Thursday, May 29, 2014

Lilac Walk

There are so many things going on right now between school, church and home, but yesterday was such a perfect day I took an hour to walk my pups along the lake.

Both Willow and Bumble are very good on the leash - Bumble to my left and Willow to my right - and as long as we stick to the paved roads then they are focused on their pack leader and walking nicely. When we walk through the orchards and woods Willow struggles with the exciting scents and I have to say "leave it" approximately 100 times per minute, so the paved lanes to and along the lake are perfect for walking both dogs as there is very little traffic and very few smells to deal with.

Right now we are enjoying that glorious moment in spring when the lilacs and other flowering trees and shrubs are in full bloom. Along our wood line behind the house we currently have dogwood and various hawthorn in bloom, and the lane by the lake is lined with lilacs in bloom. The fragrance from the lilacs filled the air during our walk! On the side opposite the lake the orchards are also in bloom, and as we walked a farmer was mowing the lush green grass and bright yellow dandelions. Between the smells of the fresh cut grass and the lilacs, my head was swimming with memories. Like songs, smells can take me back so quickly -- childhood memories of Mom's lilac perfume that Dad bought her at the Rochester Lilac Festival one year, and memories of working together as a family on our large country lawn in Parish.

Along with the lovely smwlls, our walk also took us by beautiful homes perched at the edge of Lake Ontario with beautiful landscaping. The lake was beautiful: the breeze kept the lake a little choppy so the water birds were bobbing around, and off shore we saw a huge Great Lakes freighter and some kind of research vessel. I was able to chat with some lovely people who were outside enjoying the afternoon - some friends and some just friend-ly. We stumbled upon a tiny fat baby woodchuck, and that sure did distract the dogs for a bit, but soon we were back on track, heading toward home for dinner.

Walks like that don't happen enough. There are always excuses but the bottom line is that both my dogs and I benefit mentally and physically from taking an hour to just breath and move and see and smell. I want to say I am going to make it a daily habit, but I know that can't be. 'Like tonight - I won't be home before 7:00. Sigh.

But yesterday was perfect.

I found this (blurry) photo on ebay of a bottle of Mom's perfume!
I remember it sitting on her dressing table ... holy cow.
my pups last winter when we were trapped inside most days