A Thousand Shades of Green

A Thousand Shades of Green               

 

By John W. Vander Velden

 

I view the landscape as I walk in the clear morning, the rising sun low beside me.  The grass and weeds marking the road’s edge, a border to the wide hayfield of tall grass and thick alfalfa, glistening with dew’s uncountable jewels.  In the distance, trees stand, a wood of ash, beech and maple, damp fresh leaves of innumerable tints contrast the snowy trunks of the yet bare sycamores.  It is spring, the world fresh and alive…awaken from winter’s sleep.  Beneath the pure blue sky…foliage moved by the gentle touch of the morning breeze are a thousand shades of green…the colors of the world that surrounds…Can there be a better description for the colors of spring? 

 

(121 Words)

New Green                     

 

By John W. Vander Velden

 

     I am reminded, with the fresh new leaves that show themselves first in early May that spring has come.  Mom told how “new green” was her favorite…her favorite color…her favorite time of the year.  Strange how so many decades as I toiled to prepare for another crop, carrying unending demands, immense responsibilities, I never noticed…really.  Spring came and with it the race I ran, a race with too few days, containing too few hours.  I drove myself, focused but unseeing.

     But the long race and past’s burdens, has left its mark.  Youth’s stamina has abandoned and in its place just a few moments to, as I catch my breath, see some of what was overlooked before.  Weary bones and aching muscles remind me of my mortality.  This old horse ain’t what he was.  But that’s alright.  It is probably too much to ask GOD for another thirty years.  But whether HE gives me thirty years or thirty minutes I should not squander a one.  But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t take the time to walk the spring woods, whisper to the violets that sprinkle the ground with their blossoms.  It doesn’t mean that I should not whistle back to the cardinal that calls to me from the treetops.  It does not mean I should not fill my lungs with the fragrance of lilacs or allow the warm spring breeze to muss my hair.  Life is a gift an adventure of many facets.  I will force myself to be content with past’s accomplishments, accepting my failings as well as victories.  But I remain excited about tomorrow…and all the tomorrows that lie before me, be they one or twenty thousand.  And I will take the time to notice the “new green”, and I expect it will be my favorite as well….  

 

5-16-2016 (302 Words)

 

The World Reawakened

The World Reawakened

By John W. Vander Velden                          

The snow, the blowing and drifting snow, the pristine pure white that melted into gray mushy snow, has become a memory, another winter in my past.  The world about me is changing.  Yesterday’s rain has left its traces.  The dreary gray clouds blown aside as the sun shines down from a sapphire sky, filling the tiny drops that yet remain with diamond fire.  The sparkles blaze brightest from the drops that cling on the butter yellow petals of my daffodils.  I am surrounded by the fresh and new, infinite shades of green, the grass at my feet and the brand new leaves on every tree.  Flowers in bed and roadside, pink, white, and blue, all around vivid colors replace the dull tones of grays and browns that have been revealed by the snow’s retreat.  The song of the Blue Bird floats upon the breeze scented with the lilacs that bloom across the road. 

The day’s glory draws me away from my labors, a few moments must be spared, a walk of leisure, a time immersed within a world so alive, reminds of days past and prepares for days yet to come.  Overcome I whistle, a tune that forms within, stirred by the beauty that surrounds, notes clear and loud that mingle with the Blue Bird’s, Redwing’s and Robin’s symphony.  I have my place among them.  I have my place here in the open country.  It feels good to remember the connection; the connection to sparkling raindrops, fresh young leaves, the daffodils, songbirds and the scents of wildflowers.  I am connected to the world that surrounds.  

In this season of renewal, I find a moment of peace.  I know that the world is larger than these few acres that delight my senses.  I know my connections broader that the nature that this morning wraps its arms around me.  Work awaits, as do bills, and all the people that make up the core of my life.  But those connections do not grow weaker by these precious moments, but rather stronger as I spend this time with the reawaking world.  I am like the grass, the flowers, the trees, and the birds that sing, revitalized, and prepared to face a new season.  Yes, the glory of this spring day fills me with optimism, places a smile on my lips, and lightens my steps.  For I am part of this reawakening world, reenergized to do my part and ready to face the unknown changes and challenges that lie before me.

(416 Words)                4-4-2015