they're heeerrrrrre...

The jacaranda trees are in bloom, and I am in heaven!! Each spring I eagerly await the end of April/beginning of May when these trees bloom and turn into giant amazing purple bouquets! They are all over here in Los Angeles and Orange Counties and are showing off their lovely purple plumage.

For some reason, these purple trees do not photograph well (at least not for me), and these photos do not truly do them justice. They are far more striking and beautiful in real life.

These photos were not taken this year, as I have not had a spare moment to take my camera out on a jacaranda shoot. But, since I'm enjoying their glory right now, I thought I would share...

These are what the blossoms look like close up...like little trumpet flowers!

...and the final shot below is my favorite street at jacaranda time--the entire street is lined with the purple-blossomed trees!! And the ground is covered with the purple 'snow' of fallen flowers. It's so wonderful to see!

Though the jacaranda blooms are here, I am not... (well, I'm HERE, just not THERE!) I am now on a two-day business trip to Chicago followed by a week with my family in Michigan. When I return home to southern CA, the trees will probably have dropped all of the purple and become green with leaves instead... and so I pay a fond tribute to their beauty by sharing them with you today...