After a full, good day of work we made time to hang out with the lilacs this evening. All the right conditions have come together this spring to cause lots of blooms at all levels of the shrubs: tall older growth, short slender new shoots, and everything in between.

I set up a folding chair in the southwest corner of the exclosure and simply sat and smelled. There wasn’t much insect action at that hour. The breeze was soft and sweet, and the little mammals each enjoyed the time in their different ways. Wren snoofled and snuffled around, while Topaz sat, stretched, rolled, a little apart in a last patch of sun.

Lilac bloom doesn’t last long: this annual phenomenon embodies the essence of impermanence. I make a point to savor it as much as possible while it’s happening.