Since yesterday, this song has been singing itself my head from one of my parents’ folk band records that I listened to as a child, most likely the Kingston Trio (right Mom and Dad?  Or was it the New Christy Minstrels?):

Green, green, it’s green they say, on the far side of the hill,

Green, green, I’m goin’ away, to where the grass is greener still!”

That chorus repeats, and is all I remember, but maybe you’ll start singing too when you see my photos from yesterday’s trip to the UCR Botanic Gardens!

These winter-green grasses spring up after a very short rainy season, and will be gone in a matter of months–just about the time it gets spring green everywhere else.  We’ll enjoy green in any shade while it lasts.

greening hillside

"Green Goddess" in bloom

Although we’ve explored the Botanic Gardens many times, on this trip with our Quaker friends the kids discovered a new climbing boulder with a tree practically growing out of it.  Just the perfect place for a bunch of exploring kids, one of whom was on a geocaching quest (click here if you want to know more) with her GPS unit and clue in hand.  Our new-found boulder turned out to be ground zero for the cache, and though we searched in every likely crevice and branch, we never did find it.

tree + boulder = fort


There are times on these green-filled winter days when I miss the close-up snow whites…we may be due for another drive to the far side of the hill!