There are lots of obvious and no so obvious signs of spring each year in NoVa. Not too long after the first blades of new grass the prettiest little blue flowers pop up in lawns and parks everywhere. I don't know their name but they are one of the signs of spring it would be easy to overlook.
By mid March each year the Forsythia is starting to bloom and within a week or two the electric yellow blossoms dominate gardens and median strips alike all throughout the region. There is no denying that spring is on the way when you see it.
By the first week of April that familiar hum and the smell that goes with it are in the air as people begin their lawncare chores for the year. Actually, I believe that most lawncare is done by Landscaping Services in NoVa. It sometimes seems everywhere you look there is a latino with a bag of mulch and a leaf blower.
Trees of various shapes, sizes and colors begin to blossom the last few days of March or very early April. The most famous tree in our neck of the planet is the ornamental cherry tree. They are everywhere, not just around the tidal basin in DC.
For me the undeniable sign that spring is well on it's way and is an unstoppable force is the stinky tree. Each year NoVa is filled with a beautiful, blossom filled tree that makes you gag. From afar they are a sight to behold with their many branches reaching skyward covered in whitish-green blossoms.
I even dug out my Audubon Society's Eastern Forests book to see if I could figure out precisely what it is but had no luck. The leaves look exactly like the quaking aspen, the most widely distributed tree in North America, but I don't remember them smelling like this. Perhaps is is some other lesser known aspen or linden variety. Whatever it is, I always hold my breath as I walk underneath them.
Mood: Tired.
Song of the Day:
"Ooh, ooh that smell. Can't you smell that smell?
-That Smell
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Failed Advertising Slogan of the Day:
Forex: "A brand new way for you to lose money."
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3 comments:
We get little tiny flowers, but they're white. My mom always liked to pick them and put them in miniature vases. They cover our backyard. One day, my dad went to mow the lawn, and my brother (3 at the time) laid down on the lawn so my dad couldn't mow over the flowers. It was cute.
Smelly trees, however, are not cute.
They're pear trees. They're all over Nashville, TN where I used to live. They smell like blood, death, and pee. They make me want to vomit. :) P.S. Found your blog cause I'm a friend of Chris Hennig's and stumbled on you via google. Then I was sucked into your blog. :)
~Allison
Regarding stinky trees: Does anyone know what could account for a linden tree going suddenly stinky in July (possibly beginning in June)? It is an "old pee" smell; the odor is so strong that my neighbor complained and asked me not to do whatever was causing the smell -- it made her nauseous. The tree has not apeared stressed until yesterday when several clusters of yellowed leaves appeared. Also some leaves have antler galls and these leaves have a red/brown cast.
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