Blossoms

This week marks the start of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival (April 4 to April 30) with events happening all over the city to celebrate the beauty of Cherry Blossoms.

"The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival was founded in 2005 by Linda Poole, its director, to commemorate the 37,000 cherry trees gifted from Japan to the City of Vancouver." Wikipedia

Cherry blossoms are among the earliest of the blooming trees. We have recently had a mild sunny spell and the trees have burst into bloom.

You can enjoy the blooms almost anywhere in the city, especially in the parks; there are guided walks, a bicycle blossom event called Velopalooza as well as music, en plein air painting and writing (haiku) to celebrate the blooming of the cherry trees. 

"Haiku (俳句, haikai verse^?) listen (help·info) (no separate plural form) is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:

• The essence of haiku is "cutting" (kiru). This is often represented by the juxtaposition of two images or ideas and a kireji ("cutting word") between them, a kind of verbal punctuation mark which signals the moment of separation and colours the manner in which the juxtaposed elements are related.

• Traditional haiku consist of 17 on (also known as morae), in three phrases of 5, 7 and 5 on respectively.^[1] Any one of the three phrases may end with the kireji.^[2] Although haiku are often stated to have 17 syllables,^[3] this is inaccurate as syllables and on are not the same.

• A kigo (seasonal reference), usually drawn from a saijiki, an extensive but defined list of such words. (Wikipedia)

I have included some of the winning haiku from previous years between the pictures:

missed the bus again.
cherry blossom petals
weightless in my hands.

Monica Wang

blossoms bursting
each tree is a choir
singing to the sun

Oz Hershfield

soft-pedalling

along the avenue—

cherry blossoms

Mary Franklin

Here is my attempt at haiku:

sunshine and blossoms
lunch on the deck in springtime
that is perfection!


There are other flowers too:

Japonica

Forsythia

Lilac, about to bloom

rhododendron

Horse chestnut tree about to flower

The promise of fruit, the strawberry plants are bursting into life and may start flowering soon.

This bunny was enjoying a carrot.

The red winged blackbirds are nesting.

Not cherry blossoms but beautiful.

The turtles were out sunbathing.

The daffodils in the park were in full bloom too.

This robin was searching for food.

Flowering currant bush:

... and one of my Camellias has started to bloom

All in all a most beautiful time, and I think my favorite time of the year.

Happy Easter and happy spring to all.

"Joy in looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift." - Albert Einstein

"God is really only another artist, he made the elephant, giraffe and cat. He has no real style but keeps trying new ideas." Pablo Picasso

So, what is the harm in trying new things, look what marvels have come of it!

I have been busy in the studio too. There  are two more paintings in the seashore series and another teddy bear and tiger image. First the two new seashore paintings:

"Three dollars in the bank" focuses on sand dollars a delight to kids of all ages.

"Three dollars in the bank"

"Sea Urchin Line Up" is of beautifully coloured sea urchin shells.

"Sea Urchin line up"

 The teddies and tigers are back too. Here is one called "Splish, splash, time for a ..."

All are watercolours, for more details follow this link: GillianOlsonArt.blogspot.ca

I am delighted that you have dropped by for a visit, Happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next week ..........

Mixed Bag

The expression mixed bag usually refers to an assortment of unrelated objects. Today I am focussing on a mixed bag of natural events happening simultaneously: perennials in the garden are starting to bloom, as are wild flowers at the park and beach, and ducklings and goslings and other nestlings are continuing their cycle of life. 

In the garden the perennials are set to burst into bloom. Below the flowering stems of the succulent "Hen and Chickens"; neither a real hen or a chicken but a succulent that spreads when tiny versions of the parent plant, the chickens, spring from all around the parent looking like a mother hen attempting to shelter its chicks.

The last few Camillia blooms. This year we have had hundreds of blooms on our Camelia bushes.

The lilac is just flowering, a beautiful and fragrant addition to the garden.

The apple trees are covered in flower, hopefully leading to abundant apple crops this fall.

The wild lupins at the beach and in the park are just starting to bloom in beautiful blues, pinks and purples.

... and these insects have noticed.

The Horse chestnut trees are in flower with their wonderful, delicate blooms.

The buttercups are bursting into bloom too, beautiful buttery yellows shining in the sunshine.

When my Wisteria died back a couple of years ago, I was worried that it had died, but it has since regrown (from below the graft I believe) and is flowering robustly again this year. It provides a wonderful sweet fragrance at this time of year and then a welcome shade on our patio throughout the summer.

 In the park the Wild Roses are in bloom, so elegant, so understated, so beautiful.

At the pond in the park the Redwing blackbirds are busily looking after their nestlings; here I strayed a little too close to the nest and attracted the attention of both the male and female Red wings:

The Canada Geese float elegantly on the pond.

 This pair has five goslings to take care of and this morning all were catching a few winks when I stopped by with my camera.

Back at home this Downy Wodpecker is enjoying the suet that I have left out.

More succulents flowering.

The red Peony is always the first to bloom in my garden: the bud and then the flower.

The delicate Corn Flower bud and below the flower.

The start of the Day Lilies; as the name implies each flower lasts only a day.

The last spring and early summer are a wonderful and eventful time in the garden, and probably my favorite time of the year.


Here is a recently finished watercolour of a Great Blue Heron. I am donating this painting to the Brock House Summer Fair Art Sale.

Thank you for dropping by, and Happy Whimsy Wednesday, until next week ...