I close my eyes and picture the emerald of the sea
from the fishin boats at Dingle to the shores at Dunehea
I miss the River Shannon and the folks at Skibbereen
the moorlands and meadows and their Forty Shades of Green
–Johnny Cash
The “man in black” composed that anthem to Ireland in 1961 after being enchanted by a visit to the emerald isle. I thought of it, walking the streets yesterday in the full glory of spring. There must be 40 shades of green in Oak Park and River Forest right now. Certainly at least 40 shapes of green.
The catalogue is considerable, and not all of it green, by any means. Tulips, daffodils, dandelions, rhododenruns, hyacinths, bleeding hearts, scylla, spring beauty, Virginia bluebells, Dutchman’s breeches (the last three in Austin Gardens), magnolias, crabapple, ornamental pear, forsythia, redbud–even the lilac are forming. But it’s always touch-and-go for blossoms in April, where a blustery day at the wrong time can decimate the display. It was blustery this morning but seemed to let up a bit this afternoon. Somehow, spring always triumphs.
The trees are flowering too, right now, though many may not realize it. Because the flowers are green, you may not have marked the visual distinction. Maples have the fullest flowers, which produce a lighter shade of green in clusters that offer a nice contrast with the deeper green of grass and tulip leaves.
Of course, the air is full of pollen, which means my nose and ears are full of it, too. Watering and sneezing are how I relate to spring. Life is nothing if not ironic. I worship what I’m allergic to, but suffer I must because this is the most glorious time of the year. Also the most unsettled, even turbulent. Maybe you prefer “dynamic.” It’s all in how you look at things.
Get out and experience the explosion. Life is positively gushing forth.
Meanwhile, back on the Internet, where more and more human beings seem to be spending their majority of their lives, I walked past a laptop the other day, which had a very disturbing message on it (Microsoft Office Word) preceded by an alarming yellow triangle with an exclamation point in the middle:
“Changes have been made that affect the global template, Normal. Do you want to save those changes? Yes No Cancel.”
My god, what a dreadful choice to be offered! Unnamed forces have changed the “global template.” And they want me to decide whether to save them?
Way too much responsibility. I wish the global template (and the rest of us) well. God knows what Normal will look like in the near future.
