Stream of consciousness Saturday – Green

The prompt for this week’s #SoCS is GREEN.

Well it is St Patrick’s Day today and I’m guessing that’s why we have the green prompt.   I have a few teaspoons of Irish blood coursing through my veins but I have never considered myself Irish!   As a child, I refused to wear green.  I’m not sure why because I actually like the colour.  It was just that whenever I put something green on I didn’t feel right in it.   I do enjoy wearing green now though – Perhaps my complexion has changed and it suits me better than in my younger days.

What comes to mind when I think of green is conservation and nature, Spring and fertility and also of course money and wealth!   It is a relaxing colour – easy on the eye which why I suppose there are so many different shades of green in nature.

At the moment where I live we are missing the green as it is so dry!  Water restrictions mean gardens are not being watered regularly and plants and lawns are dying.  The veld is dry and we are praying for a very wet winter to fill the dams and bring back the green!

In KwaZulu- Natal everything is green. The mountains, the grass, the veld the gardens are all lush and green.  At first when visiting there I drink in all the green beauty but after a while I find it quite nauseating and long for the pinks and mauves and muted shades of  The Cape.

But back to the Irish – they’re certainly celebrating Green today. According to legend St Patrick was once served a small whiskey at an inn.  He told the inn-keeper that a demon lived in his wine cellar and fed off  his selfishness.  The inn keeper changed his ways and started pouring more generous drinks.  So began the custom of “drowning the shamrock.” The clover is placed at the bottom of the glass before the whiskey is poured over it.  At the end of the drink the sodden clover is then thrown over the shoulder for good luck!

Happy St Patrick’s Day to all Irish patriots.