The forsythia around town right now are in a riot of hand clapping – they catch the attention! Warm days and cool nights are lenghtening the experience this year and the ongoing chance for appreciation is soothing and satisfying after the ‘winter’. (I qualify ‘winter’, here in Victoria, thusly, but it is not Autumn, not Spring… and soothing and satisfying are welcomed.) (Another tangent – there was frost on the rooftops this morning but an extra blanket was not necessary last night – ? – ‘winter’ chill must soak out of a house with the Sun!) Is there not something special about a plant like the forsythia (and the flowering cherry trees) that bursts into bloom before any trace of a leaf is evident. It’s as if they have some extra awareness. I know, I know, it likely has to do with a survival trait of attracting insects earliest and showiest – but – isn’t that extra awareness… In any case they provide the most gorgeous display. From a distance the stems look black and the contrast is stunning. It is only on closer inspection that one realizes the stems are a golden brown and I have several times walked close, walked afar, walked close – but never can discover at just what instant the sight goes from black to brown – or why!