“Everybody’s a dreamer.”
Yesterday was a perfect day. It was warm and sunny and the morning was filled with the sounds of bird songs the way spring mornings are. I did all the outside chores I’d been holding off until the weather got warmer. My new palm tree was assembled, put on the deck and lit up last night. My neighbors phoned and said they were thrilled to see it. They called it iconic and likened the tree to the Citco sign at Fenway. This new palm tree is taller than the old. Some of my friends used to have to duck under the old fronds. This one is a foot taller. I also figured out why the ground lights had been off for so long, and they too were bright last night except for the two strands which had lit their last. I bought two new ones, and I’ll put them up today. I have missed all my night lights.
Today is cloudy but warm. A while back the sun tried to break through the clouds but just didn’t have enough oomph yet but it keeps trying. I’m rooting for the sun. Every now and then the leaves move but the day is calm. It rained last night, the second night in a row, and it’s still damp.
The sun just reappeared and the sky has touches of blue. I think it will be a lovely day.
When I was a kid, some things just seemed exotic to me. Palm trees were on that list. I pictured a white sandy beach, water so clear you could see the fish and a line of palm trees along the sand. I imagined drinking from a coconut just knocked from the tree. I think it was Swiss Family Robinson which conjured my imaginings. When I saw my first palm tree, I wasn’t disappointed.
The desert was also among my exotic imaginings. I saw myself dressed like a Bedouin and riding a camel. My clothes were bright reds and greens and blues, and I wore a cloth across part of my face to keep out the sand. I could see myself sitting on the saddle as the camel slowly walked across the desert. It must have been a movie which had me imagining the Sahara as I don’t think any of my books did.
New England is the least exotic place I know, but I figure for some people New England and all it offers might be part of their imaginings. Sledding down a big hill in winter, collecting shells along the shore, swimming in the ocean and eating freshly caught fish might just be part of someone’s dreaming.
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This entry was posted on February 23, 2012 at 11:31 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: iconic, imaginings, palm tree
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February 23, 2012 at 12:38 pm
We’ve had a fantastic day today. Sunshine, no wind and very warm 🙂 Very much unlike yesterda when the wind blew and the rain fell. So all snow is gone and there’s just a little ice left here and there 🙂 We’ll have this weather until Monday when the rain and snow will come again, but even then the temperatures will stay above 32 🙂
I was rather old when I saw my first palm tree, they weren’t popular when I grew up. I did feel a bit disappointed because it was rather small, just a foot high 🙂 🙂 But I too had this dream of riding through the desert, but I was clearly inspired by Tintin 🙂
Just by mentioning that I live in Sweden seems to make me a bit exotic 🙂 🙂 🙂 No one really knows what Sweden is or where it is placed 🙂 Some say we make wonderful watches 🙂 That they love our capital Copenhagen and wonder if we have polarbears on the streets 🙂 🙂 🙂 All very wrong indeed. But most tend to know that Volvo is a swedish car and that we had the popgroup ABBA 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
February 23, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Christer,
My day too was fantastic, warm and still. The sun came out and dried everything. All my lights brightened the night, and my palm tree looked amazing.
My first palm tree rose far above me and was everything I had hoped.
I always thing some European countried have a bit of magic about them-Sweden is one of them.
February 23, 2012 at 1:18 pm
Hi Kat,
New England has some very exotic aspects. It’s just that we live here so we think it’s all normal. My Aunt and Uncle took a motorcycle road trip from California to Mass. to visit us. They took the southern route. My Uncle was born in Nevada and had never been much further east than that. He went through 1 roll of film between California and Connecticut. From Connecticut to my house he went through 4. He couldn’t get over how you couldn’t see very far into the woods or how green everything was. And the tomatoes tasted so much better here. I didn’t have the heart to tell him they were probably California tomatoes. 🙂
It’s all in what you’re used to.
I have the same day as you except up here the sun is alternating with blowing rain squalls. The sun seems to be winning, though.
February 23, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Hi Caryn,
The sun finally won here. It was a warm day and now at nearly 9 the temperature is still 43°.
I went out on the deck earlier so I could see all my lights. They had been extinguised druing the winter, and I missed them. Now they look beautiful and make me want more. The palm tree is my favorite.
The rain never came back from alst night.
February 23, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Before I saw my very first palm tree, I too imagined something beautiful and exotic. However, once I saw a palm tree, it was “Oka;y, that’s it?” lol It was neither as exotic or as beautiful as I imagined. I love my tulip, cherry and apple blossoms in the spring and my flaming red maples in fall MUCH better. I guess the grass is always greener and the trees always more beautiful somewhere else…until you get there. Hugs, Rita
February 23, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Rita,
I still think of a palm tree as exotic because of where I have seen them-in faraway places. Here there are no cherry or apple blossoms. The Cape is devoid of colorful trees, but I don’t mine. I’ll take the ocean any old day!
February 23, 2012 at 5:05 pm
I was born with Palm trees of course and tons of coconut and the beach was our backyard. So whenever I had to take a job up north my heart was still here in Florida. We got rain last night too and it was wonderful. I wish I could have stayed awake all night. This morning everything is greening up!
February 23, 2012 at 9:00 pm
Z&Me,
We have had rain the last two nights, but we are still a bit removed from green. It is winter despite the warmth. My grass, thoug, is ahead of schedule as are the bulbs in my front garden. This is a strange winter.
February 23, 2012 at 6:42 pm
Here in North Texas the temperature today reached almost 80 degrees under mostly sunny skies. It’s still February and I am running around without a jacket. Tonight a cold front approaches and the high temperature will decrease by 20 degrees to a still unseasonably warm day tomorrow.
I also considered palm trees exotic and first saw them on our annual summer vacation to South Florida. Palm trees along the beach was to me very exotic. We had beaches in New York City but nothing would grow along the shore except weeds and trash. My parents always took us to eat at “Chinese” restaurants since I was five years old. The restaurants in New York had Chinese waiters who served us American style Chinese food. I always considered Asia as an exotic place. As a kid I expected to find people riding in rickshaws pulled by “coolies” wearing flat round hats. Unfortunately, today I found traffic jams and lots of people wearing designer cloths in both Mainland China and in Hong Kong. The Chinese food there was excellent as well as authentic. I have found excellent authentic Chinese food here in the US and in Canada. The reason is that the only good thing about the Viet Nam war was that it raised the quality of Chinese food here by 1000% due to the large number of refugees who settled here.
February 23, 2012 at 9:05 pm
Bob,
In August, we might hit 80°, but this time of year we consider 50° as unseasonably warm.
I will always think of palm trees as exotic. They remind me of Ghana along the shore line.
The beaches here have seagrass growing and some beach plums.The shore is clean though some beaches are rocky.
Like you I would expect coolies and rickshaws.They were what I saw in movies and believed to be real life.
I ahve never been to the Orient so I have no idea of what to expect. I live vicariously through you!
February 23, 2012 at 10:20 pm
If you will send me an E-mail, I will send one in return and give you the web link to my photos of my trip to China.
February 24, 2012 at 10:18 am
Here you go Bob:
katry@comcast.net
February 25, 2012 at 2:06 am
Palm trees at 49degN:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melotag/5533595316/
Cheers
February 25, 2012 at 11:30 am
Minicapt,
They are exactly as I dreamed them when I was little.