Dogwood…

 Dogwood…

The painting project for today is a dogwood blossom…not sure how that will turn out, but going to try…

This blog was written, May of 2019 in Washington DC…while visiting. A friend and I were at a conference at the Bible Museum…but we walked and walked, took as many local trips as we could…

It was beautiful, the cherry blossoms has finished and the dogwood was in full bloom…

Blessings…

“Dogwood...Washington DC 3...

The cherry  blossoms have vanished giving way to lush greenery...here in Washington DC...souvenirs from cherry candy to cherry scented soaps to tee shirts of all designs are for sale everywhere...depicting the beauty of the pink blossoms which lined the streets...some of the trees were a gift from Japan in 1912...thousands of trees have been planted here in the DC area...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cherry_Blossom_Festival

Now the dogwood trees are in full bloom...along with flowers of all kinds...

The Arlington National Cemetery has the dogwood trees dotting the hundreds of acres...mixed with the white gravestones of fallen soldiers...so a brilliant contrast of lush lawns, white stones and white and green dogwood...adds to the somberness of the place...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Church_(Alexandria,_Virginia)

We traveled to Alexandria by water taxi yesterday, and then rode a trolley up and down King street to see sights of this old town...stopping at Christ Church where George Washington attended...a beautiful brick building...again an old graveyard to the side with evergreen trees, abundant flowers, and a dogwood tree in full bloom...the grave stones dating back to the early 1800’s crookedly scattered here and there..

What beauty amongst the somber again...

The Dogwood Tree

by Anonymous

When Christ was on earth, the dogwood grew

To a towering size with a lovely hue.

Its branches were strong and interwoven

And for Christ's cross its timbers were chosen

Being distressed at the use of the wood

Christ made a promise which still holds good:

"Not ever again shall the dogwood grow

To be large enough for a tree, and so

Slender and twisted it shall always be

With cross-shaped blossoms for all to see.

The petals shall have bloodstains marked brown

And in the blossom's center a thorny crown.

All who see it will think of Me,

Nailed to a cross from a dogwood tree.

Protected and cherished this tree shall be

A reflection to all of My agony."

Dogwood in spring always reminds me of this poem and my mother...first the poem...reminds me of the cross on which my Savior died, his agony...but His resurrection...a praise

Second, my mother, who loved the first blooms of spring...my dad would bring a bouquet home from the woods when he could...

Thank YOU for the memories....Your beauty of spring and reminder of life after the “death” of winter...”