A Robin and Cherry Blossoms

The meterological begining of spring is March 20, the vernal equinox.  Retailers like to think it's on the day after Presiden't Day ( the Tuesday after the third Monday in February).  Calendars and retailers aside, I think spring arrives when the robin sings and the cherry blossoms bloom. 

Yoshino Cherry Blossoms alongside the Jefferson Memorial

As a gift of friendship, in 1912, Japan sent 3,020 cherry trees to the United States.  They were shipped from Yokohama to Seattle, where they were loaded onto a train bound for Washington.  The first two trees, planted by First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, still stand on the north end of the Tidal Basin.  In 1965, the people of Japan gifted the U.S. with another 3,800 cherry trees, which were planted around the Washington Monument.    The National Cherry Blossom Festival commemorates these gifts each spring.