Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Themed Thursday - Green

In 1995 I moved from the wet, humid climate of Western Pennsylvania to the arid, desert-like climate of Colorado. During that first year that I lived here in Colorado the weather was such that we experienced record breaking rain and the arid landscape erupted into a crazy quilt of green grass and vibrantly colored flowers.
Less than three years later Colorado began it's slow descent in drought. The landscape parched and browned. The grasses, trees and shrubs that had been so full of life and green in 1995 became yellow and lifeless. The vibrant wild green was gone replaced by a pale, sickly green or yellow. How I missed the green of Western Pennsylvania and my first rain-soaked year in Colorado.
When you live in a "high-plains" desert you come to realize that green is the color of life. Without water there is no green. And throughout much of Colorado the environment is only green for short periods of time. Surprisingly, you can become very used to an environment that has little to no green in it.
I do hunger for that deep green that you can only find in damp, humid climates. When I travel back to my home state during the spring and summer, one of the first things I notice is the green of all the vegation. Frequently when I fly into my old home town of Pittsburgh during the months from April to September the sky will be cloudy and grey. As you break through the clouds your vision is immediately drawn to the "greenness" of everything. The spell it casts upon me hypnotizes me and brings back memories of countless childhood days wandering through the forest behind my house in Norvelt, Pennsylvania.
To me green will always mean life and vibrancy!
For more information on Themed Thursday, please click [HERE]

4 comments:

Kris McCracken said...

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.

Brian Miller said...

i love how green changes climate to climate...each place with its own flora. even the most harsh...

Tess Kincaid said...

I like to think of green as God's favorite color...right up there with blue and brown, of course.

Tracey said...

I was born in Washington, and while my parents moved to California shortly thereafter, I have never felt comfortable with the "golden" color of this place. Give me the green.

Nice post.