Sweet Magnolia

Here, a beautiful story begins...

Magnolia patiently waits...

to ever slowly spread its petals

to catch a glimpse of that warm spring Sun

to breathe sweet fragrance and to unfold

and show off those fairy wing-like petals

eager and ready to take flight

and soar up to the sky

and cover sweet earth with such breathtaking beauty.

Flowers bloom in their own time and so do we.

A Day With The Tulips

I could never recall all their names, but all I could vividly remember is how they were extremely beautiful, colorful and vibrant. It was a wonderful feeling driving back to Hershey Gardens this spring. It could be because of the flowers or it could be because I was with a very good friend. It could be both. If I could, I would love to freeze each flower so that they could bloom the whole year through, but I knew that was not possible. So, all I could do was snap as many photos as possible, in that case, they can forever bloom in my photos.

Double Early Tulips

There were rows and rows of Tulips

Vibrant Yellows

Solo beauty

Parrot Tulips

Lavender and Red Tulips

Early Double Fringed Tulips

Crowded beauty

Double Fringed Tulips

Orange close up

I love the Lavenders.

The front row looks like squash flowers, but they're some Tulip variety

I love how they mixed the lavender, yellow and pink here.

Lovely reds

A peek into a Tulip's world

A crown

A feast of beauty

Fosteriana Tulips

I want a garden like that :)

The petals are fringed in some way

Darwin Hybrid Tulips

Have a colorful and vibrant day!

A Piece Of My Mind

My friend and I made it to the Hershey Gardens on Saturday, and I was completely enthralled with the tulips. It's that feeling that you never want to leave and wish the flowers would bloom and stay beautiful forever. Of course, I went nuts again with the picture taking and took about 150 photos. The tulips were absolutely beautiful and vibrantly blooming in bright yellow, lavender, orange and other shades and combination.

We were admiring the tulips when a couple caught our attention. The wife or gf was childishly running and jumping over the tulips and asking the husband to take her photos here and there. I don't know if she was aiming to flaunt her skin at a chilly 50-degree day or was just too happy to see the tulips, but she took off her jacket and posed seductively sleeveless. Then, she checks the camera and loudly blurted, "Dis is pangit (ugly) pose; you hab to take the photo again like dis and dat." Then, she maneuvers the camera trying to show the husband how to take the photo then runs to pose again. Yup, she's Filipina.

It may sound that I am mocking her accent, but truly, I am comfortable with the strong Filipino accent but what made it so annoying was that she was disturbingly loud and rude. At some point, the husband notices that we, us and the other people at the park, were staring at her, and he suddenly asks her, "Why do you need to shout?" Noticing that she has everybody's attention, he lead her to the farther end of the park.

I think it was selfish of her acting like she owned the park. People were there to enjoy the tulips not to see her shout and pose like she owned the world. I'm sorry if I may sound prejudice and judging just because she's Filipina like me, but I uphold my values whenever I am by myself or with a crowd. Whether she was Filipina or not, her actions and childish behavior were inappropriate and belong to a Bush Garden or some amusement park, not in a peaceful, memorial garden.

Puerto Rico's El Yunque Rainforest

I think this will be the last of the Puerto Rico series for now until I return there again; I intend to. Apart from exploring the historical places in Old San Juan, we managed to book a half-day tour to El Yunque. I've been to several rainforests like the ones in Hawaii, but I thought it would still be great to experience Puerto Rico's own rainforest. You know, El Yunque did not disappoint.

"The true sub tropical 'Rain forest' occupies very little area in Puerto Rico, only a single, crescent shaped, band on the windward side of the El Yunque mountains. It lies wholly within the El Yunque National Forest Reserve. This life zone is characterized by an annual total of 3,400 mm of rain. Its' main features are the Sierra Palms and a superabundance of epiphytes..." ("Forest Legacy Proposal" by the Department of Natural Resources of the Government of Puerto Rico.)

Welcome to El Yunque also called as the Caribbean National Forest.

Our first stop was La Coca Falls

La Coca Falls

I cannot remember the name of this flower, but in the middle of those pretty petals there's a sac filled with stinky liquid.

Giant ferns

Pink Ginger

Braided tree trunk

Knock on a termite's house

This view reminds me of the Philippines.

According to our funny guide, this is the Puerto Rican Mickey Mouse.

Yokahu Tower

Window from the Yokahu Tower

Ok, you might be asking why oh why did I take a photo of this Bamboo. Well, here's why, the Bamboo and the tall Coconut tree population planted in El Yunque are from the Philippines brought by the Spaniards in the earlier days. Isn't that amazing?

This is the tree that produces the stinky flower.

How giant is a Giant Fern?

At some point during this trip, the batteries of my camera died. I was so disappointed, but a trip to El Yunque is a must. It was a wonderful experience to learn about the Taino Indians and learn about the different species that live and thrive in the rainforest.

So until next time Puerto Rico!

Part 2: DC Cherry Blossom's Festival 2010

A few have asked how long the blossoms last, so I've decided to include more info and a little bit of history about the DC Cherry Blossoms:

"The blooming of the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. has come to symbolize the natural beauty of our nation's capital city. The famous trees, a gift from Japan in 1912, signal Washington’s rite of spring with an explosion of life and color that surrounds the Tidal Basin in a sea of pale pink and white blossoms. Thousands of city residents and visitors from across the nation and around the world come here to witness the spectacle, hoping that the trees will be at the peak of bloom for the Cherry Blossom Festival."

* 2010 Bloom Watch
- Average Peak Bloom Date: April 4
- 2010 Peak Bloom Date: March 31
- 2010 Blooming Period: March 27 - April 5

(Source:http://www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/cms/index.php?id=404)

Although the cherry trees bloom once a year and the blooms last for almost two weeks, their beauty and impact can last a lifetime. It makes you yearn and look forward to the next blooming. I admit, I couldn't stop taking photos while I was there. It was blissfully maddening. Being surrounded by so many flowers makes you want to just capture it all - every flower, every angle, and every corner.

Some of the flowers just peek and bloom through the tree trunks

Walking through a canopy of flowers

It looks as if it snowed in spring

A hint of culture from where the trees came from

Soon, the water will turn pink and white, as the petals fall off from the tree crowding the lake

I think I want to do this one next year

Bending tree beauty

Jefferson Memorial surrounded by beauty

A long but delightful walk

And so we walked and stopped to take pics for the umpteenth time

And so next year, I'll definitely see the cherry blossoms again.

To learn more about the history of the DC Cherry Trees, go here: https://ncrcms.nps.gov/chbl/cherry-blossom-history.htm.