Jeju Island Editions: Ode to Spring

Yay spring!  With winter 2014 tucked away for a solid 9 months what  better way to celebrate the light and life spring brings than a love letter to  my new favorite season, Spring?  Spring officially began on March 20 but, it took a few more days before I could wear a lighter jacket and shed my winter foot gear. 
These days, clouds linger, but the weather still manages to get to 55 – 65 degrees Fahrenheit (13-16 C) during the day in Jeju City and with cherry blossoms trees seemingly everywhere, some exploring of the amazing scenery was in order.


Recently, I took a trek along a path filled with hundreds of cherry blossoms-a pure delight.  As a nature lover, I headed to the nearby stadium, where an Official Jeju Cherry Blossom Festival will be held this year, a week early to beat the crowd.  I couldn’t help but smile at the wonder, calmness and happiness that comes with being in a park  filled dozens of  cherry blossom trees, buzzing with faint chatter and the hum of birds in song.  A great day for a walk in the park, indeed!

I took some time to just sit and enjoy the picturesque view of couples hand in hand, children playing and the hum of birds in song.  The calmness of the moment and the brilliance of nature, cherry blossoms in full bloom in the company of a graceful sea of yellow of rape seed flowers nearing waist height.  An opportunity to connect with mother earth couldn’t be missed.  Spring, a time where what’s seemingly dead comes back to life with a brilliance and light, the wondrous gift of mother nature.

A short drive in my ’95 Kia Pride led me to a quiet street lined with more trees in full bloom.  The stillness of the moment only momentarily disturbed by a passerby or two taking a stroll (or ajumas, older Korean women on bicycle) here and there.  To the far left, a brilliant sea of  canola flowers transforming the dead of winter into a gracious hue of happiness.


Ode to Spring

Worn and tired, 

life lags waiting for the perfect moment 

to display the brilliance 

tucked beneath the rough and tough exterior.  

She patiently waits 

for the right moment to bring forth 

the wondrous bloom of life anew.  

Another chance to cover the earth 

with an aesthetic beauty only nature can bring forth, 

I’m so jealous.  

Hues of blues, greens and reds, the birds sing in tune, the rain falls in chorus, and at the right time, the trees bring forth there flowers, 

Ode to Spring.