Japanese Weeping Cherry…a member of the Prunis family. Mr. Prunis’ daughter?  (Whoever she is, she likes big hair.)

The 2013 Cherry Blossom Festival took place on Swinging Bridge Road in Mendota, Virginia today. It was attended by thousands of ladybugs and two dogs and three cats. As crowds of ladybugs and critters buzzed through the three cherry trees in my yard, I am reminded of the historical significance of how these trees arrived.

While the cherry trees in our nation’s capitol were a gift from the People of Japan to the People of the United States, those located at the real RiverCliff Cottage were a gift to the Beaules of Mendota from the People of Lowe’s in 2001 (located with other half dead and discarded trees at drastically discounted prices). The generosity of the People of Lowe’s was in response to a late frost. The trees were supposedly doomed, but today I think their early demise was exaggerated.

Thank you to my True Love (aka Lowe’s) for knowing when to discount a tree.