Bright and demanding
It was hard to ignore this shop on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, September 2013.
“She liked anything orange: leaves; some moons; marigolds; chrysanthemums; cheese; pumpkin, both in pie and out; orange juice; marmalade. Orange is bright and demanding. You can’t ignore orange things.” — Catherynne M. Valente
Though I’ve never thought of orange as one of my favorite colors, I love the way it brightens this time of year. It’s not a flattering color for many of us to wear, but it looks great on fruit and foliage, and adds a jolt of vivid cheer to the browning landscape.
Here’s hoping your weekend is brightened by your favorite orange things; whether that’s pumpkin, cheese, flowers, OJ, or something not edible at all, such as a lovely orange kitty cat. If Valente is right, we won’t be able to ignore its persistent presence. It’s a yearly promise of festive times ahead.
One year ago today:
This post was first published seven years ago today. The original post, comments and photo are linked, along with two other related posts, below. These links to related posts, and their thumbnail photos, do not appear in the blog feed; they are only visible when viewing the individual posts by clicking on each one. I have no idea why, nor do I know how they choose the related posts. That’s just the way WordPress does things.
- Posted in: Uncategorized
- Tagged: Autumn, beauty, bright hues, colors, earth, fall, festivities, foliage, fruits, jack-o-lanterns, nature, orange, pumpkins, seasons
Defeat Despair 
Orange cats are the best.
I’ve read that orange cats tend to be friendlier and more easy-going than other-colored cats, and in my experience, it seems to hold true.
Wow, I had not heard that. They do appear friendlier, though, since they are more colorful. I’ll start paying attention when I see cats, to see if I notice a difference.
You’re so right about orange. In winter the blood oranges and mandarins on my citrus trees, although small, are very cheering. Only last week I planted some marigolds and the lovely daffodils with dark trumpets, now finished, and orange freesias brighten up the garden coming into Spring. Imaging you’ll be seeing lots of orange amongst the beautiful autumn leaves. Best wishes to you and Matt, Dorothy.
Hi Dorothy, as always it is wonderful to hear from you. I love reading about your springtime flowers! We’ve been having warm weather up until now, so the leaves are slow to change, but I know it won’t be long. I love both fall and spring; having sunshine and cooler weather always lifts my spirit. Hope you are headed for a glorious springtime! Thanks so much for being here.
I’m a big believer in color affecting our moods, thoughts. Orange has bright energy. Maybe that’s why I love autumn.
I too love autumn. Until I became a baseball fanatic (something I no longer follow, now that all my favorite players are way too old to play) fall was my favorite season. So despite the many heavy losses that have come to me during the fall in recent years, I still love the season. I think color has a lot to do with that, too. Happy fall, y’all!