The fact is that I -- like many others in Japan -- wander around in April taking pictures of cherry blossoms. The blossoms appear for about two weeks in late March and early April, then fall like snow for a few days and they're gone. The Japanese appreciate their fragile beauty. I do, too. And I love them for their promise of spring coming to end the cold and damp months of winter. By the way, these particular "cherry" trees don't produce cherries. I suppose the nation would be overwhelmed with cherries if they did. They also have plum trees that blossom but don't produce plums and peach trees with no peaches...

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