IT’S SO PLEASING SEEING GREEN

To misquote Kermit the Frog, “It’s so pleasing seeing green.” No, I’m not talking about money (Though I must honestly say money is not totally lacking in its own charms). What I’m talking about is seeing the green of Spring. I realize the calendar has said it’s been Spring for about six weeks, but only recently and in particular today did it feel like it. I went for a walk after work and reveled in the sights and smells of Spring. It truly is a season of rebirth after the long sleep of Winter. And for those of us in the Northland, it can be a very long sleep. But finally the mantle of white has been cast off and nature is putting on a new coat.

As I walked along I was struck by how wonderful it felt to be outside breathing in the fresh air and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. If I’m to be completely honest, I really wouldn’t want it any warmer than today. The low 70s are perfectly fine with me. The birds were singing and there were even a couple folks out mowing their lawn. I find it hard to believe there would be much to cut so early, but I guess you never can tell how quickly the grass grows, particularly when you’re not looking. I even spotted a few dandelions in some of the yards.

Now I know that to many people they are a weed and should not be a part of their yard, but to me the dandelions were always a part of spring and summer; their wondrously sunny faces peering up from the sea of green grass. I’m not sure when it was mandated that all lawns must be perfectly green, without weeds and all of a color, but it appears that private yards now strive to look like the greens on a golf course; meticulously groomed and without a patch of brown in view.

But, I digress. The sights and sounds of this glorious evening were not lost on me. We spend a great deal of time traveling and I have already seen Spring make it’s appearance in other parts of the country, but it is especially renewing to my soul to see it in my own back yard. I heard the robins singing and the sounds of children playing in the yards and I found it hard not to think back to those years (which often seem quite distant) when I was one of those kids. Maybe I’ll try to find time this year to sit on the swings or to walk barefoot in the grass.

It is so pleasing seeing green and I look forward to enjoying it for the next five or so months.

Terrence Niska