Washington: The city is covered in petals

Washington, DC and the Maryland suburbs are covered in petals.  Everywhere you go, the wind blows small pink pollen at you, and the petals are constantly in your hair and on your mind, like silent moths. In late March, the cherry blossoms near the Tidal Pool, which is near all of the memorials in Washington begin to bloom.  But you can also see it everywhere in Maryland.  The buds begin slowly, and transition from white to the lightest pink.  Eventually, they bloom into brilliant candy-colored overhangs in every backyard and every overpass.  Within two weeks, the wind starts to scatter them until the gutters run pink with petals.  Two weeks after that, they are all gone, replaced by green shoots.  That’s the way life has been going lately.  Chaos, replaced by a late-spring calm.