The academics were talking, congratulating each other on their fascinating work, while a few feet away, I plodded around this crabapple, trying to squeeze it into my mind.  The Eastern European Accents asked the Tall One about the Arboretum, which has been been swarmed by pink and white with a velocity that I just can’t grasp.  “Oh, I live nearby, so I just walk over,” the Tall One replied, referencing the neighborhood of twisting streets and 1920s-era suburban mansions that surround what was once a rural outpost of the University’s Ag program.  “But I’ve never seen it like this before,” he continued with genuine amazement.  Stumped, the Tall Academic tried to explain the mystery to himself and his friends.  “Maybe it was the dry spring,” he said, “I don’t know.  But I’ve never seen them all bloom at once like this.”