Sour Cherry Blossoms

For the past four weeks, Willen and I have been forcing Sour Cherry branches from a local orchard. 

The owner gave us an armful of branches he had just pruned to take home. As he gingerly climbed to the very top of his orchard ladder, which was probably as old as he was, I was educated on the important work of restoring an old citadel in town, and shown how to remove a virus from the branches. All the while Willen ran up and down the rows of trees being chased by the man's collie, who seemed delighted to have someone much more agile to chase about. We learned that the cold would delay the display of blossoms this year, but that the frost hadn't damaged the crop as in previous years.

And so, they sat on our buffet, seeming lifeless.

But in due time, as we patiently waited, we began to see signs of life emerge in the form of tiny, round buds.

Those tiny buds eventually unfurled into leaves and delicate blossoms and we were rewarded for our patience.

They lasted longer than I had anticipated, and have finished just in time for the real display in the orchards to begin.

It seems that our Lilacs will join them at the same time. 

They're so close!