Common Lilac

I am particularly fond of those aspects of nature I remember from childhood. Robins, red wing blackbirds, and blue jays were the sound track of spring and summer outdoor play. When I hear them now, if I pause and allow memory to do its work, I can find myself outside my childhood home on a fine late spring evening. All the people I loved then are alive and well; all is right with the world. I'm grateful to have this avian touchstone to the past.

The same is true for lilacs. My childhood neighborhood had its share of lilac bushes and every May they would be denuded of flowers as high up as elementary school children could reach. One bush, the one near the neighborhood bus stop, was hit particularly hard by those picking flowers for teachers. In retrospect I see how this was vandalism of the most well intentioned sort but at the time the flowers were too pretty leave on the bush.

Adult me is shaking her head at 10 year old me.

I took this picture of a common lilac on a recent evening walk. The fragrance from the recent blooms overhanging the sidewalk stopped me in my tracks. I took a moment and savored the scent and the color before snapping this picture and then going on my way.

This bush is but a block from an elementary school. I wonder if children, the few that seem to walk, still pick flowers for their teachers?

Julkaistu toukokuu 7, 2015 08:58 IP. käyttäjältä