Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

I've never before lived in a building more than two stories tall.

Now I'm living in a ninth-floor apartment.

I love the views, from the sunrise most mornings to the sun painting its light across the treetops on clear evenings.

And, like this evening, I love the rainbows that sometimes arch across the firmament outside my window.

I took the picture above at about 7:30 p.m. I was reading a book (Jan Burke's "Kidnapped") and hadn't even noticed that it was raining. But when I finished my cup of coffee and headed for the kitchen, I looked out of my dining room window. There it was: an exquisite rainbow in the eastern sky.

Practical people accept the scientific explanation for rainbows: they're caused by the reflection of light in water droplets in the atmosphere acting as prisms. The more whimsical amongst us think that leprechauns hide their treasure at the end of rainbows. The Judeo-Christian belief is that after the Great Flood, a rainbow appeared as a symbol of God's promise that he would never send another.

Perhaps all of the explanations are true.

Whatever the reasons for their existence, rainbows are ... well ... just enchanting.

I took the picture above with a 8.0 megapixel Canon PowerShot A630 camera.

I took the headline for this post from a song sung by Kermit the Frog.

For sale

I deliberately did not drive by my old house today.

When I went by yesterday to sign a check for a contractor, the house looked so good that I almost wanted it back.

The hardwood floors downstairs have all been refinished, there's a new floor covering in the kitchen and pantry, and the pine floors upstairs are naked and gleaming for the first time in more than three decades. There's a new range and hood in the kitchen, the walls throughout have been painted a benign beige, and the trim is now a warm white.

Outside, the curb appeal has been improved with a couple of pots of caladiums and some mulch and by ripping out some ivy. (I took the picture above a few months ago to capture the azaleas and tulips in bloom.)

It all looked fresh and new.

Now there's probably a "for sale" sign out front. The two agents who are handling the sale, Erin Barton and JoanElaine Justice, told me yesterday that there would be an open house today from 4 to 6 p.m.

So I stayed clear of my old street -- even though I was curious -- because selling a house is not for amateurs. I'll make the decisions and write the checks (and eventually deposit a big check in my own account). Now it's time to let Erin and JoanElaine do the heavy lifting.