Posted by Michael Finkelstein | May 25th, 2013

The Moon When Leaves Are Green

Hunter, harlequin, chartreuse and lime…the color green comes in an abundance of tones. What I’ve always found curious though, is that while these terms are often used to describe shades and hues in the worlds of fashion, beauty and home decor, they are rarely used when we commonly speak about nature.  It makes me long for a philosophy about “greens” akin to the way the vernacular of the Eskimos is rich with different words for snow.

I’m sure the Dakota Sioux would agree that perhaps in order to do nature justice, we should have an arsenal of different words for “green.”  And, I surmise that the reference to the full moon in May as The Moon When Leaves Are Green, is a nod to their respect and deep reverence for an abundant but oft neglected manifestation of the sun’s light, the very essence of photosynthesis, the color green. Indeed, the parading shades of green, reaching their peak now toward the midpoint of springtime is a process of transition, which is somehow as elusive as it is inevitable.

So, we are reminded, to pause and to be with the moment.