Monday, May 3, 2010

...full of sound and fury, signifying nothing ~ Shakespeare



Shakespeare's quote seemed apt, our weekend was full of sound and fury as thunderstorms passed over us pushed on by 50 mph winds. Unfortunately we received almost no rain.

This morning the television news is full of stories about the torrential rains and flooding in Tennessee. My heart goes out to all the families caught up in this disaster. This morning I'm hoping our Tennessee blogging friends are online to let us know they are OK.





A few weeks ago I enjoyed seeing photos of cherry trees blooming south of here. So far, I have never been lucky enough to visit DC at cherry blossom time.


For the last three weeks northern Illinois has been blessed with a stunning display of crabapple blooms.




Driving around town, running errands, I snapped a few photos I hope you will enjoy.






I may be prejudiced, but to me, our crab apples look every bit as beautiful as the cherries. They bloom in every shade from pure white to almost red.



This year has been a great year for the crab apples. They like cool, sunny weather and we have had an abundance in April.


33 comments:

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

I love crab apple blossoms. Thanks for sharing so many beautiful photos.

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

I was meaning to do the same -- run around town and take photos of all the trees in their spring hats -- but never got around to it. Glad you did it for me, lol. I too hope our TN friends are OK, but I've seen recent posts from Gail, Tina, and Frances, so I'm guessing they are. Also, that quote is wonderfully apt for my ex-workplace (and many others, I'm sure)! Have a great week.

tina said...

Safe here but it is really something here in Tennessee. A bunch of Facebook bloggers and friends are posting pics of the flooding. They said it is 'historic'. The closest we ever came to the two day total we received here Saturday and Sunday was 7 inches in 1979. Nashville received 15"! Very bad there and Memphis. Our city is also flooded but not my home. I'm staying put.

Anyhoo, I love crabapples! I have three here and no cherries. The crabapples are such a joy all year for the birds. Your city is wonderful with them all.

F Cameron said...

I agree that the crabapple blossoms are beautiful, too. Spring is so lovely everywhere in spite of the cold, wet winter.

The folks in TN really did get hit hard and we hope for the best for them. We're almost in drought conditions, but the sky is cloudy and we're supposed to get 1/2 inch to 1 inch of rain from the remnants of the TN storm as it passes over NC today.

Cameron
PS -- the "blue" irises drove me nuts! I tried all kinds of settings on two of my cameras. The photos that I posted are from my little Canon point-and-shoot. Sometimes I miss my old film SLR!

Darla said...

That rain is something else isn't it? These trees are gorgeous!

Becca's Dirt said...

Those are some gorgeous trees. I also love the crab apple trees. Thanks for the drive around town.

Did you all need rain? Tennessee is flooded bad today. It is heartbreaking to see so much flooding. We have had a good round of thunderstorms overnight and today. Have a good day.

PS we are all eyes on the Gulf and the poor animals that are going to be affected. Hoping the wind will keep it away.

sweetbay said...

Beautiful pictures Marnie. I agree, Crabapples are as lovely as Cherry Trees.

Parts of TN are getting incredible amounts of rain. Flooding is a terrible thing. I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get much-needed rain though.

Cheryl said...

Marnie....I must agree with you, the crab apple blossom is absolutely stunning. Can it compare to the cherry blooms, I personally think it can. Awonderful display, tku for showing us.

Yesterday we had a day of torrential rain.....we did need it.
Today we have a strong northerly wind blowing the blossom around the garden...

My heart goes out to all those in the US whose homes are flooded. I understand the distress.....we have friends who have been flooded several times.

Southern Lady said...

I agree with you, the crab apples are just as lovely as the cherry trees. We are getting some of the rain from TN here in NC. We are not expecting to get nearly as much. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people in the flood areas. Carla

Lona said...

Hi Marnie. All of those flowering trees sure beautify the neighborhood. The trees did seem so full this year here also. Your pictures are beautiful.

Naturegirl said...

Marnie the world is a riot of blossoming trees ;well in our two worlds at least! Oh the scent they off is heavenly!

You commneted on my tulips..look into Angeliques too check out last years post with more photos of them here
http://nature-trail.blogspot.com/2009/05/bulbs-on-bloom-day.html
hugs anna
P.S. I am planting MORE in Autumn as last year I was on my healing journey..those you saw are about 3 years old now!!

Louise said...

Hi Marnie,
I was so happy to see you post on my blog today with the identification of two wild plants. My interest in wildflowers is very new, and there is so much I have to learn. Your help is much appreciated.

I followed you back here, and have been reading with great interest. You have a wonderful blog, with great pictures. Unknowingly, you helped me with another plant identification. A friend gave me a "yellow flower with pretty leaves that grows like crazy and loves shade" several years ago. As I was reading your blog posts, I found a picture of lamium pink pearl that looked very much like my plant. Googling lamium, I was able to find out that mine is Lamium 'Florentinum.' So thank you very much for that identification, also.

I'll be back!

crimsoncat05 said...

absolutely gorgeous; thank you for sharing!! there is nowhere like the Midwest in springtime.

Rose said...

The crabapples are simply gorgeous! But I'm a bit prejudiced since I have several of them, too:) I think you were luckier in northern Illinois that they bloomed a little later; mine bloomed when we had all the heat, and then the winds came, so the blossoms didn't last nearly as long as I'd hoped.

Sorry you didn't get any rain, but yes, we can be thankful we escaped the flooding of Tennessee. We've had several nice showers here, so I can't complain at all.

By the way, Shakespeare's line is very familiar--I used to have my seniors memorize that passage "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...":)

BeadedTail said...

I just love the huge burst of color the trees provide! Ours are all pretty much bloomed so now the petals color the yards. I did get out and plant some things this weekend. I remembered why I don't do it much, I'm not very patient!

ShySongbird said...

What sumptuous, beautiful blossom, and such lovely photos of it. What a wonderful season Spring is, Marnie!

Balisha said...

I agree with you about our trees being especially beautiful this year. The blooms are lasting so long. I wish every spring was like this one.
Balisha

beckie said...

Marnie, the crabapples are beautiful! I think they are ever bit as pretty as the cherry trees and we have more of them? Most towns here have some planted along a main street and of course home owners have lots too. I love the different shades as well.

We had our furylast Wed, and Thursday with wind gust close to 60mph. I was really glad I didn't have any tender seedlings planted yet. Hope you get some rain-gentle rain that is. :0

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi There, The blooms/blossoms/trees are all so pretty. We had a Crabapple tree in our yard in the home where I grew up in VA... My mother used to make Crabapple jelly.. It was SO good.

We're having a great time at the beach. Wish you were here.
Hugs,
Betsy

Dawn said...

Oh my goodness! Those blossoms are fabulous! Ours are just starting and I could be engulfed in a orchard of them. So wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Nothing says spring like the blossoms of the ornamental & fruit bearing trees. :)

Susie said...

I enjoyed the drive thru town very much. The flowering trees are just gorgeous!

Heather at Dusty Bay said...

Those blossoms are gorgeous and I liked the tour - thanks for sharing!

ShySongbird said...

Hi again Marnie :) I meant to say, regarding an earlier post which I missed commenting on, how very pleased I was to hear the news about your Father. I do hope he continues to improve, there is no place like home!

Sherri said...

Marnie, what beautiful pictures of all the trees around where you live-just gorgeous!!!

Jan said...

You know, Marnie, I think the crabapple blossoms are just as beautiful, too...if not even more so;-) I grew up with one in our yard in PA, and still remember how I loved it each spring, even as a child in elementary school. I don't see them where we live, here in VA, and that's because, as you said, they really do prefer the cooler climates. I'll take the cherry blossoms, that we get here--of course; but, I still think the crabapple might be just a little bit more my favorite;-) PS I was glad to read that your dad is back home & doing so well, feeling good, getting out & mobile, etc. Good news indeed;-)

Anonymous said...

Well dear Marnie, spring was oh, so worth the wait in your neighborhood. Gorgeous!

joey said...

Indeed stunning, Marnie, and you have a gift for capturing awesome delights surrounding you. Agree with you about crabapples as you have proven with this lovely post!

Kathleen said...

Beautiful photos Marnie. We have crab apples here instead of cherry trees too and I agree with you, just as pretty a display. We usually get a big storm blow thru about the time they're in full bloom and ruin/end the show. It has been really cool here too ~ I didn't realize they liked that. Perfect year for something!

ps. There are plenty of trees/limbs down from our big wind storm. Thankfully it's calm today. Maybe it will get nice?? or maybe that's too much to hope for?? This year is one of those years it's going to be unpredictable I think. I hope you get rain soon.

Julie said...

Beautiful blossoms. This time of year everything is so pretty.

Louise said...

Blogger is being a pain and not letting me see your latest post, so I'm putting this here, in the hopes that you find it.

Thanks so much for the identification of the two plants I put pictures of on my blog. No need to apologize, I am thrilled to have someone with the knowledge that you have give me some answers.

Please feel free to steer me in the right direction any time.

oldcrow61 said...

I am so jealous of the beautiful blossoms in your pictures. We don't even have leaves on the trees yet.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Looking at your photos, I imagined I could smell them. I love Crabapples, and this was a great year for them. Mine is now blown, but I took a zillion photos of it. It's so irritating that we keep missing out on the rain. There were only a few drops this morning, so I pulled out the sprinkler tonight.