365 Inspirations—50: Early Spring Flowers

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.”– Buddha

We are having a very mild winter in Washington State. It's been in the 40s and 50s. We usually have somewhat mild winters, but this one is particularly mild. Today was a bright sunny day and it feels like spring outside. My husband and I decided to walk around Greenlake, which is about a three-mile walk. We do it often.

We have a huge Camellia tree in our front yard by our front door. It was planted long ago. I think it was the tradition back in the 40s and 50s in the Seattle area to plant certain kinds of trees and bushes when houses were built. Ours is a 1940s bungalow.

The Camellia tree was probably just a shrub when it was planted, but it's huge now. We don't normally start seeing blooms until very late in February or the first week in March, but I found that one little bud decided it was time to open. It made me happy.

We have a beautiful Buddha statue that sits under the tree. It's a nice greeting every time we come home from somewhere.

I noticed, on our walk around Greenlake, that other flowers like Daffodils and Crocuses have made their appearances, but aren't quite ready to bloom.

I think I'm ready for spring, even though we didn't really have much of a winter. I would have liked to have seen a little more snow on the lower levels, but I'll take the spring flowers!

Have you noticed any spring flowers coming up where you live?