GREEN

If there's a color that I've ever craved, ever longed to see more than any other, that color would have to be "green".  Today, May 1st, this color surrounds me at home and makes me feel good.  It's nothing to do with John Deere tractors or paper money.  It's all about the greening up of the world outside my cabin door.

It's the return of green needles to the tamarack tree, green blades of grass shooting up along the creek bed, green leaves on the willow trees, green may apple leaves, and green dragonflies flitting atop the water's surface around the pond.

If it wasn't for the bare and sometimes gray, cold Wisconsin winters, I would not miss green colors, but would take them all for granted.  That's another good reason to love each season.

I'm sitting on the bank of Tom's Creek this afternoon soaking in all this new greenery with my eyes.  In the distance I can see the once again green tops of the tamarack marsh.  A great blue heron takes off from a little bend in the creek, heading northwest in flight.  A light breeze keeps gnats from pestering me since they made their spring appearance a few days ago.

It's a perfect spring day with temps near 60 degrees, a great day to celebrate the return of springtime and all things fresh, new, and green!

Two days ago, my hubby and I visited the Listeman Arboretum in Neillsville, Wisconsin, and took a short walk on a nature trail off 2nd Street, following it to the Black River.  This 50 acre parcel of wooded and undisturbed land was donated to the city of Neillsville in 1966 by Kurt Listeman.



Wild flowers, 128 species as mentioned by the brochure at the trail entrance, abound throughout the parcel, and springtime is a great time to view many of them.  A hiking trail follows the Black River north of Highway 10, and meanders into a shady wooded area with tall trees like river birch, aspen, elm, oak, maple, and ironwood, and you can also view rocky outcroppings near the river.

The Listeman Arboretum is a great gift to the public and with the generosity of the late Kurt and Marguerite Listeman, through the longstanding Listeman Foundation, this family keeps on giving to many local projects in southern Clark County.  The Arboretum is a great place to see "green".

May Apples at Listeman Arboretum

Trilliums at Listeman Arboretum

Happy May Day!