Lilacs in Lombard

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room....

A.E. Houseman was referring to cherry trees in his poem "Loveliest of Trees," but my favorite spring flowers include violets, lily of the valley, and lilacs. I got to sate myself on lilacs this evening as Eugene and I drove down to Lombard, which features a park filled with lilac bushes. The park was founded in 1927, though I think the lilacs were planted even before then. There were also several varieties of tulips still in bloom as well.

We brought Oscar, our stuffed orca, along for photo ops; after all, aren't killer whales and gardens a natural pairing? We wandered around a bit first, sniffing the various bushes as if we were sampling fine wines: "This one's pretty mild," "This one's stronger," "This one reminds me of baby powder." It was after supper, which would normally be a good time for photographs with the lighting conditions. Unfortunately, many of the best views were into the sun, so some of the pictures I took came out a little light. Eugene's pictures will probably turn out better--he knows more about what he's doing and has a much more impressive camera. Still, we took some good photos, particularly with Oscar. The best part was when we found a variety of tulips named Oscar; he had to pose with his namesake flowers. When I have time, I'll upload his latest collection of pictures to my website.

After about an hour, we'd gone through the whole park, and I'd stopped to sniff the lilacs several times. We stopped for Ben and Jerry's and did some shopping before going home.


Is he an ex-parrot?












My tulips have a first name,
It's O-S-C-A-R....