The Cherry Clock is Ticking

4/1/19 Cherry tree, Washington Park Arboretum

According to the weather man, we were to have only two dry days this week, and the cherry blossoms were at or near peak all over the city. A hard rain and wind, forecast for midweek, could take all the petals down. The clock was ticking.

Greg and I went out Monday to the Washington Park Arboretum, where many of the cherries and other blooming trees still had buds. I looked around at the ones full of clouds of blossoms, but the one that caught my eye was this strangely pruned one. Like most deciduous trees in the arboretum, its bulbous trunk and thick limbs were covered with moss. It won’t be at peak for at least another week.