My wife taught me to appreciate verbascum thapsus. Until that moment I considered it an ugly weed. Like so much in life, I never stopped long enough to consider the delicate nature of that giant plant.

The Hi-VIZ sickly green is hard to take. Really, really obnoxious looking. At least at first. But it grows on you. And after a little use and grime it transforms a bit into something a bit more human. It’s now become part of my persona on the road.

Sunflowers. I wish spring was here. The picture doesn’t help today. Cold, windy and snow flakes here and there. Deciding whether to ride to work…

I used to complicate yellow that way. Now I pretty much apply the brakes unless something is breathing down my backside.

Black, however, is the color of my true scoot’s curves – largely because my dealer had a demo GTS on the floor with 100 miles on the clock, and for a price I couldn’t really refuse. And, of course, black goes with everything, including yellow.

I’m likely to draw the line at MC jackets, since I’m in the market for one as well: as far as “hi-viz” versions are concerned, the only color on offer for the jackets I’m considering is that sickly neon-green. Seriously, I’ll take orange, yellow, almost anything over That Green. Better still, I’ll take something with a decent amount of reflective piping…yep, that’s it.

We’ve had a lot more rain lately, combined with nighttime temps well above freezing, so the open road hasn’t been a worry, but mall parking lots have been a worry, since the crews that plowed the lots when it was snowing created mountains of the stuff, which stick around for weeks, regardless of temperature, and can scatter the odd bit of ice where you might not see it. Always something, right?

That last photo – Vespa among sunflowers – totally does it for me. The others are good, but that one warms the heart, and further stokes anticipation for Spring.

This particular “yellow” is a subjective one for me: timing and proximity is key, combined with the amount of traffic, if any, directly behind me.

None here yet. Kim tells me it’s much too early. Even with the warm weather.

They are all over the place down here in GA. We were thinking it was early for them, since it’s been so warm here, but they are so beautiful!

Thanks Kathy!

I didn’t have any pictures of traffic lights. On the scooter I definitely begin to stop on yellow. No racing the light for me. Even with uncontrolled intersections and cross streets I tend to slow. The risk is high in those locations.