Spring is slowly unfurling. Memories.

This is a photo I took earlier of the white flowering cherry tree in the school grounds opposite our house. 
There is a reason why it is there.  
The site of the two schools opposite was once one school, housed in two separate buildings, Infants and Juniors. 
It was surrounded by a coppice and the buildings were set within the trees.
It was decide to build another school on the same site, to stand alongside the original. A co-location. 
This involved the felling of beautiful 100 year old oak trees , and others like sycamore and birch.Among them a pink flowering cherry tree which was across from us by the perimeter fence. 
It flowered each year round about our son Matt's birthday.
He had a saying, " I wonder if the cherry tree will be ready for my birthday" (April 23rd.) 
Sure enough it never failed. 
The old school was also demolished and housed in a new single two storey one.
We as a family wanted to replace the loss of the cherry tree The school, (where he used to be a pupil in the '80's.), paid for the new one, even though we had offered to fund it. 
They placed it near the new perimeter fence so we could see it from the window. 
We did not want it to be marked with a plaque, it was enough that we would see the blossom and remember........

"Loveliest of trees, the cherry now is hung with bloom about the bough"
Extract from "A Shropshire Lad" by Housman 

The extras are of our neighbour's magnolia and one of the pigeon "scarers" which I hung on our miniature plum.