Wednesday, April 1, 2020

April Fools 2020 Style

Wouldn't it have been lovely if we woke up this morning and discovered this whole pandemic was one huge April Fool's joke?

Sadly, there's nothing remotely funny about it. I can't even bear to watch the news any more.

One of the casualties of the pandemic here in Brooklyn is the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.


Since the festival had to be canceled due to COVID19, I thought I would repost my photos from years past.

Enjoy the beauty. It's no April Fool's joke.


From April 2019 -
This past weekend was Cherry Blossom time in Brooklyn, but most especially it was Sakura Matsuri, also known as the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

This annual festival draws over 60,000 visitors to the gardens in a single weekend!


The cherry blossoms are really something to behold. I shared a photo last week of the blossoms in my neighborhood.


and yesterday I posted a photo on Facebook of the blossoms after a rain storm washed them off the tree. Literally a river of petals.


So pretty, but sad to see those lush blossoms fade.

So back to the festival - You can check out the Botanic Gardens page here and see they have 60 events scheduled for Cherry Blossom weekend.

If you go to the main page - you can see the Cherry Blossom esplanade in full bloom.

There is also a beautiful and peaceful Japanese Garden.





So I figured I could give a recipe for something Japanese, right?

Um, no. I don't have any.

I'm excusing myself because I'm in the midst of another week of state testing.

But I can Google and I discovered Huffington Post had a list of five favorite Japanese recipes to celebrate the Cherry Blossom Festival.

So, if you're feeling adventurous, give it a try.

5 Tasty Japanese Recipes to Celebrate Cherry Blossom Season

My daughter loves to cook with Japanese sweet potatoes. She makes a delicious dish with sweet potatoes, wild Japanese black rice and roasted papaya and pineapple.

I wish I had a photo.

So, what's blooming in your neck of the woods?

8 comments:

  1. We still have snow on the ground and it's melting. No buds on the trees but I saw a robin this morning and the geese are flying back so spring's arrival is becoming a reality.

    The news is rather grim these days, isn't it? And you are right in the centre of it. We've extended our school closures until May 1 and we're pretty much looking at social distancing until then as well. I participated in my first zoom meeting last night -- my little bible study group. It was lovely to have some conversation and fellowship. And, we've been studying a book by Trillia Newbell -- Fear and Faith -- which is rather topical in these times.

    Cyber hugs to everyone at the cafe!

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    1. Cyber hugs back at you, Kav. Believe me, that's all you want from my neck of the woods. As of today, my state has more than 80,000 cases!

      I think I'll take a look at that book. Thank you.

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    2. Hugs to you, too, Kav! Stay safe.

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  2. I've lost track of how many events we've had to cancel around here. The next thing up is our planned trip to visit our parents next month - and that decision will be made in two weeks. We'll see how things are going by then...but I'm glad I made refundable reservations for the hotels.

    But the good news is that even in the midst of the pandemic, the cherry trees are still blooming. You can't have the festival, but the trees are still there! Spring is here and nobody can cancel that. :-)

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    1. The trees are still here, yes, Jan. It was oddly surreal yesterday in the cloudy foggy weather to look at the pear trees with their white blossoms.

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  3. Mary Cate, I can't even imagine how eerie it is in NYC right now. I see the footage on television of a virtually empty Times Square and it leaves me speechless. I'm glad you are safe, though.

    Those cherry blossoms are simply gorgeous. Like our bluebonnets, they're only around for a short time, so it makes us appreciate their beauty all the more.

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  4. Mary Cate, I missed your post! Yesterday just slipped by for me. I missed visiting the Seeker blog as well.

    Loved the photos! But I'm trying to figure out if the tree I thought was a cherry tree that I posted photos of last week is maybe another fruit tree. Because the blooms are so different. I'll have to do some research! :)

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