Lilac Watch 2008

Soon.  They will be here very soon.

My mother grew up in New England.  When she and I would go on little drawing and walking excursions to the botanical garden in the part of Southern California where I grew up, she was enchanted to discover, and to share with me, a favorite flower from childhood:  Syringa vulgaris, the common lilacs.

Except in daydreams inspired by various literary sources, I never imagined then that I would live here in New England myself, not to mention anywhere so close to a botanical garden which celebrates the lilac every year, on Lilac Sunday.

This week, as you can see, Love Thursday has me thinking in circles, or spirals, of roots and branches and sweet smelling, candy colored flowers.  Hope your thoughts are as pleasant.

Comments

[michelle of bleeding espresso]

Pleasant thoughts indeed. Looking forward to those lilac photos to complete that circle at least :)

[mb]

I spent some time the other day catching up on your news, and left without comment, too astounded to find words. I hope, dear Sara, that you will post and process away about your experience to your heart's content. It is your blog, after all. ;-) I am very happy your beautiful butterfly came back in time to watch for spring lilacs! I'm glad to know you are doing so much better.

[Sara]

Thanks, Michelle. You know there will be some! :)

And thanks, MB! Excellent to see you here again. And truly, being "astounded" seems to me a perfectly apt response. It was astounding. For someone who likes her life to be deeply boring, you know, all about flowers and kitties and squirrels and muffineering and gentle little tricycle trips to the vegetable farm, it was maybe a bit too astounding. At the same time, oh! So many gifts!

So, yeah, the processing continues. Thanks for understanding! :)

[bipolarlawyercook]

Sara, I'm so glad to be hearing from you again. I missed you! And I live a very short walk from Lilac Sunday, so if you decided to come, I hope you'll think about letting me make you (and your True Love, too) some supper, or grabbing a cup of coffee at the shop around the corner from my house.

[Sara]

BLC, you're on. I think I'm going to have to attend this year just to get that beautiful 100-year commemorative T-shirt! :)

[kathy a.]

sara, i also grew up in so cal [the valley], dreaming of flowers we did not have around there.

[Leslee]

Oh my, maybe I should go, too! In the house I grew up in in NH, there were lilac bushes outside my bedroom window. The smell of lilacs would stream in and fill the room. It was also a big Catholic thing to put sprigs of lilacs around the Virgin Mary statues!

[Sara]

That's very interesting, Leslee! I wonder what the association is. I had only ever seen roses associated with the Virgin Mary.

Yes, you should definitely go. I will probably be going very early, to avoid crowds (which are immense at this event) and also -- I hate to say it -- Morris dancers. (They just weird me out. Sorry, it's true. I think it's the bells.) I want to be there just late enough to get a T-shirt and maybe look over whatever lilac plants they have for sale this year, and then be gone -- hopefully to coffee with BLC. And maybe you? Drop me a line if this sounds fun. :)

[patry francis]

Not having a lilac bush of my own, I go to the library (where they have several spectacular ones) more often during lilac season. Does that mean those divine flowers also promote literacy?

[Sara]

Patry, I think there is definitely a connection. Also, I have it in my head that the Virgin Mary, before she was the Virgin Mary, was a scholarly young lady, though I doubt very much that lilacs bloomed outside her local library any more than they did outside Kathy A.'s.

Wow. Look at that: more spirals.

[laurie]

Mmmm. Lilacs. One of my favourite smells. I love spring. No lilacs here for a few more weeks. Can't wait.

[leslee]

No idea yet about the lilac thing. It's Mother's Day, and the first without mine living. So I'm leaving things open to see how I feel.

As for the Morris dancers - ha! A couple of friends and I have a running joke about Morris dancers, having encountered them at prior events (just once for me, but I do think one of them dated a Morris dancer??). It was rather bizarre, I have to say. Twee. But a couple of the guys appeared rather athletic, I must say. Disconcerting.

[Dee]

Sara, my lilacs just started blooming and I thought of you. Blogger isn't doing very well uploading photos at the moment . . . but there should be a photo there soon! I hope you're doing okay. Dee

See photo at:
http://deeupdates.blogspot.com/2008/04/lilacs-for-sara-at-moving-right-along.html

[Janet]

The Arboretum is just the most amazing place, especially when the lilacs are in bloom! So many colors and the scent...it's enough to make you swoon!

[Sara]

Laurie: This is one of the great things about the internet. You can see flowers blooming all over the place before they actually get to you. It's sort of like living somewhere on or in the Pacific and watching New Year's Eve celebrations around the world on TV. It's like having a big cascading celebration that just goes on and on. Watching daffodils bloom in California in February, though it makes me jealous, feels kind of like that. Seeing Lilacs bloom in Canada whenever they get around to it will just be part of a very long visual spring for all of us. :)

Leslee: I understand completely. Open is smart.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to figure out -- but idly, from a distance -- what Morris dancing is all about. (I tried reading about it on Wikipedia, but my vision started to blur.) My friend S, however, who might be coming along to Lilac Sunday, feels the aversion is similar to the aversion many of us also have for clowns.

Dee: Beautiful! Thank you!

Janet: Oh, I so agree! I have not spent nearly enough time there, but we are about to remedy that, at least in small part.