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Monday, March 19, 2007

Sweet Lilacs

Oh the sweet smell of lilacs...
I have such precious memories of my family's back yard...the backyard of my childhood. To a young girl it seemed a fairy tale world. A place to lie on a soft, weathered quilt and dream the dreams of a young girl.
Willow trees provided deep shade while
this haven's flower beds were filled to capacity
with tulips in the Spring....roses in the Summer.
But oh, the lilacs...purple, pink and white lilacs. I would gather them and place them on my night stand. How sweet their scent....making pleasant dreams a certainty.
The Lilacs Mother Planted
I listened by the doorstep as the evening shadows fell,
While from the distance floated the faint tinkling of a bell,
The night hawk circled overhead then dropped straight down below,
The same as when I first lived there, in childhood, long ago.
The trees have grown much taller in the yard where once I played,
And now looked so majestic in their summer robes arrayed;
And near the walk the lilacs flung their fragrance to the air
The lilacs that my darling mother planted for us there.
Ah, yes, what tender memories are forced on us again,
Who leave our home in boyhood days and then return grown men;
To seek again the playgrounds which in youth we loved so well,
The shade beneath the apple tree, the old pump at the well,
The woodpile, and the cellar door, the dear old blacksmith shop,
The granary that held the corn with martin box on top.
But dearer than the playgrounds was the perfume in the air,
From those dear lilac bushes that my mother planted there.
Oh, sweet and fragrant lilac, the one she loved so well,
Thy fragrance brings to memory sad thoughts I cannot tell;
Sweet lullabies of childhood sung at the evening rest,
By mother clasping closely the one she loved the best.
A voice that gently whispered sweet words of love to me,
A face so kind and gentle, a heart with love so free;
Still yet my heart throbs feel them, still yet I see them there,
When lilacs that she planted with fragrance fill the air. ~Ed Blair.
"If I were to name the three most precious resources of life, I should say books, friends and nature; and the greatest of these, at least the most constant and always at hand, is nature."
~Naturalist, John Burroughs Wishing you all a sweet week... Hugs, Susie Q

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm SO allergic to lilacs :(

Anonymous said...

I too have wonderful "lilac memories". When I saw your pictures I could smell them!
Thanks for sharing that.
Hope

Melissa said...

What beautiful lilacs! Makes it feel like spring a few days early.

Susie said...

My absolute fav flowers. Lots of posts floating around in cyber space about lilacs. I suppose they speak of the hope of springtime!!
((hugs))

Marilyn in NM said...

I love lilacs. We have a fence row of them but unfortunately, they almost always freeze. I'm hoping this year will be different. We have white ones and purple ones and they smell heavenly!

Dawn Bibbs said...

Absolutely beautiful...that's all I can say...just BEAUTIFUL!!!

TJ said...

ahhhhh choo!! I could almost but not quite smell em...love the scent...but these alegies are killin me!!
Beautiful pictures and post btw!!
:-D

Cindy said...

I love lilacs too! They don't grow very large here in California but I found a variety that is supposed to do well here. I just noticed this weekend that it has some flower buds starting already. I'll post pics as soon as they open!

PAT said...

Our family farm was sold, 4 years ago this summer. When we moved from there, we left behind a wonderful lilac bush, that gifted us, each Spring.

We were on Mackinac Island, Michigan last June, during the Lilac Festival! Wonderful!

I've had a lilac scented candle burning today.

Andi said...

What beautiful pictures of lilacs you have on your post. Lilacs were my Mother's very favorite flower. I wish they grew here in Florida. Peonies are my favorite flower I remember from growing up in the midwest.

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, I don't know how I got here. I skipped over from someone's blog. I just had to let you know that you brought a tear to my eye. I could just see my dad sitting in his yard with the lilac and willow tree that he transplanted from his mother's garden. I could swear I smelled lilacs. thanks for the memory.