Green Committee Newsletter - April 2020
In Praise of Green
by Judy Ryan
I write in praise of green - and of yellow, pink, white, purple, magenta, red - of all the glorious colors of spring unfolding in this strange April of 2020. We in the northern hemisphere have the great good luck of sheltering in place just as spring bathes us in color, sound, and fragrance.
Our yards and neighborhoods soothe us, invite us to exercise, call children to play. People of all ages are tiring of screens. Children are playing on swing sets, throwing balls, racing to capture the flag. Parents are urging children to go outside, find something to do, play with their brothers and sisters as children did before play dates and structured athletics filled their days. I like to think that imaginations are flourishing in new ways.
Time slows as it stretches out before us. Senses are sharpened. I see things I haven’t before. Sitting in a lawn chair, I gaze into our massive black cherry tree - can it be 100 years old? - its blossoms blazing against the blue sky. I watch its shadows, its soft movement of branches in a light wind, the brilliance of its white flowers. It feeds my hunger for something that isn’t virtual, something alive, moving within my reach. Each day I walk our garden, noticing another 1/4 inch of a green shoot, finallly a bloom - first snowdrops, then crocuses, daffodils, now tulips. Peony shrubs are growing larger, hostas are emerging, the leaves of Japanese maples add russet red to the spring palate. The scent of our viburnum sweetens the air.
Why is animal life more compelling? A squirrel sits on a boulder munching contentedly on something he’s dug up from the earth. Suddenly he scampers up an oak tree, another squirrel in hot pursuit. A game? There’s plenty of food to go around. A blue jay and a robin battle for territory or a turn in the birdbath. I listen to birdsong, wishing my friend from Audubon were with me, to identify calls. Occasionally a turkey or two make an appearance. Coffee in hand, I stand at the window and watch for a long time, noticing birds in the trailing vinca, a fern unfurling, new red growth on the andromeda. A friend said to me once, at a period of deep grief in her life, “I have a visceral need for something alive.”
We’re grieving now - for lost loved ones, for new grandchildren we can’t hug or touch, for lost jobs, for life as we know it. For freedom to come and go, to travel from home, to walk or run in parks we love, to rip off our masks and gloves, to throw our arms around friends and family. Enough of Zoom, Skype, face time, virtual concerts and streaming films.
People who haven’t walked and hiked with enthusiasm are discovering their importance. Sadly, their urgency to be outdoors has outdistanced their caution and consideration for others, so parks have closed. It’s probable, though, that more people than ever are feeling the loss of woodland trails, of walks by a river or lake, of wide fields where children can run. We’re staying home, driving less, enjoying the quiet as gas blowers are silenced. We know that people are suffering from layoffs, landscapers are hurting, the price for giving up business as usual is too high. But maybe - just maybe - the benefits of cleaner air, the reassurance of spring returning, our hunger for life unfolding, our need for the earth - are becoming essential to more of us.
I’m reminded of a poem by Wendell Berry. I’ll end my reflections with his words. I hope you’ll listen to them too, read by the poet.
https://audioboom.com/posts/3556168-the-peace-of-wild-things-read-by-wen...
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
The Green Committee is an advisory and advocacy group made up of Upper Nyack residents working toward the environmental health and resiliency of our village in the face of climate change. Issues of concern include air and noise pollution; tree planting designed to survive extreme weather; water conservation, sewers and drainage; green landscaping; more use of renewable energy sources; and education of the public in these areas and others of concern to residents.
For more information, please contact Judy Ryan at jlryan4181@aol.com or 845 358-4322.
Note: The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Village Board of Trustees.