greenful

I'm creating a new word. It's called Greenful. It's the feeling you get, returning to the land of Evergreen after being in a super-hot, arid desert for a few days, hopping from one temperature controlled building to another, to escape the 100+ degree temperature. I just got back from a short but fun trip to Nevada, meeting up with family and seeing one of my very best friends for a few days. And while I will miss seeing all those lovely familiar faces, I do not miss the desert heat, so Greenful I am.

I looked through some recent garden photos from my San Juan Island trip, and it was a refreshing reminder of how lucky one is to live in a place where things grow. It's not to say nothing grows in the desert -- I used to live in Arizona, and the desert is quite a busy place. But a desert has a different kind of life energy, almost shy, often being active at night, when it's hard to appreciate it. The lush colors of a Northwest summer, where everything's in bloom, is the social butterfly season that encourages people to gather outdoors, be merry, and be overwhelmed by beauty. It's when this otherwise rainy place awakens and shows off, a kind of payment for all the gray days of winter. 

So if you're lucky to be in a place where everything's in full bloom, be Greenful, and make it a point to be overwhelmed by beauty.


Jaunty Fine Print: Photos by Denise Sakaki