Variations on Verde

Driving to Xenia for church this morning, I recalled a recent discussion I had with my daughter while she was home from Philadelphia. For those living in the concrete jungle, the vast open spaces of the Ohio countryside are a stark contrast and almost an assault to the senses. Seeing skyscrapers, brownstones, cement and an occasional patch of blue sky, you tend to forget what nature is doing outside of the city.

Today, it struck me anew how many degrees there are to the color green. Now, it's July in Ohio. Everything is green. Trees, grass, weeds, corn, beans, and the edges of many ponds, are green. But it's not all the same green. There is the deep dark, almost black-green of some of the native pines contrasted against the blue-green of the blue spruces. The green of the grass is different from yard to yard and no two weeds seem to possess the same pigment combination of blue and yellow. And then, there is the silver green of the maple leaves when the leaves invert with an approaching storm.

It's really quite breathtaking to crest a ridge and gaze over the fields to the far off horizon and see the vast range of the color green. It's a feast for the eyes as well as the soul. It's refreshing.

But it isn't easy being green. Soon, all too soon, the hot dry weather will claim our green oasis and turn it brown and brittle. Then, those leaves will turn to shades of yellows, golds, and reds before they succumb to winter's approach, but it will be all too brief.

As much as I despise heat and humidity, I'm just not yet ready to contemplate the shades of snow as it passes from fresh, crisp white into something far less attractive. I'll stick with the variations on green for quite a bit longer, thank you.
Dawn