These flowering pear trees – all flowers, no edible fruit – are in their brief glory this week. They’re so ubiquitous that we’re all sort of sick of them, and aside from this show they’re rather plain. Worse, their growth is such that their branches constantly break beneath the slightest winter snowfall. I’m not sure what constitutes their immense use in landscaping, other than some quick growth. Slow and steady always feels more rewarding to me, but that’s my own insufferable pathology.
All of that sour critiquing aside, I’m taking this moment to celebrate their turn in the sun – and any turn in the sun for the matter, as it’s proving elusive and mysterious at a time when we need it the most. I’m ready for the full-fledged arrival of spring, longing for outside time that doesn’t bite with the wind or cut with the chill.
