A Capitol Adventure: Pale Green Things

You parked behind the paddock

Cracking asphalt underfoot

Coming up through the cracks
Pale green things

Pale green things

-The Mountain Goats

As I sit in my living room, a dark rain is falling and the breeze coming through the window feels like summer. Summer. Finally, after such a long, hard winter. Well, okay, it wasn't particularly hard in DC, where it snowed a handful of times and I got more snow days and late starts than the rest of my life will have. But I just have to think back to trudging through a mile of snowdrifts higher than my knees to get to class last semester and how long the cold, clammy weather has dragged on in DC to know that I definitely deserve some spring in my life.

And lo and behold, the first signs of spring peeked up, putting me into a fluster for a few days. It had been so long since I'd seen green things! I mean, some plants out here in DC keep their leaves through winter, but it wasn't quite the same. Those were the cold, waxy leaves that refused to leave the branches. Spring called for new tender things.

Until then, this was the most spring I had seen, a winter display in the National Gallery's rotunda. Look how happy I was.

Also there were these cherry blossoms at one of the events I worked at the Library, which definitely put me in the mood for the real thing to happen in just a few weeks.

I turned my back, and sure enough, it happened, just down the street and visible from my front window. What follows is a pictorial representation of my obsession with spring plants in Washington, DC. Enjoy.