Things about the weather lately
We are experiencing the microseason within the transition between winter and spring that the I-95 Corridor gets to experience together. (I think other parts of the country and world get more violent mood swings than ours, though.)
One week / a few days in a row, it's 87°F/30.5°C and sweaty and you're upset about it; the next week, it's snowing and below 50°F/10°C and rainy for a few days. It rains and rains, and then we get a nice cool few days somewhere in between where it's breezy and the sun is out warming the earth, chilly but not too cold, and you can feel the crispness of winter next to early hints of spring. On your walk through the wintertime forest, there are more greens than there were the last time you were there.
People are generally in a better mood lately, I've noticed. As annoying as those hot hot days have been, none can deny the impacts the Sun has on you as a human and a plant.
Here is a cool thing about this wonky seasonal time period: 1) It happens every year, and 2) it helps to contribute to the stop/go pacing of the waking of the cherry blossoms in late March/early April. THEY ARE COMING!!! 🌸🌸🌸
Here's what I know (sort of):
- The trees go through 6 stages (this page has a visual):
- green round buds
- florets visible
- florets extend
- peduncle elongation 👀
- fluffy white petals
- peak bloom (pink AF) 🌸🌸🌸
- The trees need temps between 32°F and 45°F (0°C to 7.22°C) to break the dormancy.
- Once dormancy is broken, the trees crave those sunny, 80°F/26.6°C days to get through the budding stages. Hopefully they stay at the early stages of growth so the next down swing in temps doesn't hit them too badly.
- Inevitably, a cold snap returns the next week. If they're in the "puffy white" stage of growth the sudden drop can freeze the water in the petals, causing them to turn brown and fall off prematurely. If they're still in earlier stages, growth will slow down so they don't bloom too early.
- This just sort of... goes back and forth until they bloom and hopefully it's not snowing or raining during that time, because they'll get weighted down and fall quickly.
I think we are looking good. I think we've had the last of the snow so I hope they'll do okay in the coming cold storms.
You can follow the progress of the DC tress online or watch Bloom Cam.
This has been... CHERRY BLOSSOM WATCH! 🌸🌸🌸
Here are some pictures from my walk earlier. There's this park nearish that birders and nature lovers go to, but I just love the water and the flowers. (The flowers aren't around this season, so I'll share them another time.) I like the sounds and smells and how you can both animal-watch and people-watch, because they group together in little excited but quiet bunches, their gear next to them. Quiet, waiting. They are always happy to tell you if they've found something.
I don't have the patience (or the interest) to be a birder but I can stand somewhere for 5 minutes and breathe it in and take a moment to record it and share it.
The quality is bad, but I wish you could see the textures in this photo.