90 – Red *

This is a collaboration with multiple photographers. The photographers are (in order) Elizabeth (in Canada) @ Tea & Paper), Jo @ RestlessJo (in Portugal), Margaret @ From Pyrennes to Pennines (in the UK), and Marsha @ Always Write (in the USA). Thank you, ladies, and I invite readers to visit these fine people of WordPress.

Click the video above for 2 minutes of background waves while reading.

I like walking on the beach. It is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

Red is not a typical color naturally found on this beach. I occasionally see tints of red in some shells – most commonly on black shells. This time of year, a common sight is a red flag serving as a warning to visitors of water’s hazardous conditions. A double red flag aims to keep people dry by closing the water.

Come summer, I’m sure red will be evident here: red umbrellas, red chairs, red clothing, red kites, and even the red skin of sunbathers.

Not all reds are created equal because red comes in a wide variety of shades of different intensity and brightness. We identify different shades by names as burgundy, cardinal, carmine, crimson, garnet, maroon, ruby, scarlet, and vermillion. We also use well-known substances to identify the red, such as brick red, blood red, fire-engine red, and candy-apple red.

Red is a primary color. We mix it with blue to move toward purple and violet – with white for pink – with black to darken – with green for brown – with yellow for orange, but there are many shades of purple, pink, brown, and orange.

Red is the visible color with the longest wavelength – and the first color in ROY G BIV’s rainbow spectrum. Infrared waves are even longer than visible red, but we cannot see them – but specialized cameras make them visible by detecting heat.

The night sky gives us glimpses of red – Mars, the red planet casting a visible red hue. Jupiter with its characteristic Great Red Spot that we cannot see without a telescope. Distant stars are known as red giants, red supergiants, and red dwarfs based on their temperature and size.

I have seen an occasional red in the pre-sunrise sky – but orange is the main show at sunrise and sunset – yet we say red. A legend says that the red sky in the morning is a warning sign of bad weather ahead – but the red sky at night is a time of sailor’s delight as an opportunity to paint the town red.

Red is a common color in nature – but again – in different shades. Apples, cherries, strawberries, radishes, raspberries, ripe tomatoes, cranberries, and peppers are a few. Numerous animals display a reddish-brown coat to get names as red squirrels, red foxes, and red deer. Some birds display a brilliant red, including the rooster’s red comb or marking designating a male.

Although I don’t see them now, I know life in the sea displays red – such as varieties of sea anemones, lobsters, crabs, and markings on some fish – but various species of prized redfish display redder.

In the plant world, red is the color of many flowers, but images of roses, poinsettias, and poppies came to mind. Red is one of the beautiful colors of autumn foliage. The red pigment is not present during the growing season but develops in late summer before displaying its brilliance.

Iron’s presence gives rocks a reddish color, which to me is closer to orange. The red rocks in the western United States make a beautiful picture when combined with a blue sky.

Dogs and cattle cannot see red, but bulls react with aggravation to the matador’s moving cape that happens to be red. People with the most common type of colorblindness also cannot distinguish between red and green. Genetics explains why this is much more common in males than in females.

Red is the color of human blood: bright red when oxygen is richly present – but very dark red when oxygen is low in amount. Sorry to disappoint, but human blood is never blue.

Red is a color we associate with heat and human traits like passion, anger, love, joy, seduction, vigor, beauty, courage, and even good luck – plus, red is the color of flushed faces.

Red is a color that attracts attention – from stop signs to traffic lights – signs to emblems – clothing to symbols – no wonder red is an important color in advertising. Red also symbolizes danger, adventure, revolution, blood, warning, power, violence, sacrifice, and war.

Red is one of the colors marking societies – a color on ancient cave paintings – use of various red dyes to enhance color, some of which are banned in some countries. Red is the color of red-light districts, the color of the “A” worn in The Scarlet Letter, and the symbolic color worn by militaries, especially with dress uniforms – so we think of Redcoats and the Red Army.

Red is a color of identity: color on the flag of most nations, and a major color of many sports teams; however, the shade of red varies.

Red is one of the two common colors of wine. Interestingly, winemakers can produce red and white wines from red grapes, but only white wine from white grapes.

Red is a color of expressions about behavior. It’s a red-letter day when we catch someone red-handed trying to get around the red tape. After analyzing the politician’s speech filled with red meat for the partisan, the speech wasn’t worth a red cent.

From lasers to symbolism, speech, clothing, signs, red tide, religion, politics, sports, foods, myths, legends, and more, red is a prominent color in our lives. It has been important for a long time. Even though more can be written about red, I like walking on the beach because it is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about Red

• Red (poem)
• Shades of Red (photos by an occasional visitor here)
• Red Passion (poem)
• Red Flowers (photos and essay)
• Autumn Reds (photos and short essay)
• Red Clothes (photos)

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