There has been an advantage to the cool May...the Lilacs have been wonderful all month.

Lilacs make me think of cemeteries. When I was a kid, the Scouts used to sing at the Memorial day services at the little cemetery on the hill near home. We'd sing "Day is Done" and "Taps" and we'd lay hand-picked bouquets of lilacs and tulips on the oldest graves in the cemetery.

Lilacs make me think of my brother Jeff. He told us that lilacs were non-native to this area, that they were brought in by homesteaders. When we would travel the back roads we would look for lilacs, and nearly always would find ruins of old homes nearby.

Lilacs make me happy in a sad kind of way.