The Spring in Kinmen

March arrives along with warmer weather. Everything is shrouded in mist when the first southern breeze sweeps across the island. The pale, lifeless image of winter starts to fade as green buds appear at the tips of all the lonely twigs — from them, young shoots and blossoming flowers then begin to burst into life. Meanwhile the migration of birds is as punctual as the pulse of the sun. The fields are alive with the ardent passion of life. All is as it should be. Flowers bloom and wither, grass grows, and birds fly high. This has to be what the Chinese call the “tranquility of heaven and earth and the peace of years.”

As the dry cold northern winds diminish, the sun again sheds its smiling rays on the northern hemisphere. The south winds come with rain, bringing new life to the plants. To the plants in Kinmen (especially the plants growing on granitic rocks), this time of abundant rain offers them a great opportunity to wake up and grow. Once the rain water seeps into the cracks of the granite rocks, the dormant roots are coaxed back to life. The passion that has been repressed for an entire season now seeks to stage a silent yet flamboyant show. The China root puts out its shoots, flowers, and tendrils simultaneously; the clusters of blossoms burst on the scene like fireworks. The Indian hawthorn andboxleaf eugenia add life to the display of colors with their rich greens and reds.

• left：RoSa cymosa