Rambling Thoughts On A Spring Morning

May 10, 2013May 10, 2013 / Ally Bean / 21 Comments

Another wet morning here. This Spring has been unusually rainy and not as warm as I’d like it to be. In fact, I have yet to wear capris, let alone shorts. Sandals, however, I have worn. They look kind of snazzy with jeans, so there’s that.

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As you can imagine the rainy days have led to green, lush grass. Our yard looks great. The neighbors’ yards look great. The grass-filled concrete divider islands in the grocery parking look great. The side of the interstate looks great.

The whole world looks great… as long as you like this particular shade of green. From my point of view this green is getting a little too close to Pantone’s 2013 Color of the Year, Emerald Green. I don’t like Emerald Green, so you can see how, for me, this Spring is getting a little cloying.

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To set my heart right I’ve taken to checking our pots of pansies more often than need be. The leaves are green, of course– but overall the pansies are a hodgepodge of purple and maroon and orange and blue. These colors make me happier/mellower/calmer than all that in-your-face green. I always feel more comfortable with variety than with sameness; and I guess, now that I think about it, that principle holds true for me in nature– as well as in decorating and people.

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Well, that’s all I’ve got from here. Waiting for the sun to shine so that I can get outside to work in the garden. Wondering about where I should go to buy some new shorts. Thinking that it’s a very good thing that today is Friday, because I. am. tired.

Have a groovy weekend everyone. See you next week on the flip side.

A Suburban Sign Of Spring

April 10, 2013January 28, 2021 / Ally Bean / 16 Comments

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“So let it be written. So let it be done.”

~ ~~Yul Brynner~~ Rameses, The Ten Commandments

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As I was driving back into our subdivision late Saturday afternoon, I came upon a traffic jam. This is unusual because unlike some subdivisions, we have different ways in and out of this area.

As I sat there, not moving, I wondered what the hold-up was all about.

Then I saw the sign. It was a handwritten sign, propped up against some large blue + white Coleman coolers. The sign explained it all. It said:

LEMONADE

Around this sign + coolers were three adorable, yelling, jumping entrepreneurs who had set up their lemonade stand in such a way as to get business from the traffic coming toward them in three directions.

These were clever girls. With oodles of energy– and the persuasive powers of a pharaoh.

So, like all the other dutiful suburbanites in the cars ahead of me, I bought some lemonade– which turned out to be red fruit punch. And being of a kind nature, I purchased a large cup for 75¢– which was a half-filled 16 oz plastic cup. And then, because service with a smile is so rare these days, I tipped the young entrepreneurs 33%.

Some people may believe that Spring arrives when nature says it is the right time, but for me it’s officially Spring when I spot my first lemonade stand and get suckered into buying a cup.

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Happy Spring, everyone! It is finally here.

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I’m Twinkling Here, Said The Crow

April 4, 2013May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 37 Comments

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“Twinkle, twinkle little star,

How I wonder what you are!

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky.”

~ traditional English lullaby [from a poem by Jane Taylor (1783-1824)]

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“Twinkle, twinkle little bat,

How I wonder what you’re at!

Up above the world you fly,

Like a tea-tray in the sky.”

~ Lewis Carroll [or the Mad Hatter, if you will]

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“Twinkle, twinkle little crow,

How I wonder what you know!

Up above the deck so high,

Like an ominous evil eye.”

~ Ally Bean [blogger extraordinaire who likes to rhyme]

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PLEASE NOTE: It has been brought to my attention that the stupid birds in these photos are not crows. These birds are something called TURKEY VULTURES. So, with the help of Zen-Den, I have rewritten my verse to accurately reflect this fact. Here goes:

“Twinkle, twinkle turkey vulture,

How I wonder what’s your culture.

Up above the deck so high,

Like an ominous evil eye.”