Lilac Sunday

[Lilacs, crabapple, and peony at the Arnold Arboretum; 11:30am, 5/11/08]

It was Lilac Sunday yesterday at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. In fact, the 100th anniversary of Lilac Sunday at the Arboretum, and it was Mother's Day besides. As you can see, it turned out to be a beautiful day -- a far cry from the downpour of two years ago in Boston for Mother's Day. There were no doubt plenty of mothers out enjoying the day among the many visitors, and the usual variety of dogs out for their scenic walks. We had at least 16 people in the walking group, so it was enough to try to keep track of everyone in the group, with people stopping frequently to take pictures or just smell the lilacs (and crabapples, etc.).

I got to the area early before the meetup, so stopped in at Java Jo's across from the T station, where I ran into Sara of Moving Right Along, who I'd never met but who spotted me eying the pastries and said hi. I knew she was going -- very early! -- but it was still a delightful surprise to meet her there (you can see Sara's post and some lovely lilac photos here). After the walk, the group ended up having lunch at the aforementioned Java Joe's, which is a fabulous little cafe with yummy sandwiches as well as good coffee and real loose tea, since we couldn't fit all of us into the Dogwood Cafe next door. The Dogwood is good, but a bit dark, and Java Joe's had a nice breeze blowing through the open doors, wonderful on a lovely spring day.

[View from Peter's Hill; 12:30pm, 5/11/08]

Comments

[Lorianne]

Lovely! I'm sure you had more fun than I did with my paper-pile. :-)

[Sara]

It was a delightful surprise for all of us, too!

Fellow blogger Bipolar Lawyer Cook lives in the area, and she led us to Java Jo's. I just want to point out that another thing they do very well there is the fruit smoothie. I was happily guzzling one -- some delicious thing with mango in it -- when I spotted you.

That peony is really something. Somehow I don't remember seeing any on our walk, but we were pretty enthralled with all the things we did get to see -- and smell. I'm so glad you got to get out in it, too.

[leslee]

Lorianne: I'm sure I had a lot more fun than that! Not that it'd be hard. Even without the Morris dancers. ;-)

Sara: Ah yes, I saw people sipping smoothies - they looked good. The peonies were off on a small trail called the "Chinese Path" heading away from Bussey Hill. A bit away from the crowds!

[joanna]

Read Peony in Love by Lisa See. It's not about agriculture, but it is the best novel I've read in a long time.

[leslee]

Thanks, Joanna! I will definitely check it out. In fact, I should see if it's in the library...