134 – Orange

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

It’s a nice day – not hot, not cold – a touch of cool is within the warmth. The sky is partly cloudy with scattered patches of gray, but now the sun is shining through a thin layer of wispy white. I also see places of irregularly-shaped patches of sky blue.

It’s breezy, but not too windy. The waves are mild – but stronger than casual laps, yet far from thunderous claps. Yes, it’s a nice day for a walk on the beach.

This is my backdrop for a walk that I’m unsure where my thoughts will go. I’ve written about the sea, waves, roars, water, wind, sand, sun, and the sky and its clouds. I stop to look at a patch of seashells, but I have written about them, too.

The color of most of the seashells I see are neutral earth tones, so the ones with touches of orange stand out. Some shells with orange on their tips – others using orange to provide color to the radiating ridges – or even as bands across the shell. Some have an orange hue appearing more like rust – a shade of orange and brown. I suddenly realize it took these shells to remind me of a topic suggested by a reader.

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Orange is in the color spectrum and the middle letter of the first name in the mnemonic device. Sandwiched between the red and yellow of ROY G BIV, orange is the color of carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, apricots, oranges, tangerines, tangelos, clementines, bell peppers, persimmons, and the flesh of cantaloupes, mangos, and papayas. All the listed are fruits and vegetables rich in carotene. We also find orange in our cupboards as saffron, turmeric, curry, and other spices – but some tend toward brown.

Orange is the color of tigers, orioles, foxes, and squirrels – yet we call them red squirrels and red foxes. Can anyone forget orange as one of autumn’s brilliant colors?

Orange is very-visible. No wonder it is a color for getting attention for warnings and cautions. Highway construction areas loaded with orange signs, orange barrels, orange cones, and workers with reflective orange vests. Other construction areas use orange fencing to keep people out who do not belong.

Orange can be bright, pale, natural, and burnt – a color of sunrise and sunset skies. While sports teams display different shades of orange, the Dutch embrace orange as their national color.

Orange is the color of orange whip, orange sherbet, Tang, Nehi Orange soda, Orange Crush, and a component of various adult beverages such as fuzzy navels, mimosas, screwdrivers, and Harvey Wallbangers. But those drinks with orange juice are more yellow than orange, but the splash of grenadine delivers the orange to a tequila sunrise.

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To painters, orange is a secondary color – a color formed by combining two primary colors: red and yellow. Just like ROY! But painters know blue is its complementary color designed to deliver pop to both. But, our electronic screens combine red and green for orange. Sorry ROY!

Thinking about the complementary nature of orange and blue reminds me of the landscape in the southwestern USA. Red rocks high in iron form glorious formations and provide wonderful photo opportunities against a cloudless blue sky. But to me, these red rocks are a shade of orange.

To some, orange is the color of originality, independence, risk-taking, and activity, but orange is sacred to Buddhists – so they wear orange for different reasons than jailed prisoners – but let’s not compare apples to oranges.

Orange is a color in the sea – sea glass, clownfish, sea anemones, sea stars, lobsters, and more. I suddenly laugh at the thought that goldfish are orange.

Orange juice is my preference to start my day. Rich in vitamin C, and found in bottles, cans, glass, cartons, and served as freshly squeezed, pre-packaged, or from concentrate. I don’t care for too much pulp in my OJ.

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We identify common oranges as Valencia, Florida, and Navel, but more varieties exist. Orange also identifies places like Orange County, Orange Beach, and Oranjestad. However, if orange is the new black, is it a clockwork orange?

Many people associate the color orange with amusement, the unconventional, extroverts, warmth, fire, energy, activity, danger, and taste. Besides the color on some shells, orange is the color of buoys marking channels and warning boaters. Orange also is a color designating ships and aircraft of the US Coast Guard.

I didn’t start my walk thinking about orange, so thanks to Dale in Quebec for suggesting the topic. I winced at first, but then I realized this would be part of my journey honoring ROY G BIV. Besides, I needed something to think about during my walk. As you know, 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 Orange

• Orange Things Revisited (a photo essay)
• Orange on Black (flash fiction)
• Mandarin Orange Cake (a recipe)
• Bursting with Orange (a photos essay)
• Orange Rose (digital art)
• Orange is the New Black (a poem)
• Orange, a Roman Town in Provence (a travel essay and pictures)

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