Mother Nature treated us to the most beautiful double rainbow over the Wattlebury maize yesterday afternoon. Little Josie tilted her head sideways and gave us a fine rendering of her loudest Call Duck call. Roughly translated it went something like this:
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
High above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?
Gavin rather unkindly reminded her that she was a duck and not a bluebird. Quite unnecessary. Young Donna got out her colouring pens and notebook and starting drawing rainbows, whilst Sylvia sang the Rainbow song to her.
I can sing a rainbow
Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow too
Listen with your eyes, listen with your ears
And sing everything you see
I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow
Sing along with me
Red and yellow and pink and green
Purple and orange and blue
I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow
Sing a rainbow too
Listen with your eyes, listen with your ears
And sing everything you see
I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainbow
Sing along with me
"But that's not right Uncle Gordon!" piped up Norman. "We were taught at school that Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain!"
A bright one, that one. I explained that Sylvia's song had all the right colours - perhaps not their technically accurate names - but in the wrong order - because if you had purple on the end of the line, it is a devilishly tricky word to rhyme with.
"You know Norman - because that is a double rainbow the colours are back to front on the outer arc." I added. Seeing that Norman wasn't going to be satisfied with this, I scratched my head and continued:
"In the first or lower rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted when entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it. In the double rainbow that we are seeing, a second arc is seen outside the first arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, with red on the inner side of the arc."
And with that Donna put her colouring pens away with an annoyed huff and muttered " First I get told the wrong colours and then I get told they are round the wrong way. I blame Richard of York!"
Gordon and Sylvia xxx
A bright one, that one. I explained that Sylvia's song had all the right colours - perhaps not their technically accurate names - but in the wrong order - because if you had purple on the end of the line, it is a devilishly tricky word to rhyme with.
"You know Norman - because that is a double rainbow the colours are back to front on the outer arc." I added. Seeing that Norman wasn't going to be satisfied with this, I scratched my head and continued:
"In the first or lower rainbow, the arc shows red on the outer part and violet on the inner side. This rainbow is caused by light being refracted when entering a droplet of water, then reflected inside on the back of the droplet and refracted again when leaving it. In the double rainbow that we are seeing, a second arc is seen outside the first arc, and has the order of its colours reversed, with red on the inner side of the arc."
And with that Donna put her colouring pens away with an annoyed huff and muttered " First I get told the wrong colours and then I get told they are round the wrong way. I blame Richard of York!"
Gordon and Sylvia xxx