The Cherry Tree's Year

Today is a grey day in our valley, not cold just grey. The huge cherry tree outside my window looks spikey and spiteful, its leafless twigs poke angrily into the grey sky. The wind is ruffling the few dead brown leaves which cling defiantly to its branches. Looking at the cherry tree today it seems incredible that in Spring it will be a mass of blossom and that soon its green dress will be so sumptuous that I won't be able to see the other side of the valley from this window. In late May or early June I will be making cherry jam from the tree's fruit, for a little taste of Summer to carry us through next Winter.