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stephen's avatar

Neruda wrote in green ink , he said it was the color of hope. thank you for this one.

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Deer Girl's avatar

Oh, I didn’t know that! That’s so lovely. Thank you :)

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Dusk Daughter's avatar

This is wonderful, and a reminder that green meets me here each and every day. 💕 Loved this. x

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Deer Girl's avatar

Thank you lovely! I went through a phase as a kid where I only wore green: full commitment. I think I wanted to be a tree. 🌿

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frank l's avatar

Or Robin Hood?

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frank l's avatar

Deer Girl.. "It's not easy being Green" but you did mention that you wanted to be a Tree.

Have you read "The Overstory" by Richard Powers? .. if not here's some background

* ‘Mother Trees' Are Intelligent: They Learn and Remember*

Few researchers have had the pop culture impact of Suzanne Simard.

The University of British Columbia ecologist was the model for Patricia Westerford, a controversial tree scientist in Richard Powers’s 2019 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Overstory. Simard’s work also inspired James Cameron’s vision of the godlike “Tree of Souls” in his 2009 box office hit Avatar. And her research was prominently featured in German forester Peter Wohlleben’s 2016 nonfiction bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees..

What captured the public’s imagination was Simard’s findings that trees are social beings that exchange nutrients, help one another and communicate about insect pests and other environmental threats...

Here is the complete article if you're interested, but it's a bit long..

https://evolvetoecologynews.wordpress.com/2021/05/05/mother-trees-are-intelligent-they-learn-and-remember-ecologist-suzanne-simard-says-they-need-our-help-to-survive/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

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Deer Girl's avatar

Yes! I got it for Christmas a few years ago. Absolutely loved it 🌿

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frank l's avatar

There was also a wonderful documentary a few years ago on HBO ..“Trees and Other Entanglements” with an interesting bonsai story and some great photography by Beth Moon, who photographs trees. Her story includes amazing footage of the platinum printing process, which are spectacular, and produces prints that last forever.

https://www.max.com/movies/trees-and-other-entanglements/612a670f-b49e-47ad-87f1-8a7618bb033d

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Dusk Daughter's avatar

😂I LOVE that. Adorable.

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John Rawlinson's avatar

Rather brilliant, especially for the painter’s eye.

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John Rawlinson's avatar

Colour as individual force is very real: red obviously but mauve also considered sacred and with magical qualities.

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Deer Girl's avatar

Yes, I love that idea of colour as individual force. I’m actually writing about blue at the moment and looking into how it was used by painters, especially historically. (Going to have to look into mauve now.)

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Deer Girl's avatar

Thank you, love that you read it with a painter’s eye.

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frank l's avatar

The citizens of 'Letting-Go' will always welcome the weary traveler... And no passport or ID is required since you're no longer who you once were.

So, yes, leave your broken chains in the valley below, then taste the freedom of our fresh new air and begin to learn our language as any new citizen would do to thrive amongst us.

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Deer Girl's avatar

I’ll gladly take up citizenship in the land of Letting-Go—thank you :)

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Deer Girl's avatar

(Think you might have posted this on the wrong thread though? 😆)

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frank l's avatar

You're right.. sorry, I've just moved into the neighborhood and sometimes get lost. I suspect you know the correct address. She lives just next door.

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Deer Girl's avatar

No worries, I do this regularly. I think you were looking for my neighbour Ms Dusk ✨

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frank l's avatar

Thank you Deer,

Yes, that's right!! .. Your two front doors are so similar in shape and color, with the exact same welcome mat. Perhaps that's why others make the same mistake.

I just must remember that yours is a darker shade of GREEN.

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Esther Stanway-Williams's avatar

Ooo…this was a fab read! With the colour green weaving throughout. What an interesting angle to write from, thank you 🙏

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Deer Girl's avatar

Thank you so much, Esther!

I had fun writing this one 💚

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Ira C. Zipperer's avatar

I’m green with envy 😊

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Deer Girl's avatar

I knew someone would sneak envy in eventually! At least it’s in good company here :)

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The Sawyer's Daughter's avatar

I kind of love how, not once, did you equate green with the proverbial trope of envy. Wonderfully written.

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Deer Girl's avatar

Thank you! I really wanted to let it stretch out into all its other moods. 💚

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Madhuri's avatar

I never truly realised that a colour could mean so much until I read your reflections . Thank you for writing this refreshing piece. ☘️✨

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Deer Girl's avatar

That means so much, thank you! So glad it resonated 🌿

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Judi Lynne Judy, M.A.'s avatar

“Just a little Green, like the color when the spring is born. There’ll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow. Just a little Green, like the nights when the northern lights preform, they’ll be icicles and birthday clothes, and sometimes, there’ll be sorrow”. Joni Mitchell My daughter’s middle name is Greene. Thank you for the greening. And as always for the writing. Judi

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Deer Girl's avatar

Love this <3

Adore Joni so much. Also, I should’ve tried to get the northern lights in here, because that was probably the best green I’ve ever seen! Thank you 💚

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Judi Lynne Judy, M.A.'s avatar

You’re welcome! Thank you! I wanted to sing the lines for you and post them but couldn’t figure it out. In my first career I was a singer and Joni was a huge teacher of mine, in terms of learning to sing to her records. Thanks for the green……

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Deer Girl's avatar

Oh yes, if you ever do figure it out I’d love to hear!

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wild honeysuckle's avatar

"Green in literature rarely behaves. It pulls in opposite directions" I loved this, and it made me look back at the books I've read (both from this piece and in general) and think about the way color, and especially green, help build the narrative <3 beautiful work, as always

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Deer Girl's avatar

Thank you! <3

It can be a really fun way of reading and looking at narrative (I’ve started looking for other colours now too!)

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Davor Katusic's avatar

...and a green hand for gardening :)

Funny thing — while I was walking through the small town yesterday, taking photos, I came across a big green leaf, beautifully backlit by the golden hour sun. I thought to myself: What am I going to do with that? Maybe I should publish a green series.

And… here it is :)

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Deer Girl's avatar

Clearly this is a sign that you should publish a green series too!

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Davor Katusic's avatar

Now, it’s in the back of my mind, and when I find enough inspiration, I certainly will publish, although it won’t be nearly as detailed research as you provided:)

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frank l's avatar

I love these guided tours.

But you failed to mention the 'The Incredible Hulk'

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Deer Girl's avatar

Oops, tragic oversight on my part.

(Thank you!)

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Jolene Thibodeaux's avatar

Really wrapped me up in this

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Deer Girl's avatar

I’m so glad to hear that, thank you! 🌿

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Christopher Van Name's avatar

“The dawn was apple-green

The sky was green wine held up in the sun,

The moon was a golden petal in between,

She opened her eyes, and green

They shone, clear like flowers undone

For the first time, now for the first time seen”

-GREEN

D. H. Lawrence

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Deer Girl's avatar

Ooh, thanks for posting this! I haven’t come across it before. It’s beautiful.

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Audrey Anderson 🏳️‍🌈🍉's avatar

Green is my favorite color maybe because I have red hair, I have to be careful or I can often be caught in head-to-toe green. There is not one shade of green that I don’t adore, not one shade that doesn’t drip with psychedelic vividness. I appreciate your take on green and I hadn’t thought of the color green in Rebecca, one of my favorite pieces of literature.

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Deer Girl's avatar

This made me smile. I went through a head-to-toe green phase too (childhood commitment!). It always looks so good with red hair, too. I’m glad you enjoyed it! 💚

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Billy Mann's avatar

Glorious

Follow the trees up, up, up

See the mist of cloud pass above

Birds soar effortless before the sun

Our god for much of humanity

Even still some fall prostrate

But what is better than the trees

Extended toward their life

Grounded in the earth

Branches raised like arms to heaven

Worshiping always

In the dark of Winter

Never failing, always ready

Waiting

Let there be Light

From the first it was

Always it will be

Spring buds unfurl

And the world is transformed

Bleak brown

To glorious green

The forest beckons

It leads the way to our God

Seek ye first the kingdom of God

We are rooted in His love

A walk though the wood

God’s first cathedral

And we can’t help

But find

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Deer Girl's avatar

That turn from bleak brown to glorious green never loses its power! Thank you 💚

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Billy Mann's avatar

Short one from my days in the Pacific Northwest. My love for color was fickle. They can all take our breath away at the right moment.

Fickle

Green and grey

My favorite colors

Until I see cobalt blue

Until I see the red hot sun drop—

A golden glowing ingot

Quenched by the deepest violet

Until

Until

Always until

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Deer Girl's avatar

I love that shifting devotion to colour, always undone by the next sky! Thank you for sharing <3

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Billy Mann's avatar

Thank you for sharing the way you see the world. It brings me and as you can see, many others, joy. ❤️

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Deer Girl's avatar

That really means a lot, thank you. It’s a joy to share this space with others who notice things so deeply.

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