Spring comes to Tbilisi

It seemed to happen almost overnight.  One day the patchy grass was pale and lifeless, the trees bare and skeletal; the sun was weak and the wind cut sharply.  Then suddenly the trees wore tiny green buds, like a haze floating among their branches, the grass sprang up strong and verdant, and blossoms of white and pink and yellow appeared on lifeless limbs.  Temperatures climbed into the 20s (remember this is Centigrade) and flower sellers displayed masses of Persian lilacs, scarlet tulips, Lenten roses, and the gigantic callas that serve as Orthodox Easter lilies. 

Pavel has a new hat for spring—a jaunty cap to replace the dark wool he wore all winter.  Yesterday he washed our truck until it gleamed, and then last night just after 7:00 a thunderstorm of epic proportion blew through town, flooding streets and pedestrian underpasses, stopping traffic, blowing electrical circuits, and generally asserting Nature’s dominance over all things human. 

I took a little walk through my immediate neighborhood last week, shooting a few photos to share.  So take a walk with me—if you thought Tbilisi was beautiful in the snow (and I truly did), I hope you like it in spring as well!