It's apple blossom time

Another post on trees, but definitely more cheerful than the last. I need to look at something cheerful to balance out all the depressing reality.

I heard a report on the BBC yesterday about the beginning of the cherry blossom season in Japan. The cherry blossom festival in Japan is so important that they have forecasters who predict the date the blossoms will open, and this year he was a little off, and made a formal apology to the people on television.

In Palestine, the beginning of the spring weather is heralded by the almond blossoms. I tried to post a few pictures of almond blossoms in a previous post, but I couldn't get any close ups then. Those blossoms have a slightly purplish tint, but the small tree we have in our front yard has pure white flowers. I finally got a close up. Today, the tree is full of little green almonds, but not for long. People here are fond of eating them when they are small, green and sour. You can eat the whole thing, because the nut has not hardened in side.After the almonds finish blooming, the plum trees start. This tree is right by my back door. Plums and almonds get their flowers first, and then leaves. The apples and pomegranates get leaves first, and then the flowers. The pomegranate's leaves are red when they first come out.This morning I went into the back yard for the first time in a couple days, and was shocked to see that the apple tree was the whole way bloomed. Spring has blown past way too fast. I am sure that these trees are blooming earlier than usual.
I love these apple blossoms, because of the delicate pink tinge on the petals. Very soon we will have lemon and calamantina blossoms to look at, and then the pomegranate, which has the coolest looking flowers of all. (calamantinas are like a tangerines)