Baltimore Orioles and Lilacs

I was awake early, so I set out to spend an hour before church looking around Wildwood Cemetery in Ashland.  It used to be one of my usual haunts, and I haven't spent much time there lately.  Within minutes of arriving, I spotted a pair of Baltimore Orioles mating.   I guess sometimes the early bird gets more than the worm.   I am only going to include one of the photos I took because some of them are a little graphic, even though they are just birds!

 Baltimore Orioles

 Bluets

 Pretty red pinecones

Red-Bellied Woodpecker in nest hole

The light coming through this moss was just gorgeous.

 
In the afternoon Freddie and I visited Arnold Arboretum to see the lilacs.  This was my first lengthy walk around the Arboretum, and I really enjoyed it.  It was very crowded and parking was a bit difficult, but what a gorgeous place!

American Robin, gathering food

Baltimore Oriole

    

 This was my favorite - double blooms.  I took a few extra photos of this one!

    

     

    

It's amazing how much of a variety there was, from color to size of flower, from single to multiple blooms as well as a variety in the fragrance.  It's too bad you can't smell the beautiful scent!

 Gray Catbird

Mourning Dove

The clouds moved in and the temperature dropped considerably while we were there, but we were both glad we had ignored the weather reports and risked taking our hike anyway.

Northern Cardinal, gathering food