Hi. I’m Jim, and I’m a lilac-holic.
We’re in the final few days of our lilac season here in the UP, and to quote an old dude, for me it’s the best of times, and it’s the worst of times.
I’ll be the first to admit–I love lilacs. And that’s why this is the best of times.
You see, I’m that dude that obsessively documents their development, and waits in giddy anticipation for those first buds to pop out. And then when the bushes bloom in their full scented glory, my five minute walk to work takes at least ten minutes, because I’m stopping every few feet to sniff a bloom, and, as you can tell, I end up taking way too many pictures of way too many clusters.
WAY too many.
I have one or two friends who think my obsession is, well, obsessive, but you know what? Who cares? I would even venture a guess that a majority of Yoopers feel the same way I do.
And I think one of the reasons so many of us love them so much is that lilacs presage summer, a season in the UP that can be way too short but also shows this peninsula in its full glory. Lilacs are the gateway to beach days, to late nights, and to the one time of the year nature bursts out the entire visible spectrum of colors.
But to quote another old dude, all good things must come to an end. In heralding the beginning of summer lilacs burn bright but die quickly.
Ten or twelve days after they come out they’re gone. We have to enjoy them while they’re here, because in the blink of an eye they leave us.
In that respect, I guess, lilacs have something else going for them. They’re the perfect metaphor for life.
So I hope you had the chance to enjoy them while they were here. And if there are still a few lingering where you live, indulge yourself. Sniff away to your heart’s content. And if someone gives you a strange look while you’re inhaling a lung-full of scented glory?
They just don’t know what they’re missing.
I’m Jim Koski, lilac-holic, and that’s another slice of “Life in the 906.”
