She has an idea, it formulates as we drive past a blossom tree; a blossom tree that's shed pink silk, flurried and piled on the pavement. Hand and hand we walk with a yellow bucket, once a vessel for reusable nappies, a little smellier back then. 'It's bitter,' I say, 'dead parky for April.' The chill in the wind makes it feel like February. I shouldn't have trusted in the one thick jumper, at least she's wearing her coat; good that one of us is warm. Daffodil heads are bowed, moping, their time over, but the tulips are still going strong; straight to attention, they remind me of the Queen's Guard, trooping bright in colour.
We turn the corner, and there they are, hundreds and hundreds of pink petals. A great big thing of pinkness. It looks a centimeter deep this freshly fallen delicate blush. Pink. Pink. Pink. Everywhere. 'Pink is my favourite colour Mummy,' she says, and she runs through the blossom creating snow tracks behind her. To her they are like tiny fairy wings or fairy landing pads, to me they are shaped like teardrops, or oddly, like guitar plectrums, their tips curving like sea shells.
The petals fall and float down and down, settling at the bottom of the bucket. We gather more in our hands, soft and smooth, petals slipping between fingers, stuffing them inside, pressing upon them, pushing away extraneous air; there's at least half a bucket left to fill. When I was five, I would make homemade perfume from blossom, and watch it wilt and stifle in tap water in a cup. She, on the other hand, has other plans for our harvest.
'It's the colour of angel delight,' she beams. Petals are scattered. Over grass. Over pebbles. Over the fuzzy flooring of her garden shed. They catch in tulips, in the nooks where the stem and paddle-shaped leaves meet, they fall amid the russet branches of the sapling, an acer tree, and they collect on the paving stones near the back fence. 'Mummy, do I look beautiful? Do I have pretty skin like petals?' And I have to remind her again - I've found myself repeating it a little too often of late - that her beauty comes from her heart and mind, and most of all, the way she treats her family and friends; it comes from how she blossoms within...
This is the first day of the seasonal linky One Week. Over the next three days (Monday till Wednesday) I'll be posting a photograph(s) and a few words that diarises and distills my experience of spring '14. Take a peep at the details here. You can join in for one, two ... or the full three days. And don't forget to add #oneweek on Twitter, and comment on each others posts...
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Once again, this is so beautiful writing. So very touching.
ReplyDeleteThe photos are beautiful too, a lovely, beautiful post.
Thank you very much! I enjoyed writing it!
DeleteAnother stunning piece with beautiful writing and photographs. I absolutely adore blossom trees but sadly never managed to get that much coveted photo this spring :( x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much.... I kind of overdosed on blossom photos this spring, so had to do something with them. I love the blossom all comes out at once - looks so pretty. X
DeleteVery true that beauty comes from within. I love this time of year with all the blossom on the trees. Stunning!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. I really don't like the way that girls become so conscious of their appearance so young, I have to keep reminding her that her beauty lies beneath her skin; I hope it sinks in.
DeleteOh my goodness - your writing is BEAUTIFUL! I literally feel like I just had all those experiences myself. And stunning pictures! Wonderful post xx
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, that's very kind. Glad you like the pictures too - I kind of over dosed on blossom this year! X
DeleteOooohhhh, we love playing in pink blossoms puddles. So much fun. x
ReplyDeletePink blossom puddles - that's exactly what they are, and we had oodles of fun too! X
DeleteFabulous post, so perfectly captures the beauty of blossom. It was raining petals the other day when I was stuck in traffic - great clouds of them floating across the road. Beautiful x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. I love it when it rains petals.... we had them in gusts of wind too; so pretty and magical. X
DeleteAww I love the angel delight comparison. I too used to make perfume from the petals as a child. So beautifully captured and I love all the shade of pink.
ReplyDeleteBlossom's pretty much the exact same colour of angel delight (and I love strawberry angel delight). Thank you very much.
DeleteBeautifully written and the advice you gave to your daughter is so true. There is something so special about the blossom in Spring, it is stunning.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much..... I keep having to give my daughter that advice over and over. The blossom in spring is so magical isn't it?
Deleteoh how beautiful, and yes that kind of beauty is shorlived, whereas from the mind and heart it lasts forever!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much; little girls seem to become self conscious so fast, so I keep reminding her where her beauty really comes from!
DeleteSo true! Beautiful words and photos. X
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. X
DeleteSuch a lovely piece! I too remember making perfume... Funny how it never turned out quite how you imagined it! :D xx
ReplyDeleteThank you! No, it never did turn out how you imagined it, mine ended up smelly and mouldy! X
DeleteSuch beautiful colours!! Love blossom, cherry blossom especially. Our drive is filled with cherry blossom trees and I love watching them bloom!
ReplyDeleteI love the way cherry blossom trees all come out at once - it looks so pretty. Lucky you having so many on your drive!
Deletewonderful, and fabulously accompanied by the most beautiful photography!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, although I don't really consider myself a photographer!
Deleteoh how beautiful! beautiful written! By the way i finally received your book and i am really enjoy reading it. keeping it to one story/poetry a day :) its wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! So glad you finally received my little book and that you are enjoying it - thank you! :o).
DeleteI adore Cherry Blossoms. They hark back to my obsession with Japanese culture as a teenager and if I'm honest, I still am a little bit. This is also the reason why I keep coming back here every day (even if I don't comment all the time) - your words are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThey are so pretty aren't they, especially when their petals are caught on the wind? I guess you've read Memoirs of a Geisha then - I read it years and years ago, and it still stays with me. Thank you very much.
DeleteI could read your writing all day long. So beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, that's really kind of you to say.
Deleteso lovely x ronnie made perfume the other week from the petals of the tree at school he was so impressed with himself :)
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. Bless him; it's so much fun making perfume from petals, mine always ended up a skanky potion that never smelt very nice :o) X.
Delete"To her they are like tiny fairy wings or fairy landing pads, to me they are shaped like teardrops or oddly, like guitar plectrums, their tips curving like sea shells." What a beautifully constructed sentence - the wide spectrum of perspective that separates childhood from us. Love the way your words stay with me long after I've left here...x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much; maybe I should have that sentence on the dust jacket blurb of a book one day ;o). And I am flattered that my words stayed with you afterwords, this coming from a great wordsmith herself. X
DeleteGosh that is just beautiful, like a song on a page x
ReplyDeleteThank you 'o Northern Mum. X
DeleteLoving learning more and more about Little A in your posts lately - and, of course, #oneweek! Beautiful :) XXX
ReplyDeleteThank you very much; I've had a lot to say about Little A at present, and still loads more to come - glad you are enjoying #oneweek :o) X.
DeleteOh I remember making blossom perfume when I was little, but I like the idea of scattering it everywhere to make the world a prettier place! Round by us there are places where the petals pile up like snowdrifts and on a windy day you drive through a mini blizzard of spring!
ReplyDeleteAfter she had scattered it, the garden did look very pretty and very pink.... how lovely that you have seen petal snow drifts or petal drifts even, bet it looks gorgeous when a breeze whips it all up!
Deletewe had some pink blossom trees that our neighbours got rid off last year (they were in their garden but lent into ours) I still miss them xx
ReplyDeleteOh no! Shame they got rid of them. Blossom a garden maketh! X
DeleteSuch a gorgeous post - both the photos and the words and the sentiment. Spring is such a beautiful time of year isn't it? I can't wait to read the other One Week posts :) xx
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! As the weather has been good this year, the blossom has been particularly lovely, and thank you for reading the other posts too *flattered*. :o) X.
DeleteYou do write so well Kanchan is right ...a pleasure to read
ReplyDeleteThank you very much.... glad you enjoyed.
DeleteBeautiful piece. I love it when it snows petals - my boys go wild, running around in the petal whirlwind. x
ReplyDeleteThank you very much... it's as much fun as leaves isn't it? We had petals falling in our garden from trees down the road - there seemed to be so much this year! X
DeleteBeautiful writing, beautiful pictures ... I found you on Love all Blogs by the way :)
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, and nice to know you found me on LAB... popping over to you now :o)
DeleteAngel Delight! That's a blast from the past :0) . Gorgeous atmospheric post, I felt as though I were there with you. I'd love to be caught in a snowstorm of petals. x
ReplyDeleteI still love Angel Delight; the strawberry flavour is so yummy! Thank you very much - glad you enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun picking up all those petals and scattering them all over the garden. X
Delete