i can remember my first southern spring here so vividly. i was driving to work and i passed a japanese magnolia tree that i could have sworn was bare the day before. it was covered in magenta-colored magnolia blooms. i recall pulling over to the side of the road and just staring at it like i had never seen anything like it before.

ten years later, i still find magnolias to be just as beautiful as the first time i saw them and i continue to pull over to the side of the road.