The arrival of fall on Friday immediately puts people in mind of colors…the colors of fall explode across the northern tier of the world. Last year when I wrote about the arrival of fall, I noted how John Keats’s poem “To Autumn” luxuriates in everything his senses perceived…but for most people, the fall means color. States like Vermont and New York advertise a color index to tell potential tourists when the colors will be at their peak: reds, violets, golds, oranges, yellows.
As I searched for fall colors in photographs—because sometimes there isn’t a word for that—I came across a number of summer colors, too. As we prepare to leave summer behind, I thought I’d celebrate the colors of summer…very different than the vibrant, widespread colors of fall…but strongly seasonal notwithstanding. Of course, summer starts with greens of every shade, but it encompasses the rainbow, too.
Forest green.
Fresh basil green.
Fluorescent green.
Golden green dotted with poppies.
Green interrupted by wild strawberries.
Green covered in lilac.
Green covered in pink.
Or just plain pink.
Dramatic pink turning purple.
Shades of blue.
The intermingled colors of peach.
Oranges and more of heirloom tomatoes.
Burnished gold of roasted corn.
The beauty of flaming white.
The threat of growing gray.
Delicate black and gold.
Fading summer.