Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
Linda Schaub
FIFTY FAVORITE PARK PHOTOS
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- Parker noshin’ nuts
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Black Squirrel
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- Parker, my Park cutie!
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- Pekin Duck
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- Mallard Hybrid Duck
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- Midnight munchin’ nuts
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- Mute Swan
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- Goslings
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- Mama Robin
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- Seagulls on ice floe
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Parker chowin’ down
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- Mallard Duck
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- Northern Cardinal
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- Great Blue Heron (“Harry”) fishing for shad
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- Parker: shameless begging
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- Viceroy Butterfly
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- Great Blue Heron
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- American Goldfinch
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- Seagull
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- Robin baby (not fledged yet)
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Robins almost ready to fledge
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- Parker angling for peanuts
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- Robin fledgling
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- Parker making a point that he wants peanuts
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- Parker smells peanuts
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- Parker with a peanut
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Seagull
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- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
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- Pekin Duck
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- Starling
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- Canada Geese family
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- Canada Goose and goslings
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Parker says candy is dandy.
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- Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
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- American Goldfinch
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- Hunny Bunny
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- Parker looking for peanuts
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- The pier just past sunrise
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- Mute Swan
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- Parker in the snow
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- Parker and a treat
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Me and my shadow (a/k/a Parker)
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Seagull
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- Canada Goose
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Mute Swan
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- Fox Squirrel – Parker
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- Northern Cardinal
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BADGES
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- 02-02-2018
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- 03-13-2018
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- 03-25-2018
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- 03-26-2018
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- Year #6!! 02/2019
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- 04-13-2019
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- 11-21-19
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Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I wish this was a scratch and sniff post – I love lilacs. Great pictures Linda.
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If only I could do that Peggy – I love lilacs too. Well over 100 bushes here and it was hard to show the immensity of the lilac gardens. Thanks – glad you liked them.
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I have planted lilacs in my yard 3 times and they all died. Think it is our clay soil. Tried mulching around the roots with no good results.
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It is frustrating and to amend the soil does not always work either. I have some hydrangeas called “Twist and Shout” – they turn colors based on how much ph is in the soil. They are either a periwinkle blue or a pale pink. Mine are pale pink.
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Sounds like the hydranges here.
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Gorgeous!
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The smell was heavenly Anne!
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Our lilac bush has buds, but I don’t know if the cold hurt them. Must remember to look again.
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Hope they are okay Anne. One year we had a hard freeze in May and it zapped all the flowering trees and turned the leaves on the ornamental trees brown with what was described by experts as freezer burn.
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I’ll have to keep watching the lilac bush. Daughter Kate is coming next week, which will divert me from gardening. I’d much rather spend time with her than go out weeding every morning, not that I’ve started this year.
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That’s terrific news Anne. Does David have a few days off from work to spend with his mom? I know he’ll take her for a spin in his new car!
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Yes, David is taking the week off to be with her. It’s going to be great for all of us.
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Oh, that’s great news – what a nice visit you’ll have. Hope the weather cooperates for all of you.
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Beautiful! AND bird-free 🙂
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Jeanine – ha ha … the lilacs were beautiful to see and wonderful to smell. I have been to this Estate in three seasons and saw NO birds – just butterflies and bees. But in its heyday, Henry Ford had 500 birdhouses around the grounds.
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Ha ha, what are the odds? Some birds I really like, like peacocks, but most of them are just scarry. The Birds and all 🙂
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I know – I think it’s odd too. All that green space and no birds. I’ve never seen a peacock, not even at a zoo.
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You must be kidding? There are really fascinating creatures! According to the mighty search engine, they have some in the Detroit Zoo AND some of them roam the Detroit area freely
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I must put it on “Birdie Bucket List” – I’ve not been to the Detroit Zoo since 9th grade believe it or not and they room the Detroit area frequently appeals to me. There must be a bird sanctuary around here … I will report back if I can find one and you know they’ll be pictures on Wordless Wednesday!!
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Awesome! Looking forward to that. And they definitely need to be on your bird list 🙂
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I will put it on for next year and make a point to seek one out!
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Oh, what a lovely place to walk and sit and breathe during full bloom.
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Yes, it sure was Zazzy and I think sitting on that bench among the blooming lilacs would be such a peaceful place.
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I wish you could make this a ‘scratch and sniff’ post, too! 💜 Lilacs smell so sweet and delightful. Oh, to walk down that fragrant path…
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At first I was going to look on Pinterest and see if there was a scratch-and-sniff sticker made up for lilacs and put it in the post, then decided against it and to keep the post purely natural. You can buy the special paints to create your own scents, mostly fruit or bubblegum scents, mostly for kids. Lilacs sure are fragrant when in full bloom. I imagine due to our cold weather, the Fair Lane lilacs are not out yet. Mine are not even in bud yet. I like how they have the flagstone path to walk down – it seems to make it cozier.
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love lilacs! With they would bloom longer or more often.
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I know – they are like magnolias – out a day or two, then poof, all scattered on the ground. We have another hard freeze tonight, so people are scrambling to cover their tender shoots again tonight and I hope the flowering trees don’t bite the dust!
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Wow, what gorgeous displays of lilacs, Linda! I bet they smell amazing. Spokane is dubbed “Lilac city” and I really need to get a few sprigs to plant for myself. It’s still in the 30s F at night so I’m hesitant to plant much yet!
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How interesting Spokane is dubbed “Lilac city” and you are also lucky to see these beautiful flowers Terri. We have no buds out at all due the cold weather which is like yours. I’d wait a little longer to plant anything there; people are scrambling to cover their flowers and blooming shrubs as we’re having another hard freeze tonight.
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Today was the 5th coldest day in April in history here in Spokane area ;/ Soon we’ll be complaining of heat, Linda!
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Amazing Terri – I know we came close today, but broke no records and I already complained about last weekend’s heat – too hot, too fast! It was in the 80s, five days after it snowed.
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How very beautiful. What would explain the absence of birds in this garden?
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I don’t know Anne – I wish there was someone to ask. I reached out to ask a question on their Facebook site to determine peak time for the lilacs and never got an answer, so don’t know whom I should ask, but I find it odd. Just some butterflies and bees. I’m sure the Estate was teeming with birds when Mr. Ford had his 500 birdhouses up.
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I’ve often wondered what would happen If one could sleep amongst flowers? Sleeping in a orchard when It’s blooming!
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Can you imagine the scent Wayne? You’d think you had drifted into a dream and were in a faraway land. I always hear about the cherry trees in Washington and how beautiful they are as they erupt into blossom at the same time.
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Yes, but remember most of those cherry trees are ornamental. Which means they look great but have no scent.
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That’s true too – we have many Weeping Cherry trees around here – in bloom for a day or two, then petals in a pile at the base of the tree a few days later.
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Lilacs have always been a favorite flower. They remind me of my mom (they were “her” flower). I used to cut an armful of lilacs and bring them in the house each spring, but I can’t anymore. I have developed allergies. I have to content myself with admiring them and smelling them outside!
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They have a beautiful scent and it fills the house with the smell within minutes. I no longer bring any into the house – they are not as plentiful as they once were. We had a wedding shower at work for a co-worker in the Spring and I decided to bring in a bucket of freshly cut lilacs to put in vases around the conference room where the shower was being held. I did that in the morning and when we had the shower at noon, the smell was so strong, we had to take some of the bouquets into the hallway as it bothered some of the girls with the intense scent.
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Gorgeous Linda……makes me wish it was May and mine were out. They will be those old-fashioned heirloom “common” lilac bushes, which are hard to find in a nursery, as what they now label a “common” lilac does not live more than ten years in my experience and the smell is not the same. We had those old fragrant ones on the farm, surrounding the house and those bushes were over sixty years old. Looking forward to the rose blog too.
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The smell from the lilacs in the yard was quite strong as I recall. Your lilacs were older, stronger and I’ll bet less maintenance. I never remember my father trimming the lilac trees- one is dark purple and other light, almost white. I planted a Little Miss Kim lilac bush in the backyard in the mid-90s and it never once bloomed until last year! It had no smell. I thought of you yesterday as I saw lavender trees and plants at Meijer. Couldn’t smell them through my mask.
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Beautiful photos. I can almost smell the scent here. Almost.
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Yes, it was an intoxicating smell Ally and not all the 100+bushes were in bloom when I visited.
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What a nice bench to sit on and path to walk on to enjoy all the beautiful lilacs. 🙂
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You want to just park yourself there and stay a few hours don’t you? It was very peaceful, the whole garden.
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There is a miniature lilac in my yard! I love it and, oh, those aromas!!! 😁
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I bought a miniature Little Miss Kim in the mid-90s and it finally bloomed last year! So I’m curious if it will bloom again this year. My lilac trees are old and don’t bloom like they once do. They need a good cutting back and I should do that this year after they bloom. I love the aroma of lilacs.
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your lilac photos have so much diversity and flowed like a story here, Linda
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Thank you Yvette – I appreciate you saying that.
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I do see lilacs very often around here!
Did I mention that our first house in Denver had a Gardener live there before we moved in.
Well after killing most of the backyard stuff (she should have left a map of bulbs and what was where) well the grass was nice and green but her perimeter of bulbs didn’t make it (two dogs)
However – one lilac shrub emerged along the back fence! It bright such soft beauty and I was glad it found a way to thrive on its own
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I just looked at my lilacs when I came home from walking – nothing out yet, but it’s been so cold this week. I’m glad they didn’t open last weekend with that fluke heat wave as the we almost broke a record for cold and the hard freeze would have gotten them for sure. You were blessed with that lilac shrub. My father ordered tulip bulbs from Holland right after we moved here in 1966 and planted them that Fall. When he did yard clean-up in the Spring he found half-chewed bulbs all over the yard – squirrels. Except they missed one tulip which came up year after year under a tree. The tree was cut down due to carpenter ants and when they removed the roots, they took that final tulip bulb with it.
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wow – that one tulip that kept coming up must have been pure joy.
sad that it left when the tree had to be taken out.
and my lilac shrub was really appreciated more in hindsight.
Like at the time I really delighted in it – but years later I see the gift it was along that cold chain link fence and all that –
also, hope your lilacs do all this year – when the time is right
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I’m looking forward to seeing if the Little Miss Kim blooms again – last year, the first time in nearly three decades!
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🌸🌸🌸🌸😊
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Beautiful lilac garden! Mine are just about to bloom and their fragrance is heavenly. Happy Spring, Linda! 🙋♀️
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Yes it is such a heady smell Sabine – back at you. We had sunshine today even though it was very cold. Sun makes all the difference in the world!
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Sabine – I think you are an expert with your lilacs. I remember your posts from awhile back and they were gorgeous. A fellow blogger, Joni and I are wondering your method for pruning the lilacs, when, how … if you have a minute. Neither of ours are out right now (Joni lives in Ontario). I sent Joni a link to a “Birds and Blooms” article I saw on their Facebook page but I told Joni I’d ask you. I have not trimmed my lilacs in several years. Thank you in advance for your help. P.S. – I just heard your state has the bird flu for the first time since 2015.
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Linda, thanks for the lilac expert compliment! I prune/trim all the flowers off after they are finished blooming. I also cut out any dead and crossing branches. If your lilac needs more thorough pruning you can cut back about a third of the branches to help shape the bush and keep the interior open. Of all the things I’ve tried, this works the best. New flowers are formed right after the old blossoms are finished, so if you were to prune in the fall you most likely wouldn’t get any flowers the following year. Last year I was super diligent about it and this year I have about twice as many flowers booming. The same technique goes for forsythia and camellias. I hope this helps! I can always do a post on pruning sometime in the not too distant future if you like. I’ll send an email later to catch up!
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Thank you Sabine – I will refer Joni to this comment. I appreciate it. I sent Joni the link to one of your lilac posts from last year or 2020. I follow “Birds and Blooms” on Facebook and in this post’s comments, I sent Joni a link I saw the other day, but it was not clear. You could hold yourself out as an expert with taking care of lilacs. Today, I intended to stay offline until tonight – I already had my Mother’s Day post done last week. But I went to the Park this morning and there were three sets of gosling, all different sizes, so I ended up taking pictures of them … wanted to see how they turned out, even though tomorrow’s post is about goslings. I don’t think there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to goslings. This pit stop to look at pictures halted my housework plans though. Thank you again Sabine.
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I know the feeling of trying to reduce online time, Linda! 😉 It’s been super wet here (wettest April in PDX history) and May doesn’t look much better so far. I’ll get out with my pruners and take some pictures of where to trim. Goslings are fun to watch! I look forward to reading your post. 🙂
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Thank you very much Sabine – I appreciate it. I have let my lilacs go as I’ve not had too many the last few years. My neighbor’s wisteria vine kept choking them and I had to unwind or untangle it from the lilac branches. The other tree, a darker variety, has something from a neighbor’s yard that I can’t reach. Last year, my Little Miss Kim bloomed for the first time since 1995. I did intend to have two days to work in the house. My car is in the shop getting the A/C fixed and so no car, but no problem, I just went to Council Point Park. I had the camera, but told myself … walk, feed your furry and feathered friends, then come home … not going out at all would have been better, but I didn’t want to do that, so three sets of goslings, well … I couldn’t resist. Now to look at pictures and see how they turned out. I need to catch up in Reader tonight as I am 4 1/2 days behind. My Mother’s Day post is all about goslings, so I really hesitated to devote another post to them – maybe a Wordless Wednesday to avoid “gosling overload”. 🙂
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I wish it was scratch and sniff too – I love the smell of lilacs. Ours are just starting to show buds. Way too cold for them to burst into spring here in WI!
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Mine still aren’t out, but it’s cold (but not as cold as you in WI). Some of the magnolias are out which surprises me – others are just in bud. With the cold, I am surprised the bud didn’t just fall off which happened a few years ago.
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One of these days, we WILL see the warmer temps. It rained all weekend in our area. Looks like a cloudy and cool week ahead. I hope your warmer temps stick around!
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I hope so – today was another gray and gloomy day and an all-day soaker and storm tomorrow, rain Thursday and Friday. What a disappointment that Spring has turned out to be.
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I feel your pain!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s gloomy and gray here again.
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An all-day rain here and still raining and it’s started to rumble so I may be shutting down and pulling the plug shortly.
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I hope the storms weren’t bad for you. We had sunshine yesterday – finally. Not sure what today will bring. I’m just taking it one day at a time. 🙂
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They were not as bad as predicted Shelley and our weather people cannot seem to predict accurately anymore – sometimes not even close. We have another ugly day this Friday and then we are sunny and hot after Mother’s Day (if they are right).
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🌞🌦⛈☔🌤☀
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Pingback: Meandering around Fair Lane Estate – Part II | WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY
The first photo and the one of the walkway look like paintings. Simply beautiful.
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Thank you – glad you liked them Dave. It was such a beautiful setting that it made it easy for those photos to come out so well.
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Beautiful flowers! I don’t think lilacs grow around here… or maybe I just don’t recognize them. I’d love to sit on that wooden bench and be surrounded by that scent.
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They do not last long either Janis – maybe a week’s time, two weeks at the most if you don’t have any wind or rain pelting them. Well we don’t have those wonderful-smelling lemon trees here so I guess we are even. 🙂 I purposely chose that header image as it looked so peaceful with the bench surrounded by lilacs – what a location to while away the time.
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I do love lilacs, we have a bunch across the back of our yard but they aren’t out yet. Hopefully soon!
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I love them too Susan. I have two trees, but they do not produce like they used to. I planted a Little Miss Kim which didn’t bloom for several decades!
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Beautiful flowers! And again your post title is so much like you…witty.
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Thank you Esther – for tomorrow’s Wordless Wednesday I tried to be witty too and hope the joke does not fall flat. 🙂 They were beautiful and not all the lilacs were in bloom yet. We had a weird Spring in 2021 too and I was told by the guard in 2019 to try and go mid-May and that would be peak.
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Love my lilac bush. This just reminded me to check and see if I have flowers on mine yet. It would be a great scratch and sniff picture!
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Lilacs are so timeless aren’t they? I have two lilac trees and they are sparse now, especially the dark lilac tree. I have to prune them. They are not even in bud yet.
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