Something I wrote a couple of weeks ago. We're deeper into spring now, so this moment has passed, but the feeling remains. 

The lush abundance of a summer garden in bloom is intoxicating. But nothing gladdens the heart like the welcome burst of spring flowers, in part because many rise above a background of last year’s brown stalks and fallen leaves, the detritus of death that renders the cheery yellow of the forsythia even cheerier and makes the bright face of the daffodil even brighter.  

Also, spring treats us to trees in bloom. When those massive shapes erupt in a riot of delicate flowers, they make a display that reaches past the beautiful to the sublime. Tall trees, offering differing shades of green and different textures, are wonderful in the full leaf of summer.  But in the spring, when they are a mass of flowers, they take your breath away. 

Today was a perfect spring day. The sky was clear blue for most of the day, though some patchy white clouds appeared by the end. Since they were scattered and fluffy, and not threatening, they did not mute or detract from the intense sunlight that made the colors of all the flowers so bright and vivid.  

This is the middle of a period—just a week or so—that all the flowering fruit trees on our street are blooming. The scene is dominated by the pears, with popcorn-puffs of white flowers. Today they’re at their peak, with petals fully open like arms stretching out to catch as much sun as possible.

The smattering of other fruit trees provides a pink or lavender blush that softens the dazzling white. Mixed in is a row of trees—redbuds?—with deep burgundy flowers offering a richness that balances the snowy brilliance of the pears.  Down the street, maples put forth bright green flowers that declare the freshness of new life.  

While all these trees lift the gaze upward, forsythias blaze brightly at the middle level, and spots of daffodil, narcissus, and pastel hyacinths sparkle below. Less than a week ago, lawns had large expanses of brown patches. Now the grass, freshened by spring rains and nurtured by the warming sun, gleams emerald. 

There is such intensity of color and life that it’s truly spectacular—the world unstained and unsullied, as it had looked, perhaps, in the Garden of Eden.