showing its good side

This is the best time of year in D.C. - one of the only windows where the weather lends itself to appreciation rather than complaining.
The cherry blossoms have come and gone around town - not only ringing the Tidal Basin and framing the memorials, but also in yards and along the streets of the city. The pink and white blooms lasted barely more than a week before the green shoots of leaves took over, but the cherries were only the leading wave of a color assault which neatly coincides with the first days of unabashed and unrepentant sunshine, carrying with it actual warmth (but not yet accompanied by the oppressive force of humidity). As the delicate pink and white fades away, a vibrant second act of bright reds and yellows starts to take over, standing out from the now ever-present green.
As attention was diverted by the cherry blossoms, our yard transformed from a dormant, patchy rug to a plush, tall and very much alive layer of bright organic matter, pushing up (and up, and requiring mowing before drawing neighborhood complaints). The park behind our house has gone from a study in browns and sharp lines to a collage in which the nature of any one element is hidden behind the sheer visual obstacle of so many green shoots and coverings of every plant and tree in the area.

It's time to revel in the beauty of a city that normally is anything but.