The first cherry blossom of the season, the dark pink variety, is out up at the Yangmingshan Mountains above Taipei …..

There’s also white cherry blossom up there too ~ the plum blossoms are over (how to tell the difference: apparently, cherry blossoms have a slit at the end of the petal, but plum blossoms don’t) ….

The gardens up there are beautiful…

And at Erziping, the blue sky is a rare treat in winter…

There are even tadpoles in the water….

And wild flowers out….

While down at lower levels, in Taipei, some cherry blossom, the light pink variety, sakura, is just starting…

At Elephant Mountain on Wednesday, the views towards Taipei City, and especially Taipei 101, were amazing….

As were the views along the riverbank to get there….

And that bizarre DNA Double Helix building, Tao Zhu Yin Yuan 陶朱隱園 in downtown Taipei was even more eye-catching than usual….

The journey back….

That was 2 days of beautiful sunshine and warm weather, a rare treat in Taipei’s winter. Loved it! We had one day like that in December, and now 2 days in January. Gotta smile 😬 it’s now finished ~ and the rain is back, cold front on its way. And the weather forecast for Chinese New Year next week is rain, and more rain! 🌧️