Hi, everyone!
Since May Day, the water in Lake Ontario and Sodus Bay has been getting even higher! Last Sunday, the water was covering the decking next to and in the boat house. When we went to the Point, we could see the lake level was almost up to the top of the breakwall! Grandma said we wouldn’t be walking out on the pier any time soon! On Monday, Grandpa had to wear his Wellies to put concrete blocks on our decking to hold it down! He says we’ve done everything we can to protect the boathouse and dock sections.
On Tuesday we were back in Fairport and it was sunny. Grandma said it was a good day to visit my lilac friends in Highland Park before the Lilac Festival starts! When we got there, we could see the festival preparations: the crosswalk has been painted purple and all the concession tents are set up across the street. The plantings in the pansy bed are finished, too! More and more of my lilac friends were blooming and they smell very nice! Grandma and I always look for our favorite lilac, the one with white borders around each purple petal. I was happy when we found it! We did see a groundhog, but it didn’t want to pose for a picture.
After we enjoyed the lilacs, we walked up to Reservoir Avenue to see the tulips and blossoming trees. Most of my magnolia friends are starting to drop their petals, but the white trillium in the Poets Garden are still blooming. The Cheerfulness daffodils and azaleas at the entrance to the Poets Garden are very pretty now! The flowering almond and ornamental cherry trees are in full bloom and so are most of the tulips! One of the flowering almond trees had branches drooping right down to ground level!
When we got home from the park, I visited my flower friends in Grandma and Grandpa’s yard. There were two colors of trillium in bloom! This year, there’s only going to be one bunch of lilac blossoms on the bush in Grandma and Grandpa’s back yard. I’m glad I have lilac friends in Highland Park as well!
Yesterday, we went back out to the bay for the day. Grandpa wanted to mow the lawn before it starts raining again! The first job he did, though, was finish repairing the ceiling fan! It’s working properly now! Then Grandma and I went down to the dock to see what the water level was. It’s even higher than before! You can see that both the concrete blocks on the deck are completely underwater now! They remind me of my friend Monster Rock at Grandpa Dick-san’s cottage in Michigan!
Away from the water, all the plants at the bay are doing well. I made another wildflower friend in the woods! Because the weather has been cold, the buds on our azaleas are opening very slowly. I’m looking forward to seeing them in full bloom!
Love,
Lion-san
Spring flowers are so pretty! We think the reason that there is only 1 flower on Grandma’s lilac bush is that the weather has been screwy this spring. Nancy-san really likes the dark lilacs too. It is sad that the water is so high at the lake. Moose-san hopes the water goes down. It is hard to eat aquatic weeds with scuba gear on! We all hope the water goes down.
The deep purple is my favorite lilac color. You are lucky to have Highland park near enough to visit each year at lilac season. With the fairly cool weather we have been having this May, the dogwood flowers and lilacs and magnolia flowers have lasted a long time this spring. All are so beautiful this year. I hope your dock stays put and that the water doesn’t rise any more. We are expecting rain this weekend. Today was a gloriously beautiful day. Great Aunt Betsy.
Dear Lion-San,
I have trillium and Jack in the Pulpit in my yard too. They make me feel very lucky!
Today we had a snapping turtle (huge!) trying to
cross the road on front of the house. Traffic was stopped both ways. Some men in a red truck came and rescued it.
Your friend,
LaVache