Pink Alert

This afternoon DH and I went to Branch Brook Park, affectionately known as Cherryblossomland, to check bloom conditions. It's two and a half weeks earlier than last year's reconnoiter and many of the early bloomers are fully blown, even dropping petals.



Not to worry, the main bloom has yet to arrive – most of the trees are still budding. See, the sign says so. Or see a live view via Cherry Blossom Cam.



Happy as that is for hanami, I'm disquieted by this freakishly warm weather and wonder what it may mean for this summer and beyond. The bad is easy to imagine: a scorching summer with more bugs, more power failures, and either miserable humidity or miserable drought. Sigh.

On the other hand, maybe a longer growing season means this year I'll finally get long-season melons to grow to maturity or even manage a dye garden. I have to admit, Harvesting Color by Rebecca Burgess is quite inspirational. Hm....