appears that Obama was right; bailing out the banks will pay for it, eventually.

I wrote a story yesterday, a little pessimistic from a winter hangover. I predicted that an adjustment is on its way in wage and price reductions as the US economy reaches a new equilibrium in a global environment.

Nanute aka Tony set me straight about that, believing that the pain has already been sufficiently spread and realized. With so many people still without jobs it is hard to believe the news today that the recession has ended and recovery has begun.

On a spring day like today, with the sun shining brightly, I chose to believe the good news. Now, let me show you the flowers and the trees.

“Cherry blossoms to bloom earlier than expected

The National Park Service on Monday moved up its prediction of the peak bloom period for Washington’s famous cherry blossoms to April 1-4 from April 3-8, because of the weekend’s warm, pleasant weather, spokesman Bill Line said.

The overall blooming period prediction was also moved up to March 28-April 9, from March 31-April 11.

Line said the weekend’s warm temperatures overnight also accelerated the blooming process. He said the new forecast was issued by the park service’s blossom expert, horticulturalist Rob Defeo.

The peak bloom period is the time in which about 70 percent of the blossoms of the Yoshino Cherry trees that surround the Tidal Basin are open. The average peak bloom date is April 4, but has been as early as March 15, in 1990, and as late as April 18, in 1958.

The blossoms are now in the third of five stages before peak bloom, Line said, and will shortly enter stage four -- six to ten days from peak bloom. The two-week National Cherry Blossom festival begins Saturday with ceremonies at the National Building Museum. It runs through April 11.

Dr. Gridlock offers tips for getting around during cherry blossom season.

And be sure to check out The Post’s full coverage of the 2010 Cherry Blossom Festival.

-- Michael E. Ruane