Article posted Tuesday, June 18, 2013 2:57pm

Dear Mary Pat,

I feel guilty. There has recently been an influx of lilacs throughout the Door Peninsula. I love the scent, the color, and wanted to fill a few vases with the beautiful spring blossoms. However, I have no lilacs on my property – so on a recent walk I pulled a few branches from some lilac bushes up the road. Was that wrong of me?

Signed,

Lilac Looter

Sister Bay, WI

Dear Lilac Looter,

No need to turn yourself into the police for this, however, it wouldn’t have hurt to ask permission from the property owner. I have an unusual lilac bush on my property (French lilac if I remember correctly) and I often have people knock on the door and ask if they can cut a few blooms, which I say yes to every time.

Lilac theft is hardly a serious crime, however, the principle remains the same – you shouldn’t take something without asking. If your car was broken, you would hardly take your neighbor’s car without permission, would you?

Good luck,

Mary Pat