I step outside the RV for a 6 AM walk with Tango, and the smell of lilacs surrounds me. Sweet, strong, delightful. I don’t see any blooming lilacs close by but I am determined to find them.

Tango and I head over one block and then down the steep hill. Another steep wooded hill rises up, creating a cool, damp, narrow canyon. The feel is unique: an urban neighborhood with undeveloped wooded evergreen slopes. I am in a forest with houses tucked in, at least for a few blocks!

We are greeted in the canyon by a flock of wild turkeys. The noisy birds are hidden on the forested slope, but I hear the iconic, high-pitched, fast-paced gobble, gobble, gobble. As I walk east, the sound moves further west as they search for breakfast without a curious dog bothering them.

I continue my search for lilacs, passing interesting, eclectic houses in the canyon. One house is small, unkempt. The next is worthy of a perch on the coast in Malibu. I find flowering trees but no lilacs. I hear the ever present bird who trills all day: chee chee CHEE chee. Over and over and over. Chee chee CHEE chee. I have listened to over 100 bird song clips and I am fairly certain my noisy friend is a Red-Breasted Grosbeak.

Eventually,  I circle around and up the hill towards the RV. Finally, at the top I find the home with blooming lilacs. The bush sits right next to the curb, and several sprays flop into public territory. I push my nose into the blooms and inhale.  Deeply. Again. Ahhhhh…lilacs.

Turkeys, noisy birds, sweet lilacs. I decide as our walk ends that I have been properly greeted for the new day. Amen!