Center Stage

Spring has sprung early here in the Pacific Northwest - both inside and out - and I could not be happier.

Yes, it is possible, practical and probably more polite to purchase blooming branches at a flower stand, or snip them from your own garden.

But I'll confess that I wangled these branches off a tree blooming along the path of my daily walk. Don't worry - they weren't on private property but growing from a neglected, unkempt specimen hidden by several big fir trees and a tangle of brush. I snapped them off in a moment of passion and have no regrets.

I also have no regrets about sweeping everything else off my living room mantle and letting this profusion of pink steal the show.

Because when pink blossoms arrive after a long, grey, Washington winter, they deserve center stage.