Cherry trees in full bloom, and other things that help me stay sane

Today’s coffee was iced coffee at lunch time, when some friends from church came over for a visit!

I seem to be getting into a pattern of alternating posts between things that make me crazy and things that help me stay sane. Things are difficult right now in our church, as I have written previously. So, it’s very helpful, as a colleague of mine blogged yesterday, to find ways of dealing with grief and stress. I like to call them 命綱 (inochizuna), meaning lifelines.

One of my lifelines I mentioned in my last post. That would be my “quiet time” each morning. Another one is spending time outside, breathing fresh air, listening to birds, and looking at beautiful things. I’m really glad that it’s finally spring, daffodils and cherry trees are blooming, last week included three public holidays, and the weather has been fantastic.

So… I went on a 花見 (hanami, meaning flower viewing) picnic with Shino last Wednesday, keeping a 2-year-old promise, then went again with friends after church on Sunday at a different park, took a walk with Keith yesterday to visit our favorite cherry tree in the park closest to our house.

Shino and I promised to go on a picnic two years ago... but I got sick and couldn't go. Promise kept, two years late!

With my favorite cherry tree, at our local park

Goofing off with Keith under favorite cherry tree

I stole the camera back from Keith, so now he's chasing me around favorite cherry tree...

Close-up of blossoms on favorite cherry tree

In Japanese culture, cherry blossoms remind people that life is fleeting. I, on the other hand, think ahead to the cherries that I will eat next month because the trees are blossoming now. I saw an entire tree full of fat and contented-looking bees, pollinating the flowers. Most of the trees in the parks we visited are ornamental varieties, but my neighbors are growing fruiting varieties. Cherry blossoms are hopeful flowers to me.

A fat and contented bee. This kind is called "bear bee" in Japanese.

Today I spent most of the day working in the garden… because even though there is a sermon to write, the weather was perfect, and it’s supposed to rain the rest of the week. I can write the sermon when it’s raining. The birdsong, the sun, the gentle breeze… I couldn’t stay inside. Keith and I finally got around to making beds for our vegetable garden, and I planted carrots, beets, swiss chard, cabbage, lettuce, and radishes. I also moved around some chrysanthemums that got too big for where they were planted, added rosemary and thyme to my herb garden, and planted a 山椒 (sansho) tree! I also yanked out a whole lot of bamboo grass. Little by little our garden is beginning not to look so much like a jungle.

Yellow Katakuri lilies

Daffodils in front of our house. Keith planted hundreds of bulbs last fall.

Our sansho tree! It has fragrant leaves used in cooking, and (if it is a female tree) will produce a kind of peppercorn, also used in cooking! And it's so cute! I hope it likes its new home.

Flowers and herbs in the foreground, vegetable plot in the background

We also have trillium flowers in Hokkaido!

Despair makes me look down. But an entire park full of blooming cherry trees, a garden full of daffodils, a fragrant sansho tree, and the anticipation of many more plants flourishing in my garden definitely helps me to stand up straight, breathe deeply the fresh spring air, and remember who it was that gave me life… and remember that he continues to give life.