madeleine: It’s everywhere
May 15th, 2008![]()
Boulder has gone green. I’m not talking about being ecologically oriented; Boulder has been that way for a long time. I’m not talking about being envious; Boulder has some keeping-up-with-the-Jones issues, but probably less than many places. I’m not talking about being Irish; Boulder has no more emphasis on the land of shamrocks than any other cultural background. I’m not talking about being nauseated; Boulder folks are not more prone to emesis than others. I’m not talking about an influx of dollars; Boulder is pretty well off but fairly stable.
No, I’m talking about real green…green grass, green leaves. Boulder has gone green.
The burnt out summer foliage yielded to the deadness of winter, and now at long last, all that has been replaced by verdant green. And not just one uniform green, but hundreds of shades of green that blend with grays or yellows or reds or blues to form an infinite range of intensities. One glance across the field where the cattle graze shows so many greens that I can’t begin to describe them.
Years ago when we decorated the big house here in Boulder I employed an interior designer to help us. She suggested a palette for our decor that reflected the hillsides: sage green, various marons, rich taupes, accented by daubs of vibrant reds, yellows and blues. It was lovely, indoors and out.
Yesterday when I walked around the open space, I saw that palette again. Of course, the house is gone, the furniture dispersed, but the colors were all out there…in the field. I like them better out under the sun.
I remember last spring when we lived in France, I depended upon the city maintained flowerbeds to let me know that the seasons were changing. And I recall the shock I felt when I looked out at the garden (a.k.a. cemetery) beside the church in Nice and saw the lawn mowers out working over the grass. I hadn’t even seen any grass much less realized that it was long enough to need cutting! It was strange really, that the coastal cities and towns of the Riviera would be so cement covered that plants only grew in the assigned boxes and beds; there were few open spaces left wild. And yet it was heavy with shrubbery, palm trees, flowers…controlled and confined, lush and luxuriant. A paradox.
So the hillsides here are a welcome sight. Dozens of kinds of grasses, cactuses and other plants decorating the slopes in a thousand shades of color…and they all look green.
What hue catches your eye these days?
Remember, the madeleine is here to serve as a stimulus for you to write…right here, right now. Your jotting doesn’t have to be long…and you can write as many jottings on this topic as you would like. Just click below on “jottings” (they work like comments) to get to the entry box to post your writings. You can use any HTML characters that you like. Preview your work before submitting; return to the entry box to make any changes you desire before posting.
For another green image, take a look here.







