Cherry Blossoms

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."

I have lived in the Greater Toronto Area for nearly my entire life. For whatever reason, I only just today discovered that Toronto has its own cherry blossom park.

"In 1959, the Japanese ambassador to Canada, Toru-Hagiwara, presented 2000 Japanese Somei-Yoshino Sakura trees to the citizens of Toronto on behalf of the citizens of Tokyo. The trees were planted in appreciation of Toronto accepting re-located Japanese-Canadians following the Second World War."

Here I was, thinking about putting "Go to Japan to see cherry blossoms" on my bucket list, and all I could have done was just go to High Park. I love cherry blossoms.

They finally bloomed this weekend. I wished I could have taken my mother and the rest of my fam. It would have been amazing to celebrate Mother's Day amongst such beauty. I can't even see them before they fall because I'm leaving on Wednesday to go to New York City, and by the time I come back, it will have been too late. For future reference, the High Park Nature Centre keeps a blog and updates its readers about the progress of the cherry blossoms, as they don't last for very long, and timing is essential.

I'm actually really disappointed that I didn't get to see them this year. Sigh. Next year, I suppose. And so it's officially on the bucket list...

"In the cherry blossom's shade
there's no such thing
as a stranger."
— Kobayashi Issa