Lilacs in the park

We almost missed these, what with being busy and the very hot weather. (Next year we’ll ensure we’re busy visiting the lilacs, properly busy, and not running administrative errands in lilac season!) We did catch them, slightly past their best, but aromatic and pretty enough, or so we thought. Aren’t we all a touch wilted yet aromatic once the heat arrives? No?! Just me then…

Wilted? No!

If you don’t know it or haven’t visited, Le Parc du Bois-de-Coulonge is a little, or not so little, additional oasis of green a short walk from the Plains of Abraham. I think the two are connected if you take the riverside route, and I’ll give that a go sometime when it is less hot! The route up is steep, so to date we’ve stayed on the upper ground and walk between the two parks. Also, this time out, our picnic might have been weighing us down – or I’m just lazy in the warmer weather, too lazy to scale any heights?

Above the river

I’m no botanist, but I do know there are many types of lilacs, and I enjoyed seeing the different shades between the ones grown in the park. On approach, from quite some distance, you can smell the lilacs long before you see them. I like the aroma, a touch heady but not too cloying. Not like the aftershaves I used in my younger clean shaven and pre-grizzled days. Those “fragrances”! Not so much cloying as eye-wateringly dangerous. Useful for clearing a room, and to this day I’m always surprised Mrs. PC wasn’t too put off…

Fragrant

We’re off on our next camping adventure, a week or more up in the Saguenay area. Recommended to us by friends as a pretty region to visit, so long as you’re not dressed as a moose in hunting season. I’ve checked the calendar and my outfits and I think we’ll be ok. It’s a land of lakes and trees and absolutely no biting insects. (If I’m wrong about the biting insects, I think I’ve a few dregs of those dodgy old aftershaves that’ll keep ‘em at bay…)

Pretty

Not remote remote, but I’m not too sure if we’ll have much internet connectivity, which is mostly fine. I’ll catch up on your blogs and comments at essential coffee stops or when we get home!

Lilacs in the park!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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plaidcamper

I am a would be outdoorsman - that is if I had more time, skills and knowledge. When I can, I love being outdoors, just camping, hiking, snowboarding, xc skiing, snowshoeing, paddling a canoe or trying something new. What I lack in ability, I make up for in enthusiasm and having a go. I'd never really survive for long out there in the wild, but I enjoy pretending I could if I had to...

10 thoughts on “Lilacs in the park”

  1. Lilacs– wonderful to see, a fragrance like a rush of oxygen naturally flavored, a personal favorite noted here among the garden corners & abandoned homesites, park-like walkways & poetic lanes. Glad you caught them, PC, when you did. And all the best for your next camping adventure!

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    1. Thanks, Walt – we had quite the trip, black flies and all!
      Lilacs, love ‘em, might even plant one in our somewhat sterile backyard, see if it takes…
      Hope all is well with you!

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  2. I love the scent of Lilacs outdoors. Nice shots that show the subtle changes in tint and shade. I also like the distant view that shows the row of bushes. Yes, it is a great time of year. Have an enjoyable camping trip. I will be watching the hockey game.

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  3. Gorgeous lilacs, I can almost smell them through my screen lol. It’s interesting the amount of fragrances we wear in our youth that don’t appeal anymore, well at least to me. Much prefer the smells of nature (I think half the potions and “BO bashers” out there have poisons in them anyway!). Enjoy your next lot of camping adventures Adam. Cheers my friend. 😄

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    1. Thanks, Miriam! Yup, the “ingredients” on so many things are sometimes more like a crazed science experiment than something you’d want to place on or in our bodies… yikes!
      Camping was good, although the black flies. Goodness, the black flies…
      I hope all is well with you!

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  4. Looks like it was a perfect day for a picnic and love lilac season!! Have another fabulous camping trip and hopefully Edmonton will have won a game by the time you reconnect with the world!🙂

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    1. Thank you! Looks like Oilers have been struggling? Maybe they’ve turned it around, but winning three in a row could be too much?
      Camping was pretty good, at least until the black flies showed up. In numbers. Big numbers!
      I hope all is well with you!

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  5. I loved the luscious lilac photos here, pc. One of my favorite flowers. Your photos and descriptions made it so that I could almost smell them here. Happy Camping!

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