Earlier this month, my wife Sandy and I made our way from our abode in Pennsylvania, USA to a village in the northeast section of New York State. We journeyed there to attend a family reunion at the home of my brother and sister-in-law. Spread out over several days, the event turned out to be as delightful and meaningful as we could have hoped. Most of our close relations, from my side of the family, live far from Sandy and me. So, we don’t see them all that often. Outstandingly, all of them were at the reunion.
The village in question, not far from Canada, is bordered on its eastern side by Lake Champlain. What a beautiful locale. Farmlands and rolling hills abound near the village. And Lake Champlain, enormous, is as pretty as a picture.
The best natural sights we saw during the trip, though, were the Adirondack Mountains, a large section of which we drove through in order to reach our non-mountainous destination, and on the return trip too. Of medium but not insignificant height (46 of the Adirondack peaks are over 4,000 feet/1,219 meters), they possess an aura of composure and stability. Those qualities aside, what wowed me the most about them were their trees. A mixture of conifers and hardwoods, the trees were so thickly massed. And, it being summer in the northern hemisphere, so green. Man, I’m a suburban/urban guy who doesn’t get to see endless expanses of trees every day. You better believe I was duly impressed.
But . . . leave it to me not to have taken any pictures of the Adirondack greenery. Ditto for Sandy. Sue us! However, all is not lost. For, last week I decided to gaze upon and photograph trees in my suburban neighborhood. The density of trees here is insignificant compared to that of the Adirondacks, of course, but is pretty good for suburbia. Thus, after slathering my arms and beyond-wrinkled face with sunscreen lotion, out the door I went on a hot Monday morning. Over the next 50 minutes I traversed many of my neighborhood’s blocks. And got more than my fix of green.
Now, when it comes to scientific matters, I’m almost as dumb as shit. In fact, if you take away the almost from the previous sentence, you’ll be much closer to the truth. Which is why I had, and still have, no answer as to why the tree leaves I saw that morning showed no signs of drying up, considering how brutal the Sun and temperatures had been in my region for the previous four or more weeks. Mother Nature knows the reasons, of course, but hasn’t been in the mood to share her knowledge with me. Up yours, Mother Nature! (Just kidding, my dear lady, just kidding.)
Yes, green was the color of the day. But after strolling around for a while I began to think that maybe too much green was on view. I mean, green’s dominance in my little corner of the vegetation world was impressive and more than deserving of a salute. However, I grew a bit tired of the sameness as my walk progressed. As a result, I found myself thinking ahead to autumn, when tree leaves put on multi-colored spectacles that never fail to totally knock my socks off. Would I also have tired of Adirondack greenery had I spent more than a limited number of hours in the mountains’ presence a few weeks ago? Likely. What can I say? Green, I like you, but I guess I don’t love you.
I’m not quite finished talking about green, though. That’s because of a song — Bein’ Green — composed by Joe Raposo in 1970 for Sesame Street, a children’s television series. Bein’ Green truly is lovely. Its lyrics and melody tug at your heart. First sung by Kermit The Frog, who is one of Sesame Street’s characters, the tune has become a classic covered by numerous performers.
So, here’s the thing: Kermit is green, which is a prominent color in the frog family. But he wishes he were a more interesting hue, one with more oomph. Well, Kermit then gives the situation some additional thought. And, as he is unusually wise, concludes that he will accept himself for what he is. There’s beauty and worthiness in just about everything, after all.
Who am I to argue with Kermit? If green is totally good enough for him, it is for me too. Green, I apologize for not appreciating you fully. I’ll try to do better!
Yeah, Another Blogger 
It’s so great to see those greens in what has been a horrendous summer temperature wise. What a great road trip for you guys. – Marty
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Hey there, Marty. It’s been really hot for weeks in my area (southeast PA). Lots and lots of days with highs in the 90s. But I bet it’s been even hotter where you live. Climate change is no joke.
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Sounds like it’s been decided then. Next family reunion will be hosted at your house in the fall. 🙂
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Maybe so!
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🙂
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coming from the tropics my affection and attachment to green is part of my DNA. If I have lived in a country without much green for too long I will get withdrawal symptoms and a thirst to see green! Anyway the family reunion lasting days sounds magical, glad you both had the experience…
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Hi, and thanks for visiting. What part of the tropics did/do you live in?
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south east asia so am from malaysia and lived also in thailand and indonesia… its a different green to the north american palate… all greens are good to my eyes though 😅
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Sounds like you had a wonderful reunion. You fooled me, I thought you were going to say you were moving there. Poor Kermit, feeling so blue in green!
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Hi Diane. The reunion was in a pretty rural area. It’s beautiful up there. But I’m a suburban/urban person. Take care. Have a good week.
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Kermit is very wise. 🙂
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He’s wiser than Solomon.
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My favourite colour, other than purple, is green. I love the lushness of the colour. I have hundreds of pictures of leaves, plants and trees but after reading your blog, I do see how the colour can be a bit tedious. Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year and that is because of the colours. Go figure!
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There’s maybe an overload of green in spring and summer. But I’ll take that over the drabness of winter!
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One of the compensations of our poor summer is that everything has stayed green. But I know what you mean!
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In any case, Mother Nature knows best. I think.
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You need to visit Southwest England if you really want to see green. It almost always rains every day in Somerset and the fluorescent greens that Mother Nature turns on are stunning.
Your family catch-up sounds great and sure you’ll be just as hospitable when you’re the host. 😉
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🌲🌲 Green is Nature’s favorite color, I think.
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Oh, it’s so not easy being green. We Greens will try very hard not to hold these disrespectful comments against you. At least through a few months of yellow/orange/white until, hopefully, you will be feeling a little more appreciative. But okay with the family reunions 😊.
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Green is out to get me!
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You’ve just inspired a family reunion here. Summer and greeneries are perfect. Cherishing now is important! 👍👍❤️
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Hi there, and thanks for adding your thoughts. I don’t know who this is, though. You are listed as Anonymous.
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I love that second photo, looking up through the leaves. Kermit’s song is so quiet and self-reflective.
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Previous comment from me, Ruth Rosenfeld (rkrontheroad). I’ll sign in (again!) next time.
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Hi, Ruth. I love that song. Many singers have covered it over the years, including Sinatra, Diana Ross and Tony Bennett.
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I live in the “Evergreen State” of Washington–and I can’t say I’m sick of it yet. Even when it’s cold, and there’s snow on the ground, the evergreen trees and ferns keep things lively. I do wish we got a few more fall leaves, but we do get some!
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Mother Nature has the final say: Green rules!
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Spent our honeymoon (long, long ago!) in that section of upper NY state. Your piece brought back many happy memories, many coloured green!
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It’s beautiful up there. And quite rural.
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Beautiful green landscapes! I love going out for walks and taking photos of insignificant things, normal things that we find on the street.
Here in the south of Spain we have many beautiful places to photograph too. But sometimes you have to travel to see new places.
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Hi, and thanks for visiting my site. I’ve never been to Spain, but I hope to get there one of these days.
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Love all these greenery! Sooo soothing to the eyes and mind!
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🌿☘️🌲🌲🍀
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If you ask me, it is never too much green😍
We visited the Adirondack Mountains last year, and we fell in love with them! Reason we go again this year, in 2 weeks and 2 days to be more precise😀😀
Happy Wednesday, Neil!
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Hi. Have fun in the Adirondacks. They are great.
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Thank you!
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We always appreciate green more after the brownish gray of late winter!
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Absolutely. Winter can be very dreary.
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Lots of green in those beautiful mature neighborhood trees. I love the Adirondacks and went there on several occasions for photography when I lived Back East. I like that there are many lakes up there and it’s a great place to go for fall foliage.
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Hi Denise. Forever ago, I went to sleepaway camp in the Adirondacks. The camp was near the town of Minerva.
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Look forward to seeing that part of the country
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Hi. You’ll enjoy it.
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As green is the quintessential colour of nature – of parks, gardens and forests, and a reminder of the life-giving power of plants, there can never be too much of it. I am glad to hear you had a wonderful family reunion! Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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Nature has made its choice. And green is the winner!
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🥰🥰🥰
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