“To me, flowers look best when there are masses of them.” Those words came from a guy who, overall, doesn’t know his ass from his elbow. Namely, from me. Once in a while, though, I realize I do know what I’m talking about. which led me to post that comment recently on In The Net! – Pictures and Stories of Life, Lynette d’Arty-Cross’s fine website that focuses on the beauty of the natural world.
What’s better than flowers? They are bursting with life, yet are peaceful. And, I’m certain, they connect positively with just about every human on Planet Earth, even with evil motherf*ckers. I wouldn’t be surprised, for instance, if the residences of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, and the surrounding grounds, boast flower displays that would knock your socks off.
Yes, I believe that you can’t have too many flowers. I began to embrace that opinion strongly circa 2018. I’m not sure why it hadn’t dawned on me much earlier. Whatever, I’m happy that I eventually wised up.
As fields of flowers don’t exist anywhere near where I live, I’ve developed a semi-obsession with flowering trees, which contain oceans of blossoms in relatively concentrated spaces. Those trees are miraculous. And, seeing that their performances don’t last for more than a handful of weeks, it behooves a flower aficionado to feast his or her eyes upon them while the feasting is good.
The spring season, here in southeast Pennsylvania, USA, was in pretty full gear by the second half of April. Various species of flowering trees were strutting their stuff. So, when a nice sunny day rolled around on the 22nd of April, I decided to take advantage of it, knowing that the blue skies would help the blossoms to look their very best. I wasn’t wrong. As I rambled for an hour through my neighborhood and an adjoining neighborhood, I soaked up the loveliness of thousands upon thousands of tree flowers, getting as close to them as I could, and allowing plenty of blue to enhance the views. My phone’s camera immortalized my walk. A few samples of its work accompany this story.
You know, when I left my house to go flower-hunting that late morning, I didn’t know that my mini expedition was taking place on Earth Day. I thought that Earth Day, an excellent event, had been celebrated two days prior. When you think about it, though, every day should be Earth Day. If humankind were a whole lot smarter than it is, individuals, governments and businesses would be doing whatever it takes, urgently, to try and repair the wounds that we’ve inflicted upon our gorgeous orb since the start of the Industrial Revolution about 250 years ago.
However, I’ve read (click here) that, despite substantial inroads made by renewable energy sources, fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas) remain dominant, accounting for about 80% of global energy usage. Heat-trapping greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane) produced by the burning of fossil fuels are the main culprits behind climate change. That 80% figure needs to drop enormously in order to mitigate climate change’s manifestations: global warming; rising sea levels; extreme weather events; droughts; forest fires and floods, to name some of the biggies. Analysts, though, are divided as to when, or if, this might happen. Even under the best-case scenario, depressingly, enormous quantities of fossil fuels will continue to be burned for many years to come.
And don’t get me started on deforestation, plastic pollution and other mammoth non-climate-change-related crimes we have been committing. Holy shit, it’s absolutely incredible how destructive, and self-destructive, our species is.
On that note, I now shall sign off. By the time this story is published I will have bathed in the beauty of flowering trees several more times. They are good for my spirits. I damn well need them.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
love the alliterative title, Neil and the splashy snaps. See I’m doing it too. I fine ode to flowers. Perhaps Putin does love them; Adolf might have too. How can bellicosity exist in a blossomy world?
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Yeah, some people like Nature and also like violence and animosity too.
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You’re right, Neil–every day should be Earth Day. Thanks for the great floral photos!
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Hi Audrey. The cherry trees around here were full and vibrant on April 22nd. They’ve dropped loads of their blossoms since then.
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But then you get drifts of pink and white petals on the streets. Much better than snow drifts!
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Marvellous pictures, Neil! Our trees are in full bloom right now as well (some are finished or almost finished but have been replaced by the later ones). So beautiful and the apple and orange blossoms have such gorgeous scents, too.
Thank you very much for the lovely shout-out.
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The spring season truly is amazing.
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Beautiful photos, wonderful post! I do try to live as if every day were Earth Day, spending as much time as possible outside on foot and as little time possible burning fossil fuels, buying stuff and making garbage. Every day I pick up several handfuls of seeds as I walk: mostly tree seeds, but other plant seeds too (even those considered “weeds”), and I save them up and plant them in a nearby abandoned gravel quarry. Mostly I just observe. I watch the birds and deer and foxes, but also the worms, bugs, and slugs. I watch the trees get ready to start another warm season. I watch the ground thaw and freeze, and the color of the sky change. We are changing the world so fast and in so many ways. Who knows how many days we have left to be awed by nature before it is gone?
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Amen. So many talk about saving the earth and then continue to purchase over-packaged products and jump in their SUV to drive to a place they could walk (or ride a bike). Plastics and PFAS are ubiquitous but avoidable if one is determined (well, maybe not PFAS). I buy used, or previously owned to avoid packaging. Works for a ton of stuff, not so much for batteries.
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It’s so hard to avoid plastics. And so much damage has already been done because of them. There weren’t a whole lot of plastics in use till the 1960s, I think.
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Thanks for adding your excellent commentary, Ginger. If everyone appreciated Nature as much as you, our planet would be in far, far better shape.
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Beautiful Spring blooms. Our leaves are turning red, orange and gold – just as beautiful, but polar opposite to you! Thanks for sharing, Mel
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Hi Mel. I think I like autumn more than spring. The changing colors of leaves is the greatest.
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They are like mini farewells as Nature curls up to snooze for a while.
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Thank you for making me laugh! The first three sentences are priceless. The photos are beautiful.
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Hi Cindy. Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.
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I’m with you all the way on the beauty of flowers and especially on the joy which trees bring to our lives.
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Hi Paddy. A few times over the years I’ve been in giant-redwood forests. Those trees are unbelievable.
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❤ ❤ ❤
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Hi, and thanks.
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These flowers are amazing, looks like nature’s version of fireworks!.
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Howdy. I like your description of them.
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Beautiful contrast
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Thanks. Sheree. Take care.
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You too
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I needed your reminder, Neil, because the cherry trees are blossoming here in San Francisco and I’m about out of my mind with hay fever — an affliction that often causes me to curse blossoms when instead I should be admiring them. Nature is so exquisitely, heartbreakingly beautiful. And your photos are, too.
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Hi there, Paula. Cherry blossoms are amazingly intricate and delicate. They’re cool.
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Great post with so many beautiful photos. Don’t you just love when the spring is in the air and when trees and bushes across the world are putting on a spectacular display? There are a few places in Dublin where the fleeting petals of Sakura unfold, bringing a wave of beauty and a reminder of the transient nature of life. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day. Aiva xx
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Hello Aiva. Right, we have to take advantage of blossoms while we can, because they are gone before we know it.
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The pink blossom / blue sky combination is irresistible. I agree with your other views too. We’ve just abandoned a set of climate targets here, extending the timescale – I think they were actually unrealistic in the first place, but still. Not the right direction of travel. Sometimes I think we are doomed and the planet will carry on quite happily without us!
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I too have big doubts about humankind’s future. We’re on thin ice.
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Agreed, flowers enhance our lives with natural artistry. Right now is the time for lilacs in our neighborhood. So lovely.
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Lilacs are great. For some reason there aren’t a lot of them in my area.
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Beautiful photos, and I agree 100%. Spring in the Midwest is gorgeous.
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Hi. I’m going to get up close and personal with some flowering trees later today.
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Great post…. beautiful photos! Close to home you should walk around the grounds of Glencairn….always beautiful flowers to see and many beautiful trees and grounds. Amazing place!!!!
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Thanks for the idea. I haven’t been there in a long time.
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I’m with you all the way. Oh, those flowering trees.
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They are mood-boosters.
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When the trees are in flower you know it is really spring…at last!
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I’m sure that springtime is spectacular in Costa Rica.
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I’m not really sure what season to call it ,but yes, you are right!
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We’re rich in flower-filled fields, but lack many of these flowering trees. Farther north in the state there are things like peach orchards, but we have to ‘make do’ with things like flowering plum and the occasional wild hawthorne. Your photos are beautiful; the sky always provides a fine background for the trees’ finery.
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Hello Linda. I wish there were fields filled with flowers around here. But there are hardly any fields of any kind.
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Beautiful Neil! It looks a lot like the trees I get to walk under but right now our blue sky is hiding behind rain clouds.
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Take advantage of those trees while flowers are still on them!
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I bought some pink flowering crabapple trees just for this reason (the masses of blooms). But we’ve got about a month before they burst out in northern MN.
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They will blossom beautifully!
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You are so right, every day should be Earth Day. It is sad that most people don’t think this way.
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A big part of the climate/environmental problem is that the human population is huge. The more people there are, the bigger the demands for energy, food, water, etc.
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Recently in Nova Scotia, we had interest free loans to go solar. What we don’t use in a day gets banked by the power company for the days when power generation is limited (winter). The payments are reasonable and a whole lot cheaper than oil. I also drive an electric car. But a lot of people don’t think about the planet’s future when they make such decisions.
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And even more beautiful is the fruit to follow! Here in So. CA, we already have wee nectarines, apples, and oranges developing, with apricots, peaches, figs, and plums to come.
Oh, BTW, bless you. I share your affliction.
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Hi Judy. Your mention of all those fruits has made me hungry!
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we all need them.
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Hi. Who is this, by the way? You are listed as Anonymous.
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I too love Lynette’s site. She starts my each day with natural beauty. What could be better?
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She does a great job.
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The flowering trees are beautiful but I’m growing a bit tired washing all the pollen off my red car so it doesn’t look pink! Enjoy!
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There’s a downside to almost everything!
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Such clear blue skies. I love flowering trees and your photos do them justice.
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When I took those photos, cherry trees and dogwoods and some other varieties were at their peak. But magnolia trees had already dropped their blossoms.
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Spring flowers are the best! And you captured their beauty perfectly!
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Thanks very much.
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Amazing photos, Neil! What a joy it must be to walk through your neighborhood during springtime! Thanks for the link to the article on “Fossil Fuels” published by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI).
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Hi, Rosaliene. There are a fair number of flowering trees in my area. And I wish there were five times more!
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Neil, it’s never too late to plant one or more of your own 🙂
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Beautiful flowering trees. Spring is the best time of year to appreciate these blooms 🙂 Maggie
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I’d go out for a walk right now to look at flowering trees. But I’m too pooped!
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Thanks, Jerry. I hadn’t heard that tune in a long time.
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Gorgeous shots. You have a great eye for capturing the beauty of nature.
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Thanks a lot, Martie.
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Every day definitely should be Earth Day. And flowers often do look best in the masses. Great photos!
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Some people in my neighborhood have flower beds that have a flower here, a flower there. Those beds need dozens more flowers.
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happy new month…..
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Fabulous!! Just as good as flowers.
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Many thanks.
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Good to read that the blossoms are uplifting for you and I have to admit they do the same for me. Lovely images.
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Hi Suzanne. I’m amazed by trees in flower. So many blossoms!
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Lovely pics, Neill, and I entirely after with you – every day should be Earth day!
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Our planet deserves to be treated properly.
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My morning walk takes me past some flowering fruit trees, and one of them has been so beautiful, that I keep stopping to admire it. It distracts me from my walk, but I figure that it’s only going to be as beautiful as it is for a short time, and i might as well enjoy it while I can. If I were smarter, I’d bring a chair with me and just spend the day sitting underneath that tree.
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You know, sitting under that tree for a while sounds like a good idea. And it would be cool if some petals fell off and drifted around you while you sat there. Go for it!
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Well, I should have! Yesterday, I walked by it again, and now it’s all green leaves and no flowers. Looks a lot like any other tree. Still…
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Wonderful photos and I love Spring but mostly your parting sentance: “…I will have bathed in the beauty of flowering trees several more times.”
Japan’s blossoms are spectacular if you can stand the masses of crowds!
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Hi. I’m used to crowds. But flowering trees are better when you can admire them in private!
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Today I took a photo of a duck (or goose?) amongts tulips. I love Springtime.
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“When you think about it, though, every day should be Earth Day. If humankind were a whole lot smarter than it is, individuals, governments and businesses would be doing whatever it takes, urgently, to try and repair the wounds that we’ve inflicted upon our gorgeous orb since the start of the Industrial Revolution about 250 years ago.”
Amen! The amazing question to me is why, oh why didn’t giant fossil fuel companies recgonize all the $$$$ to be made by pioneering the transfer away from fossil fuels to clean energy sources??? I mean, they would have been in on the ground floor, would have continued to make their BIG $$$ and the world and all its liife forms would have been saved from this madness.
Great post–both the beautiful bright flowers and the hard-hitting words about saving our planet from the greed of a few for the well-being of the many.
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I imagine that coastal flooding will get worse and worse over the next few decades. Many cities and towns all over the world are in jeopardy.
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Yes, what we do with life’s beautiful resources are quite conflicting.😵💫
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Thanks for adding your thoughts. Your comments were posted as being from Anonymous though, so I don’t know who I’m replying to.
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I love blossom season, and also some of the less showy flowers on trees like the maples and the ashes.
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Hi. I was out for a walk today, to get some exercise. There are a whole lot fewer blossoms on trees than there were only a week ago. But azaleas are coming into their own now around here (I live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
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Lovely to see all the blossoms when here it’s all orange and red and fluttering, falling leaves. Re: plastics and fossil fuels, there needs to be better or funky, fashionable alternatives for the masses to change.
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Not enough people take the problems seriously, it seems to me.
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I find the argument “nothing I do will make any difference” utterly frustrating. The world is made up of “I”s.
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One of my fondest memories is of a time when we visited our daughter who was working in Prague. We took an overnight train to Slovakia and awakened to a field filled with a zillion sunflowers, all bright-eyed and eagerly embracing the early morning sun.
Amid the awfulness of our degradation of the planet, there are some strands of good news. I plan to research them shortly. As for deforestation, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) publishes a report card about which brands of toilet paper, paper towels, and facial tissues are the best and worst in terms of their impact on deforestation. My husband and I now use recycled toilet paper (from an enterprising young company appropriately named “Who Gives a Crap?” that devotes 50% of their profits to providing toilets in poorer nations) and bamboo paper towels. See “The Issue with Tissue” at http://www.nrdc.org/resources.
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Evening, Annie. Your sunflower story is superb. To see something like that, totally unexpectedly, is very special. Van Gogh, as we know, loved sunflowers. The Philadelphia Museum Of Art owns one of the 12 or so sunflower paintings he produced. I have a feeling it’s the most popular artwork in the museum.
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I’ll be out gathering nuts this month.
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You’re a nutty guy!
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Wonderful story and photos Neil. We are a bit behind on the Cape. In a couple of weeks our Rhododendrons will be blooming.
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Morning, Ernie. I think it’s cooler generally on the Cape compared to my area. It’s 61 degrees in my town as I write this. And it’s 49 degrees in Orleans, per the weather app on my phone. I guess that’s why plants bloom later on CC.
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The clear blue sky never gets old. Add splashes of vibrant blossoms—and voila! A live springtime masterpiece. What a great way to spend Earth Day!
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Hello there, Crystal. There’s a whole lot of beauty in the world.
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I agree, Neil. Everyday should be earth day. Your flowering tree pictures are so beautiful. I love seeing them in my yard and all around during the spring. When you go out in nature you feel like all is good with the world–even when it’s not.
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“When you go out in nature you feel like all is good with the world–even when it’s not.” — I couldn’t agree more!
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