Sign Of Spring: Cherry Blossoms and More

While Washington has a much more famous festival that's internationally known, Philadelphia has its own festival to pay tribute to one of the biggest signs of Spring -- the blooming of the cherry tree.   Sunday is the showcase day for the Philadelphia Cherry Blossom Festival -- featuring a 5k run and a slew of activities like origami workshops, crafting, and more.   There is a cost to attend Sunday's activities along the river but regardless of whether you attend or not the cherry tree blooming is, at least in my opinion, a milestone in the annual transition from winter chill to the warmth of summer.

Around the region, flowers are blooming in many locations (especially those southward facing yards) and other trees are getting close to springing forth their leaves.  The promise of a very warm day on Monday may provide the impetus for many of these trees and the rest of those flowers that are just starting to wake up to finish off their slumber and "spring forth."   Allergy sufferers are already feeling it -- unfortunately, pollen levels are increasing quickly and will remain high for the next several weeks as the annual springing of tree buds and flowers will lead to increases in sneezes, wheezes, and more over the coming days and weeks...regardless of how warm we are each day.