It's Blossom Time!

Have I mentioned that, Toronto - in fact, most of Canada, East of the Rocky Mountains - has endured the coldest, longest Winter on record?  Since February, we have gazed longingly at Facebook photos of Vancouver's famed cherry blossoms, wondering when our time will come.  We are late bloomers.

With this week's warmer weather, Toronto's High Park cherry blossoms are making their spectacular debut.  Everyone and their camera is in the park, capturing the blossoms at their peak.  By next week, the petals will fall like snowflakes.

Knowing that time is precious, and that nothing lasts forever, we make a pilgrimage to the park, to capture the short life of the cherry blossom.  Mothers with iPods in one hand, and a toddler in the other, point upwards into the tree branches. Sisters pass their ice cream cones to one another to hold, while they focus their camera lenses on a cluster of blossoms, backlit by the sun.  Groups of beautifully dressed Japanese women take turns posing in front of billowing boughs. Students hold Macbooks high above their heads.  There are photographers with tripods and white umbrellas, taking photographs of fashion models, while nearby, families enjoy a quiet picnic lunch together.  The shared experience of everyone being "in the moment", celebrating the natural beauty around them, is good for the soul.

Photos copyright Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Inc.