SakuraWatch 2008: February Update
It's that time again!
And if you don't know what SakuraWatch is, check out this post. Basically, it's the countdown to the two weeks or so out of the year when you have a chance to get photos like this, and this.
Well it looks like the cherry blossom trees are right on schedule. Maybe even a touch ahead of schedule.
The trees along the entrance road are looking pretty bare, as expected for late February.
The buds are characteristically red-brown.
Likewise for the trees alongside the lake.
I was hoping it would be sunny, but the outlook was fowl.
Seriously, though, a close look at the buds reveals that there are green tips pushing through. The blossoms are coming! The blossoms are coming!
So while the first glance may not look promising, in reality the sakura are not far off.
Time to kick that cosplay into high gear!
Here's a closer look at the buds. See how far the green tips are pushing through?
And as you can see here, I actually found a couple of early bloomers making their appearance.
Damned overachievers!
But don't get freaked out. These are pretty much the only sakura blossoms that I found actually in bloom. The vast majority of the buds were either semi-green or not green at all.
Take this as your wake-up call.
From the looks of these trees, I would guess that the sakura are more or less on schedule with last year, and will likely be at their peak on the weekend of March 15th, and possibly as early as March 8th or as late as March 23rd.
I'm sure that someone will correct me if their opinion differs.