Well, no, but what we do have is a high-ish wind, and the Juneberry/Shadbush opposite is positively raining white petals. It always feels like such a waste when the blossom is blown off, but I wonder if, like leaf fall in the autumn, the petals detach more easily once the flower has been pollinated and/or is already fading? Either way, as I gaze out of the office window it looks as if there’s been a light fall of snow.

We used to have two of these trees very close to where I live, but one of them blew over at about this time last year.

Here it is in fine fettle…

And here it is leaning at a most peculiar angle last year…

And here it is after the inevitable high winds did their work…

The poor thing seemed to have some kind of fungal infection right where the trunk met the pavement, and it had snapped clean off. Since then, the tree pit has been tarmacked over so I suppose we won’t be getting a new tree, at least for a while.

The tree opposite is also leaning at a dodgy angle  – if it’s something to do with the way that the species roots, or if it’s just inadequate planting in what must be a fairly shallow site? And it seems to be getting worse. Here’s a photo from 2019…

And admittedly camera angles can be deceptive, but here’s a photo from today…Hmm, I’m not sure if it’s getting worse or not, what do you think, Readers?

At any rate, the white flowers will soon be replaced by very pale bronze new leaves, which turn green as they mature. The autumn colour is quite something too, so these trees really do punch above their weight as trees for small gardens or as street trees. Let’s hope that the one opposite manages to stay vertical for as long as possible.