March 27, 2009. Checy Chase, Md. Blossoms.

They are arriving, bit by bit. A cool Spring means they come more slowly and last longer so we who have lived here a long time like the cool nights. From my balcony window I can see several trees covered with blossoms. The trees are sparse but are telling us that soon the full blossoms will be big and beautiful. The trees at the tidal basin will be in full bloom this weekend but the trees in our Kenwood neighborhood will wait a week I bet. For the next two months, Washington will be full of blooming trees. First the cherry trees, followed by the azalea bushes and finally the dogwood trees. Washington is the place to be in the Spring. Of course, trying to visit at the height of the blossoms is very difficult because each year the blossoms peak at a different time. Don't come until the blossoms have appeared. It is the only safe plan.

This a very unusual time of the day for me to be home. It is three o'clock and I am drinking tea at my desk while I do my little web log. Normally I am either in the truck driving to the farm or out of town. Today I am preparing to leave for Mexico tomorrow. We read many places and on TV that Mexico is a bad place to travel just now. Our West coast location is well away from the violence of the drug wars, so we are going and we will enjoy. Once while in Nicaragua we met a couple from Montreal, who asked us about the crime in Washington, DC. They really wanted to visit the place but were fearful of the crime. They were surprised that we lived there happily. We just laughed and told them that many friends at home were unwilling to come to Nicaragua because of the crime. This Montreal couple had been to Nicaragua several times and had found no crime. Perception is everything.