I went out to collect eggs this afternoon and made a detour through the woods to see what is blooming. Bleeding hearts, thimble berries, trilliums, and spring beauties were in bloom all along the path. On one bleeding heart leaf, a thimble berry petal had fallen.

In the garden, the apple trees are in bloom. In Japan, when people talk about flower viewing, they are talking about viewing cherry blossoms. However, this was not always the case. During the Nara period (710-784) plum blossoms were adored for flower viewing. Aristocrats would have parties to view a single plum tree and write poems about the plum blossoms. Their adoration turned to cherry blossoms in the Heian period (794-1185) during the reign of emperor Saga who was emperor from 809 to 823 because he preferred cherry blossoms. Some cherry trees those ancient people adored still bloom today.

These days when the cherry blossoms are in bloom, crowds gather under the cherry trees to feast and drink and sing and dance. The feasts are often so elaborate that there is even a saying, “dumplings over flowers”, meaning that people go for the food instead of the flowers.

No day these days is complete without seeing what Skunky is up to. Is Skunky safe? Is Skunky healthy? Skunky is doing well. Long live Skunky!