A little bit closer to home, about 2 1/2 hours away in southeastern Ohio, the cherry blossoms at Ohio University herald spring's arrival. The trees are at the south end of campus at the Richland Avenue Bridge and line the Hocking River. The white blooms provide a picturesque entrance to OU this time of year.
The Japanese call the cherry trees sakura and they are very important in Japanese culture. The trees have been cultivated for their flowers and are reminiscent of clouds. The sakura are a symbol of friendship and because the blooms last a very short time, they symbolize mortality, the transience of life and are a reminder of the fragility of spring.
The Japanese call the cherry trees sakura and they are very important in Japanese culture. The trees have been cultivated for their flowers and are reminiscent of clouds. The sakura are a symbol of friendship and because the blooms last a very short time, they symbolize mortality, the transience of life and are a reminder of the fragility of spring.
OU's cherry trees are a gift from Chubu University, Ohio University's sister institution in Japan. In 1979, Chubu University gave 175 trees to Ohio University in honor of OU's 175th anniversary. Over the years, storm damage and other injury and disease decreased the number of cherry trees to 97. In 2003 Chubu offered to replace the damaged plants and increase the number of sakura to 200, in honor of Ohio University's bicentennial in 2004.
I have had kids at OU for six years and I have never seen the cherry trees bloom. When I was there at the beginning of April, I asked Andrew to show me where the cherry blossoms are. We took a nice morning walk but there were no blooms, just buds. Darn.
Fast forward a little over a week and after a couple cups of coffee, I decided on a spontaneous road trip to Athens. I wanted to see those blooms...and my kid, too.
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