This, dear friends, brings us to the end of the photos of the festival of light. Check out my first such post for more info about the festival, and consider visiting Amsterdam for a future edition of the festival!
I photographed these fragrant blossoms on a dawn walk through a frozen Vondelpark the morning of 26 December. (Many more photos of that cold but lovely walk still to come.) I’d already seen such blossoms twice before on walks through the mostly-gray landscapes of autumnal and wintry Amsterdam: I’ve already shown you some photos I took the first time, in Small Wonders.73. That was an interesting experience, because the morning of the day I experienced those blossoms, I had realized the sun had mostly into hiding for the season, and sadly posted my “farewell to summer” entry with the last photo that captured the glory of Amsterdam’s canals on a clear and sunny day. Some weeks after that, I was out for one of my “I must get away from my computer” walks around the neighborhood on a drizzy, wet, gray and cold day during some anti-social phase of the lockdown we’ve all lived through, and I smelled a lovely floral scent in the air…and looked up from the mud puddles I was trying to avoid to notice a bunch of these blossoms sharing the beauty and their fragrance just above my head, along one of the busier streets. Due to the aforementioned rain and mud puddles, I didn’t pull out my camera to photograph those blossoms, but my point is I realized these cherries are truly a miraculous gift of nature to those of us who want a wee pick me up in the grayer days of winter. Thank you, oh cherry blossoms! (At least, I sort of assume they’re cherry blossoms; botanists among you, feel free to add a corrective comment if so needed.)
For those who’ve been following my posts for a while, you’ll recall that before my January hiatus, I mentioned many photos backed up from walks around this lovely city in the autumn and winter. Now that I’m nearing the end of my light-festival photos, I’ve begun showing you more of the autumnal color and (spoiler alert!) even the occasional blossom in winter :-). And, @Sam, the photo below is another is my personal series just for you of all the cool outdoor park public-gym equipment you’ll be able to explore whenever you visit me here.
(so much world, so little time....) 