Nostalgia Lilacs

There are certain scents and sounds that remind one of childhood. Sometimes, that reminder is overt; other times—it's at a semi-conscious level of a fleeting memory that cannot be fully grasped.

For me, one of those reminders is lilacs. 

When I was a little girl, my mother taught at the Moscow State University. Every spring, its rich verdant grounds exploded in color. We often walked through the University's gardens, and I remember lilacs everywhere. In different shades. 

Some say that finding a five-petalled lilac flower among its four-petalled siblings is a sign of good fortune: you are supposed to make a wish and....eat the flower to ensure that the wish comes true! 

I don't know whether any of my naive childhood wishes panned out, but I do know that every spring I'm tempted to search for a five-petalled lilac and make a wish as an adult.

End-of-Summer Golden Hour

Somehow the color yellow crept through, unnoticed, to shady aspen groves and fluffy, baby-chick weeds, bike trails and deer's favorite napping spots. Yet, so much green still remains. This is the twilight zone between summer and autumn.