Many of us are forever bragging about living at The Fairfax.  But when you combine The Fairfax with springtime, you get an unbeatable combination.  One of the reasons is all the Cherry Blossom trees we have on the campus.  And this was clearly not an accident.  We know that because of their locations.  Many of the trees are located just outside the entrances of the different buildings.  You could argue that the founder carefully built the buildings around the existing trees – and that pigs can fly.

I think one of the things that makes the Cherry Blossoms so special is that they are with us for such a short time each year.  They bloom for one to two weeks a year and peak viewing lasts four to seven days.  Of course, strong winds or rain can cut everything short.  You could go to visit your sick relative in St. Louis and miss the whole thing.

A number of years back, I became fascinated with all of our Cherry Blossom trees.  I decided to walk around the grounds, find where they are located and count them.  A cautionary note – only try to count them when they are in bloom.  I randomly walked around the lake, the parade ground, the front of the Health Care Center.  I was amazed at how many we had, but on at least two occasions, I lost track of my count.  I think I was just walking my dog when the idea struck me, and I had nothing with me to take notes.  When I was finished, I was satisfied that we had over 60 trees.

Each year when the Cherry Blossoms exploded in their beauty, I would remind myself that I need to do a serious count.  But then they were gone!  This year, I decided to follow through on my quest.  Armed with a pen and a note pad, I started out.  From the front of the Jefferson (it’s the only location where we have Weeping Cherry Blossoms), to the lake, behind the Adams, to the parade ground and on and on.  I even found two growing wild.

I took meticulous notes.  I counted four trees behind the Community Center.  Then I walked around the Health Care Center and counted the same four again.  Finally, I realized that I had written “4 behind the Community Center” twice.

I counted 86 Cherry Blossom trees here at The Fairfax.  Some are really big and some are incredibly beautiful, like the one on the corner of the lake.  I told my friend, Pat Cleary, about the results of my project and he wanted to make sure I counted the scraggly, little one in back of Washington West. After two more trips back over, I identified the runt he was referring to.  It had one branch in full bloom.  Yes, I had counted it.

I guess the bottom line is you don’t have to go down to the Tidal Basin to see the beautiful Cherry Blossom trees.  They are all around you!  Now that they are gone for another year, I’m focusing on our mockingbirds and their many, many beautiful calls.  I may have more trouble counting them.