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]

Themed Thursday - Bottle

Every other Monday the bottles are in the streets. We see them as we walk to school. As we walk past the bottles in their recycling bin I imagine what stories they might tell. There are certain bottles that tell a story of sadness. That's when you see the recycling bin filled to the top with beer, wine, whiskey or other kinds of alcohol bottles. As we walk past those bins I wonder what kind of pain is causing those bottles to be emptied. Other bins hold the story of households full of life and children. The bottles in those bins are juice bottles, soda bottles - lots of bottles that hold sugary drinks that make kids happy and full of life. You know that happiness and good times exude from that house! What stories do the bottles in our recycling bin tell? I think it would tell the story of a house fill with activity and adventure! Even now I look at my wine bottles racked on my wine rack and I think of the enjoyment and happiness that comes with them. The happiness and joy doesn't flow from the bottle, instead it comes from the time that is spent with loved ones enjoying that wine. I have 3 bottles on my wine rack right now and I know there were will be lots of love, happiness and joy that accompany each of those bottles. I look forward to cooking a dinner with the girlfriend and sharing the contents of a bottle as we talk the night away! Even if I don't share those bottles with my love, I still know I will enjoy them while I sit at my dinner table with my son by my side. The closeness and love that we feel as we share our dinners together is remarkable. Next time you see an empty bottle - try and figure out the story it tells!

For information on Themed Thursday click [HERE] Thanks and peace to all! ~J.