Purple Carpet, Pacific Grove, California

I sent out postcard US-3975289 to Australia early today, which shows a "purple carpet" of blossoms brightens this Pacific Grove coast in California with photo credit by James Blank.

Then the news came with the superstar Prince's passing at the age of 57. Soon the City of Las Vegas has turned purple to honor Prince. Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman directs the Las Vegas City Hall exterior to be lit in purple tonight. So do the Venetian and Palazzo hotels and casinos, and the High Roller at The LINQ Promenade on the Las Vegas Strip. Fremont Street Experience also honors the pop singer with a tribute at their Viva Vision canopy tonight.

I found a  video on YouTube showing Prince performing “Purple Rain” during downpour for the Super Bowl XLI Half-time Show, where producers described how Prince met the adverse weather head on and owned the show. (Update: unfortunately, that video later went private.)

Apache Plume

Outgoing postcard US-3941386 to France shows Fallugia paradoxa, commonly known as Apache plume. Native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, it is found in arid habitats such as desert woodlands and scrub. I have seen it in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area near Las Vegas, along with other wildflowers such as Cliff Rose, Windmill, and Beavertail Cactus blossoming during the same period in spring.

Beavertail Cactus seen on April 1, 2016

Cherry Blossom in DC Signaling the Start of Spring

The National Park Service announced last Friday that the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin in Washington DC were officially at peak bloom on March 25, 2016 with 75% of the trees in full bloom. It was peaked more than two weeks earlier this year than last year.

Postcard US-3373353 to Czech Republic shows the cherry blossoms around the Lincoln Memorial with a matching USPS Gifts of Friendship stamp.

Vista of Capitol through Cherry Blossoms

Outgoing postcard US-3372297 to Japan was a reproduction of vintage linen postcard Vista of Capitol through Cherry Blossoms, Washington, D. C. by D.C. Reynolds Co in the 1930s. It shows the famed cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin with the U.S. Capitol Building in the background. It has one of the USPS Gifts of Friendship stamps featuring the U.S. Capitol building surrounded by white and pink dogwood trees.

According to a USPS news release, "in a ceremony at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two of 3,020 flowering cherry trees gifted to the nation’s capital from the city of Tokyo. As a show of gratitude for this generous gift, former President William Howard Taft arranged for the United States to send 50 flowering dogwood trees to Japan in 1915. This reciprocal gift featured a species of tree native to the eastern United States and Canada."

Yuccas Blooming on the Desert

Postcard US-3285001 to Finland was a vintage linen card Yucca Whipplei blooming with a background of mighty San Jacinto Mountain in California.

Native to southern California, United States and Baja California, Mexico, Yucca whipplei ( Hesperoyucca whipplei) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Hesperoyucca, but closely related to, and previously usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in clay soils. The fiber from its leaves was used extensively by Native Americans for making sandal, cloth, and rope.

Spring Time at Bellagio

A departure from the Theme Dutch featuring a giant windmill and live butterflies in the past few years, Spring time at the Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in 2015 celebrates Japanese culture with more than 82,000 flowers including tulips, daffodils and snapdragons among bonsai trees. Modeled after the Golden Temple in Kyoto, a 26-foot or 8-meter tall Japanese temple in a gold veneer with rice paper Shoji screens is the center piece of the display. Shown on the outgoing postcard US-3373301 to Japan is an 18-foot or 5.5-meter tall cherry blossom tree featuring 300 acrylic leaves and blossoms, with many oil-paper umbrellas hanging from the sky. The Spring Celebration, a collaboration with master gardener Kanji Nomura from Nagoya, Japan, runs from March 20 to May 11, 2015.

Today in history: the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed instantly while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937; a jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selects Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries on May 6, 1981.

Cherry Blossoms About to Reach Peak Bloom in D.C.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is a spring celebration in Washington, D.C., commemorating the gift of 3020 cherry trees from Tokyo, Japan to the city of Washington D.C.  First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park on March 27, 1912. This weekend, the cherry blossoms are projected to hit peak bloom while the Annual National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade and the 55th Annual Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival will attract a large crowd.

Earlier today, USPS and Japan Post jointly issued the Gifts of Friendship Forever stamps on April 10, 2015, featuring cherry blossom trees and flowering dogwood trees, celebrating the enduring bond between U.S. and Japan on the centennial of the thank-you gift of flowering dogwood trees from the United States to Japan in 1915.

Outgoing postcard US-3263842 to Japan shows the Washington Monument with cherry blossoms in the foreground. It has one of the Gifts of Friendship stamps in the front featuring the Lincoln Memorial with vibrant cherry trees.

Changdeokgung Palace, South Korea

Postcard KR-118364 from South Korea shows a gate (資始門) inside Changdeokgung Palace (昌德宮) in Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. One of the "Five Grand Palaces" built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), it was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Can you tell the difference between those cherry blossom trees and plum blossom trees respectively on each side of the gate?

Schachblume

Postcard DE-3953158 from Germany shows Fritillaria meleagris (Schachblume in German), a species of flowering plant native to Europa in the family Liliaceae. It is originally known as snake's head, probably because of its snakelike appearance of the nodding flower heads on their long stems. It is also known as chess flower, checkered lily, or checkered daffodil because the flower has a checkered pattern in purple, or sometimes in pure white. Usually grown in grasslands and river meadows at altitudes below 800 meters or 2,625 feet, it blossoms from March to May. 

Hedgehog Cactus, on the California Desert

Postcard US-3142509 to the Netherlands took 50 days to reach its destination. It was a vintage card showing the Hedgehog Cactus (Cereus Engelmannii), one of the most showy of all the cactus blossom with red and purple flowers. The species can be found in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico; and in Arizona, California and Nevada, USA at elevations ranging from near sea level to 2,400 meters or 7,874 feet. April is the usual time for it to blossom.

National Cherry Blossom Festival

Postcard US-2643460 from Washington D.C. area shows the famed cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin with the Washington Monument in the background. The 2014 National Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 20 to April 13, commemorating the 102nd anniversary of the gift of the cherry blossom trees from Japan.

The peak bloom period only lasts for a few days; and the precise time period varies each year depending on weather conditions.  The average peak bloom date from 1992 to 2013 for those cherry trees is March 31. However,  the colder-than-usual winter is causing a late peak for cherry blossoms this year. The National Park Service forecast put the peak bloom period for the cherry blossoms this year as from April 8 to April 12.  An alternative forecast by Washington Post‘s Capital Weather Gang predicted a peak bloom period between April 11 and April 15, centered on April 13. Meanwhile, you can watch the live cherry blossom cam on Earthcam.

Se-tenant Cherry Blossom Centennial Forever Stamps issued by USPS on March 24, 2012

First Day of Spring

Spring starts with the vernal equinox on March 20 at 9:57 P.M. PDT, 2014. Equinox is the day when daytime and night are of approximately equal duration, which occurs twice a year.  the March equinox which, in the astronomical system of seasons, is the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere (vernal equinox) and the first day of autumn (autumnal equinox) in the Southern Hemisphere.

Although March equinox is precisely defined as when the center of the sun is, moving northward, directly over the Equator, meteorological and ecological spring, defined by other events or indicators such as the values of average monthly temperatures or the first appearance of flowers, changes from year to year and place to place. According to the National Geographic, spring is It arriving earlier as snow melting and flowers blooming sooner than usual in the U.S.

Postcard TW-1190199 shows cherry blossom in Taiwan. There are four major areas noted for cherry blossom activities.

• At Wulai, the high season is in February. The local festival features Atayal culture, one of the aboriginal tribes inhabiting in the mountainous areas of northern and central Taiwan. 
• For Alishan, the one-month long flower season lasts from March 15 to April 15. However, at the lower elevations, it sometimes starts as early as in late January. 
• Sun Moon Lake Cherry Blossom is said to have the most romantic spot for enjoying the seasonal colors with many activities scheduled throughout the season.
• Mt. Yangming National Park, one of the most popular national parks in Taiwan, offers cherry blossom against its volcanic mountain formations. It has gained increasing popularity due to its close proximity to Taipei City.

The 4th of July and Thomas Jefferson Memorial

I received a postcard US-2282865 a few days before the Independence Day, 2013, the 237th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It features the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, directly south to the White House, in Washington DC.

Thomas Jefferson, one of the American Founding Fathers, was the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

According to Wikipedia, Thomas Jefferson believed that each man has "certain inalienable rights". He defines the right of "liberty" by saying, "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others...". A proper government, for Jefferson, is one that not only prohibits individuals in society from infringing on the liberty of other individuals, but also restrains itself from diminishing individual liberty.

Coincidentally, Thomas Jefferson died the same day as John Adams, second president of the United States, on July 4, 1826

The U.S. Postal Service issued 100 million se-tenant Cherry Blossom Centennial Forever stamps (with one scene across two stamps) on March 24, 2012 showing cherry trees in full-bloom around the Tidal Basin. The Washington Monument on the left and the Jefferson Memorial on the right form the backdrop for the stamps.