I went to the Arnold Arboretum yesterday with ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anne and adrian_turtle, to look at lilacs and whatever else was in bloom, and to spend some time together. Last spring I didn't get to the arboretum until late May, and the only lilacs still in bloom were a variety I don't like (smaller shrubs whose flowers smell different from the ones I love), so I made a calendar entry for May 2 of this year: "lilacs? If so, ping Anne."
May 7 was slightly early for lilacs this year, but we got a gorgeous, warm, sunny day, some lilacs, and still quite a bit of forsythia and cherry. Anne got a good photo of two forsythias covered with flowers in two different shades of yellow, which she posted to twitter. I also saw my first red-winged blackbird of the season, a yellow warbler (that's a description, not a species), and a dragonfly.
After we'd looked at and smelled all the lilacs, and walked quite a bit, we had lunch at Brassica, a cafe near the Forest Hills T station. The food and the iced tea were both good, and we sat around talking until Anne realized she needed to head home, which was about when I needed to, as well, since my plan was to stop at my apartment long enough to grab an overnight bag, and then go to Adrian's. (I was home about long enough to play Scrabble withcattitude, who likes but is allergic to lilacs so didn't join us.
Anne, Adrian, and I had enough fun that I made "lilacs? if so, ping Anne" into a repeating annual event.
The Arboretum's official Lilac Sunday is always on Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May; this year I think that will be just about perfect. If I get enough else done in the next few days, I may go back to early next week.
My part of Somerville is just at the beginning of lilacs, with lots of violets, both white and purple, and flowering cherry. (One thing I like about Somerville, and about East Arlington, is the many white violets growing in people's yards.)
anne and adrian_turtle, to look at lilacs and whatever else was in bloom, and to spend some time together. Last spring I didn't get to the arboretum until late May, and the only lilacs still in bloom were a variety I don't like (smaller shrubs whose flowers smell different from the ones I love), so I made a calendar entry for May 2 of this year: "lilacs? If so, ping Anne."May 7 was slightly early for lilacs this year, but we got a gorgeous, warm, sunny day, some lilacs, and still quite a bit of forsythia and cherry. Anne got a good photo of two forsythias covered with flowers in two different shades of yellow, which she posted to twitter. I also saw my first red-winged blackbird of the season, a yellow warbler (that's a description, not a species), and a dragonfly.
After we'd looked at and smelled all the lilacs, and walked quite a bit, we had lunch at Brassica, a cafe near the Forest Hills T station. The food and the iced tea were both good, and we sat around talking until Anne realized she needed to head home, which was about when I needed to, as well, since my plan was to stop at my apartment long enough to grab an overnight bag, and then go to Adrian's. (I was home about long enough to play Scrabble with
cattitude, who likes but is allergic to lilacs so didn't join us.Anne, Adrian, and I had enough fun that I made "lilacs? if so, ping Anne" into a repeating annual event.
The Arboretum's official Lilac Sunday is always on Mother's Day, the second Sunday in May; this year I think that will be just about perfect. If I get enough else done in the next few days, I may go back to early next week.
My part of Somerville is just at the beginning of lilacs, with lots of violets, both white and purple, and flowering cherry. (One thing I like about Somerville, and about East Arlington, is the many white violets growing in people's yards.)