Cherry bloom against a spring sky

The flowering cherries on the right are in Bear Creek Park, but the cherry blossom is a Vancouver area spring classic, as is this swirly gray spring sky.

Even after the twenty-odd years we've lived happily in Surrey, it's one thing I miss about Vancouver spring. The city even holds an annual Cherry Blossom Festival.

There is something magical about the blocks upon blocks of mature cherry trees blossoming on many of Vancouver's residential streets. In our old neighbourhood, the blocks of 2nd and 3rd Avenue immediately east of Renfrew have rows of delightful old cherry trees. 

In many areas, Vancouver cherries have been planted so that as one variety finishes its bloom time, another begins.