The Cycle

I love how spring has a predictable cycle. In my part of the world, there is an order to how the pieces of spring fall into place, starting with the crocuses near the end of February or beginning of March. The daffodils are next, bobbing their white and yellow heads across town and soaking in the inevitable spring rains. Tulips follow, in bright yellows, purples, reds, oranges, pinks, whites, and everything in-between, accompanied by hyacinths - pink, white, purple, red and more. As the last of the daffodils shrivel and brown and dry, the dogwoods begin to blossom. And that is where we are today - I've noticed small pink blooms on the trees lining one particular section of College Avenue in College Place, and the infant dogwood pictured here is just a block or so from my office. I also noticed this morning that the lilac outside my office window has tiny dark purple balls ready to pop open any day - that happened over the weekend because last week that bush was still all green! The lilacs will last only about two weeks, the dogwoods about the same, and then come June we'll be blessed with roses that greet us through the summer.