Rochesterians
, myself included, so look forward, with great anticipation, to Springtime.
Winter seems so long and drawn out. As soon at the temperatures start to reach
45 degrees, everyone breaks out the shorts and sandals.
This
milestone could happen in April, but it’s not to be trusted, because snow may
appear out of nowhere at any time. I remember having snow on Mother’s Day once.
Rochester
has 3 seasons: Spall (combination of Spring and Fall), Summertime and
Wintertime. Spring is so short as to be almost un-noticeable. We go from snow
plows to planting peas in the blink of an eye. Fall is a bit longer. Lasting
from about the end of September to the end of October.
I must
confess that I do remember golfers out on the links at Thanksgiving time but
that is a huge fluke. Oftentimes, there’s snow on the ground in November.
November is the beginning of winter and it lasts until mid to end of April.
Followed by the “S & P” of Spall, which is like a flash of lightening.
All our
Spring flowers make their seasonal appearance in May. Tulips, forsythia, lilacs, the
flowering trees (including fruit trees), magnolia and dogwoods. If the weather
is too hot, these Springtime bloomers bow their heads and wilt. Here’s what’s
blooming in my yard.
Pictures: in order of appearance.....Quince Bush, Forsythia, Dogwood Tree and Lilacs
Summertime
is a riot of all kinds of flowers and fruit trees. Summertime’s calender is mid to end of May, June, July and
August and about half of September. Right now in early May, the temps are hovering
around 70. June normally is 80, July could be 90’s, and August starts to think
about Spall but still has temps from 75 to 85.
Pumpkins, other squashes, and apples come in
the “ALL” part of Spall (2nd half of September and October).
Rochester is
famous for its lilacs and the spectacular park (HIGHLAND PARK) designed by the
Frederick Law Olmstead, who also designed Central Park in NYC and the gardens on
the Biltmore Estate in NC.
The Lilac
Festival is an art, music, food and flora festival hosted annually in early
May in Highland Park in Rochester, New York. It is the oldest festival of its
kind in North America, drawing spectators from all over the globe. Highland
Park possesses a huge collection of lilacs, featuring more than a thousand
bushes and hundreds of different varieties. Early May is the season that lilacs
are blooming in Rochester.
The festival
was informally started in 1898 when 3,000 people came to the park one Sunday in
May to see the lilacs. Since then the number of viewers has grown to over
500,000 and the festival plays out over the course of ten days. The modern day
festival is started with a parade and frequently hosts concerts and other
attractions during the week. The Highland Park arboretum is toured free of
charge and is open to all visitors. The fields surrounding the arboretum host a
myriad of vendor's tents and food stands.
