Lilac Lane

There are two seasons in Toronto:  Winter and Construction.  The balconies of our vertical village are undergoing a major transformation, and the unavoidable drilling is in the mega decibels.  Fortunately, there's a quiet street not far away, that is worlds away from the noise!  A lifetime away...  

You know the lilac trees are nearby, even before you see them.  Their fragrance fills the air.  Breathing the sweet, rich perfume instills a deep sense of calm.  It's a fragrance that awakens long forgotten memories of childhood.

 

I can hear the sound of my Dad whistling, for the four of us to come home, that Mum had dinner on the table.  I can see him, standing on our tiny porch - still wearing his crisply ironed white shirt, but having removed his tie - the early evening sun shining on him.  He was VP of BCIT, yet a down to earth family man with no pretensions.   

  

 

He planted the lilacs, next to the old pear trees that had been on the property before our home was built.  It was where he found the frail robin which had fallen out of its nest.  He brought the robin into the house, and placed him in a cloth lined shoebox, before leaving for work.  That day, we fed him bread which had been soaked in warm milk.  We found the old hamster cage, which gave the young robin a little more room. 

The robin grew, and weeks later, we took him camping with us, driving in a packed station wagon all the way up to Barkerville, in Northern BC.  The robin would fly freely around the campsites, and always return to rest on Dad's shoulder, or my little sister's arm.  When we returned home, he was set free for the last time.

Walking down "Lilac Lane", I was set free.  My heart soared like the birds.  The stress and upheaval of life, disappeared.  I am ever grateful to my Dad for teaching me how use a camera, and more than that, being able to appreciate the beauty that is always just steps away from us.

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widows Endorphins Photographic Images Inc.

Lilacs

Their fragrance is intoxicating.  Although lilacs only bloom for two or three weeks a year, gardeners plant lilacs just for those fews days of intense fragrance and beauty.  The scent is unforgettable, and strongly linked to memories of youth and romance.

Lilacs have been part of our culture forever...well, at least as far back as the ancient Greeks.  There's a Greek myth about Pan, the god of the forests and fields, who chases a lovely nymph named Syringa through the forest.  She can't stand him.  So, she turns herself into a lilac bush.  The end.  That's it.  There's nothing more. 

 

At this point, ancient Greek philosophers might find a shady spot under an aromatic lilac tree, and contemplate the deeper, hidden meaning of the story.  

I, on the other hand, am stunned that if the nymph had those super powers, why didn't she use them on him?  Why didn't Pan get turned into a pebble, or an edible mushroom?  The nymph turned herself into a lilac tree - one of the most alluringly fragrant trees in the world.  I think I get it...

These lilacs grow steps from my home.  I love their light, delicate purple colour.  Purple is associated with passion, vitality and spirituality, while the lighter hues are associated with romance - unless of course, you're Pan and Syringa. 

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Lilacs...Ah, the Memories!

It's the fragrance that we remember.  The unforgettable scent of lilacs, carried on a warm breeze, evokes memories of happy childhoods, and youthful romance.  Many people recall falling asleep, with the fragrance of lilacs wafting in through an open bedroom window.

You can't say, or even think the word, 'lilac' without mentally inhaling the sweet, fresh fragrance. Instantly recognizable, it is a difficult scent to describe:  sweet, heavy, fresh.  Part of the difficulty has to do with our brains. Olfactory processing takes place in the right side of the brain, while language is processed on the left side.  It is also a unique fragrance.  Peonies smell like roses. Lilacs smell like... lilacs. 

Although the fragrance is intoxicating, lilacs are not sexy.  They're sensual, romantic, and comforting. The memories they invoke are those of home, happiness, and the heart (after all, they have heart-shaped leaves).  Lilacs are a flower of whistful nostalgia, and bright eyed optimism.  They're sometimes referred to as, heavenly. 

Lilacs are an old-fashioned flower, loved by hipsters and great grandmothers.  Even in today's world of iphones and tablets, lilacs will grace a teacher's desk on the last few days of school.  A single stem in a simple vase, perched on a kitchen windowsill is charming.  An armful of lilac blooms, whether displayed in a vintage wicker bicycle basket, or an antique silver urn, has an air of gentility. 

Lilacs are a branch of the olive family.  While olives and olive oil will be found on many restaurant tables, lilacs are rarely found on a dining table.  Their fragrance fills a room, and will sometimes overpower, or contradict the food being served. Lilacs are ideally placed at the doorway, to greet arriving guests.

A thousand years ago, one of the biology teachers in my highschool, had an annual class project, which like it or not, involved the entire school.  As an end-of-year project, Mr. M. would place the lab tables side by side in a huge rectangle around the room.  He would cover the surface of each table with thick sheets of newspaper, and paper towels, and lay more newspaper on the entire floor.  He would then proceed to circle the room with the entire stomach of a cow!  All four compartments!

After only one day in a hot classroom, dead meat stinks!  The project would usually begin on a Monday.  The putrid stench emerging from the biology lab, creeping down the hall, and climbing the staircase, to fill the entire wing of the school within days.  Opening all the windows made little difference.  Mr. M's solution?  He would spray the classroom, and hallways with thick clouds of a popular, but cheap lilac scented room freshener.  It only made things worse!

It says much about the power of the pure, fresh scent of real lilacs, that even that nauseating memory is almost forgotten, when I think of lilacs.      

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.