The color blue

The fifth color within the rainbow, blue carries many meanings. Is there anything more beautiful and assuring after a storm than a rainbow above? Once again, God’s “promise” returns to remind us He’ll never flood this Earth again to purge mankind’s mischief from it.

Whether you believe the Holy Bible’s account of the rainbow or not, the phenomenon of the rainbow throughout human history remains evident. And the folklore and science of the five conjoined colors is no less fascinating.

Blue, one of the three primary colors (red, yellow, blue), is considered a “cold” color. That made perfect sense as I walked Lake Michigan’s shores last week with a good friend and gathered stones and driftwood. Not one boat, jet ski, or swimmer in sight for three days on that vast span of various shades of blue water.

Now, I shiver at the thought of swimming in one of Michigan’s Great Lakes. Yet, the pleasant weather and company encouraged walking Lake Michigan’s pristine, sandy shore. What joy to dip my toes into the foamy tide!

While my friends and I toured Lake Superior, the ship’s captain offered the community’s history, causes of the color formation of the remarkable Pictured Rocks, and facts about the lake. He also mentioned the depth of Lake Superior.

To paraphrase, if Lake Superior were to be emptied, the entire continental United States would be covered with five feet of water.

Hmm…would that be blue water?

No, for it is sunlight upon plant material within the crystal-clear lake that produces the cobalt blue color.

With all this in mind, I refuse to use the term “feeling blue” and dilute the vibrant color with sadness. For several of my beloved things are blue. A cloudless, blue sky. Patches of brilliant blue in a sky of thunderhead clouds. The color of my cat Mitten’s eyes. My youngest daughter’s eyes, like her father’s and mother’s.

And most certainly, Larkspur’s blue petals come Spring, spent stems now bowing and blossoms turned to seed. The cycle of life continues. Seeds fall to the earth to sprout next Spring.

Faithful in their place and time, patches blue along the roadside caught my eye on our drive home from the U.P.

Chicory! Resilient and cheerful, the blooms humored me along the highway and side roads to my driveway. And there bloomed a faithful, little patch; blue petals turned upward for me to admire.

Dear Reader, sky, lake, or land, the color blue radiates in this summer season, much as it has all my life. For I picked chicory as a child when I vacationed in Kentucky with relatives, played “canning” with my cousins in a little shed our great-grandpa built.

Although I’ve yet to dig up chicory roots, scrub them clean, and dry them to make “coffee”, I’m pondering the process. A toast to warm up the cold color blue with my lake-vacation friends seems like a fitting thing to do.

For the color blue also means friendship.

Contact Iris at irisfarmletters@gmail.com