Summertime green

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist
 
The neon greens of spring have deepened into the dark greens of summer. The valley's wooded hillsides are now thickly covered with verdant growth. The energy fills my soul.

Green has always been my favorite color. As a city child, I would lie on my back on the sidewalk underneath a tree. I remember thinking that the city’s sidewalk trees were sadly captive. They grew through iron grates that replaced a slab of sidewalk cement, but they grew, often beautifully. From my vantage on the ground, I would look up at the sky through their leaves, and shading my eyes with my hands, I would only see the tree and the sky beyond. I'd block out the buildings and skyscrapers, and then would I imagine that I was lying on my back someplace far away, far out in the country. It seems I was destined to one day call the creek valley my home.

Green is one of those colors that goes well with everything. It provides a cooling backdrop to the bright orange of the day lilies that are now growing both along the creek banks and the valley road. It surrounds the yellow butter cup that flow purposely across the pasture. The green outlines the buttercups bright yellow waves.

The sky overhead shines blue over the green hillsides that line the creek, and white clouds float from one side of the valley to the other. The patchy white sycamore bark compliments the white clouds, both clouds and bark perfectly coordinating with the deep greens of summer.

I can't think of a single color that clashes with green. Tree trunks, both grey and brown, silvery winter wheat, and the dark underbelly of a rain cloud, all stand beautifully beside the valley's summer green.

I must confess, however, and you might guess, that my favorite green complimenting color is red. Of course I love my red show tractors, but I also hold Greg's red 1966 El Camino close to my heart. I never have to ask Greg twice to take the Elky out for a drive. One suggestion is quite enough for him to roll the Elky out of the barn. He fires her up, and her engine’s deep-throated rumble fills the valley. Windows down and cozy wings open, we head up the valley road. The wind blows back my hair. The Elky’s red look so beautiful against the backdrop of the valley's green. Color coordination at its best, and guess what? My heart is full.

Christine Tailer is an attorney and former city dweller who moved several years ago, with her husband, Greg, to an off-grid farm in south-central Ohio. Visit them on the web at straightcreekvalleyfarm.com.