Plum Blossoms
Early spring in Southern California — there’s nothing like it. The trees bloom and flowers turn up everywhere. Everything is fresh and beautiful, lush and promising. It doesn’t surprise me at all that this is when birds begin courting and laying eggs. It’s all about newness. I love it!
Filed under: Photography ~ Comments (8)
How beautiful!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Comment by Pam — 2009/03/10 @ 04:48
I have more, if’n ya want
Comment by DaGoddess — 2009/03/10 @ 05:13
Oh now that is just lovely. Dreamy, even.
:clap:
Comment by jan — 2009/03/10 @ 10:44
That photo is fabulously gorgeous!
In her Poetic Memoirs, Lady Daibu of medieval Japan writes of traveling with a companion in her carriage. There was a war going on, and to cheer her up, her friend had the vehicle stopped so they could enjoy a particularly fine grove of plum trees in blossom.
They learned that the owner was also a bit sad, because a lord he used to see every year hadn’t been by to enjoy the sight. The lord had even paid the owner to keep other visitors away so he could enjoy the blossoms for a time in solitude.
OK, that was pretty high-handed of Lord Sukemori. But ponder how much he valued the plum blossoms.
And such was her fate that of course that Sukemori was the very man Lady Daibu had been trying to forget for a while. They had been lovers, and he had been killed in the war.
plum blossoms
I will tell you all
that is in my heart;
tell me too that you mourn
the one I loved!
— Ukyo no Daibu, 1184
[Loose translation based on Philip Harries.]
Comment by Lloyd — 2009/03/10 @ 22:27
Lloyd, you are amazing! I’m really honored that you take the time to visit my blog and share your amazing wealth of knowledge and I couldn’t be happier to have you as one of my readers. Thank you!
Comment by DaGoddess — 2009/03/12 @ 01:47
Lloyd, I am so touched by that story. How sweet, how sad, how lovely. Another gorgeous shot! I can’t wait until the crab apple orchard is in bloom at Dawes Arboretum.
Comment by GW — 2009/03/12 @ 16:46
Lloyd, I am so touched by that story. Heartbreaking and lovely. Another gorgeous shot! I can’t wait until the crab apple orchard is in bloom at Dawes Arboretum.
Comment by GW — 2009/03/12 @ 16:51
Thank you for enjoying my comment :-)
In my old neighborhood there were some crabapple trees, and the mess they made in other seasons was always, I thought, balanced by their beauty in blossom.
As for Lady Daibu, an e-friend from Australia had read of me praising the book after I had found it in a used bookshop. At her request, I sent her a long commentary and she got my permission to post the comments on her website. So of course I wrote more.
It’s all long disappeared off the WWW, but some of her visitors would grab portions of my commentary for their websites. Usually without direct attribution to either Kyr or me, much less Professor Harries and his full translation.
I just googled Lady Daibu again, and one of the top results is quoting a portion of my commentary word-for-word, with no sign that she is not the author of it. I think she’s saying her cat wrote it. That’s fame in the WWW ;-)
Comment by Lloyd — 2009/03/14 @ 14:45