Project 365 day 71: Cherry Plum Blossom

In February the tightly curled buds of the cherry plum blossom were assaulted by a week of snow, ice and sub-zero temperatures and I thought we had lost this year's flowers and fruit, but they have survived. The huge, old tree in the centre of our orchard is one of the few remnants of earlier plantings, and is now covered with tiny, delicate flowers. It was hard to decide between the close-up shots of crisp yellow stamens against delicate white petals, and the wider views of lichen-covered branches against a watery March sky; but the violent gusts of wind made close-up work difficult and to me this tracery of twigs and blossom against the sky is suggestive of Japanese porcelain.

I snatched fifteen minutes before lunch to slip into the orchard after emptying the compost bin. The earlier downpours of rain and hail had given way to scudding clouds and little patches of weak sunshine. It was too windy to feel very peaceful, but lovely to enjoy a few minutes solitude and focus on my surroundings.

This afternoon a man with a digger has been replacing the leaking water pipe which brings the mains supply into the house. For two weeks the stop tap has been turned off most of the time; our somewhat bizarrely organised house has a cold water storage tank which supplies some of the rooms, so it has been possible to turn the water on for short periods to refill the tank and run the washing machine and dishwasher, while avoiding the waste of a constant flow from the damaged pipe. However, the kitchen and main bathroom are supplied direct from the mains connection, so it has been somewhat inconvenient to have to carry jugs and buckets from other rooms; tonight we once more have the luxury of simply turning the tap and appreciating our good fortune.