I like the blossoms and spring flowers that live next door, at least for a few weeks each year. Quite a few live near the building where I do my day job Monday through Friday. The neighborhood is very integrated: daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and crocuses dwell contentedly side-by-side in their various flats and plant condos. I’d like to introduce some of them.
Fabulous fellows
A frightfully friendly family of forsythias greet me each morning as I enter the homestretch on my walk to work. Lately, I’ve been getting off the bus about fifteen minutes from the office to enjoy a brisk walk the rest of the way. I nod and smile to these fine folks every day.
Motto: "Where Mixed Flowers Mix"
The Union Center is the heart of the floral neighborhood just east of where I work. You can count on always meeting a diverse bunch of residents shopping, eating at sidewalk cafes, or just out for a stroll, like I do so often. A friendly hello and an invitation to sit for a spell are almost always in the cards.
Street Scene
This view is so typical of what you’re going to see on the roads, repeated over and over each day. I never tire of the wild profusion of residents driving by, yet the orderly, down-to-earth way they go about it.
Tulip triplets out for a stretch
These chappies called out to me the other day. What could I do but join them for a bit? I won’t soon forget their sterling conversation, their witty yet insightful ideas about life and beauty and what’s really important in this world of ours.
A breath of choral fragrance
Get your schnoz ready for a treat when the Hyacinth Chorus concertizes in the village green. Currently, they are performing (and perfuming) lunchtime concerts: a mix of acapella numbers and airy classics. Breathe in their harmonies and be refreshed. An olfactory treat!
Hey boys, what's the occasion?
Call me pleasantly surprised to stumble across this parade on the hillock. Proud daffodils, marching by in full regalia, with a few hyacinth children running alongside, made for a jolly, martial moment.
Soul relief from our medical neighbors
These wispy beauties sway to the west of my building on the property of a medical facility. Who needs to see a doctor when just the sight of their lush, billowy, fullness is a healing balm, at least for my soul?
...amid more blossoming trees.
Though not next door, this noble neighbor lives only ten minutes from where I work. I nod a greeting as I pass by each day, walking from the bus stop to work. Already beautiful and inspiring no matter the season, dressed with a dash of blossoming trees, the Monument is even better to look at. I’m uplifted even more than usual, looking up at his lofty heights.
Those are some of my neighbors. I hoped you enjoyed meeting them as much as I enjoyed introducing them. Next time you’re in town, look me up and I’ll take you, too, for a stroll in my neck of the woods.
