I like walking the beach. It’s good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.
My day starts on a colorful note. I awakened early – stars were still visible in the dark sky and there was enough light to see the whites of the waves. The eastern horizon contains a narrow streak of light. Oranges soon appeared along with light blues, grays, and even reds to accent the black. The light show continues with gradual changes, then the sun eventually sneaks over the horizon to start a new day.
Wonderful colors started my day. Later, I walked noticing the water is pristine and a natural emerald-green of the area. I think of crystal clear blue seen in parts of the Caribbean, or that special Ligurian Blue of the Ligurian Sea in Italy.
The sunny sky is blue with a sprinkling of white clouds across the sky. Although the sand is whitish, most of the buildings are shades of white and beige with an occasional colored roof. There’s also a beautiful blue scattered on the beach by the water – the deep hued blue with a pink crown of the Portuguese Man-of-War stands out saying, “Don’t step on me or else!”
People bring bright colors to the beach. T-shirts, sportswear, swimwear, umbrellas, chairs, and more provided spots of brightness. The beach flags today are also yellow (Medium hazard, cautious swimming) and purple (Marine pests – the stinging ones).
But the natural colors are what I ponder the most. The wide-ranging colors of shells always capture my attention. With different shades of brown and gray – and with brown combining with red to provide orange – but red is not absent. Some grays have so little white that they are black, yet a few have so little black they are white. Colors often combine in different arrangement in bands, streaks, or blotches.
I return to the emerald water that transports me to the spring and summer at home. All the greens. So many shades of green in nature resembling the many shades of green found in paint stores – and probably more. The plant’s green comes from chlorophyll that captures light necessary to produce their own food.
Plants have different amounts of the two types of chlorophyll, which can also be found in different concentrations. Different habits, leaves of different ages, and different amounts of minerals contribute to different shades of green in nature. It seems the biology teacher is still in me.
I’ve noted an array of colors on my day, but who knows how many I’ve missed. Noticing colors is a good thing, especially when walking the beach, which is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.
It’s amazing how busy your mind is when you are walking Frank! Also, how you remember what you thought about (I know I wouldn’t) – now, please, don’t tell me you walked with a note book ….. It’s coming near time here when I can resume my beach walks without getting wet or frozen in the process. I’m sure looking forward to that!
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Pauline,
LOL … no I don’t walk with a notebook. Not even a recorder. (Although that would be tempting). However, I try to record notes that day, which then transforms into a draft. Yes, the mind stays busy – but sometimes the busy isn’t coherent – it’s just racing around. Cheers to your beach walking season being just around the corner!
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I enjoyed your color-filled beach walk.
NJ beaches tend to be more muted in color, except for the colorful beachwear and flags–and sometimes a bright blue sky. 🙂
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Merril,
Overall, I would say most of the buildings on the ‘Bama coast are muted, but there are plenty of other items with color to spot. Now the sand in this area is probably whiter than NJ’s. Thanks for walking along.
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Lovely palette of observations.
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Mouse,
Now that comment caused a smirk and a smile!
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After a filled weekend, thank you for transporting me to a lovely Zen spot. Here’s to a terrific week!
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Monika,
Any place taking someone to a Zen moment is a good place. I like thinking while walking in this place.
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Couldn’t agree more. My best thoughts occur on my daily dog walks.
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That’s the ticket.
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Having just returned from a beach vacation, I can really appreciate this The beach and beach goers do offer a rainbow of treats to the eye. Lovely post.
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Drew,
Coming from the sand, you know its power on the mind! Cheers to the treats the beach provide.
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Cheers
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Clink!
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Lovely early morning beach walk, Frank. I do think that noting all the colors is a special focus. I am intrigued with the emerald green water you experienced! Some beaches are so sandy and the wave turbulence stirs the water with the sand and it almost appears gray! A blue gray, but still quite gray! Paying attention to the color of the surf is another way to interpret storm effects sometimes from hundreds of miles away!
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Debra,
The natural water color is the reason why some refer to this area as the Emerald Coast. As you well know, water color changes – and yes – I’ve seen it murky on this coast as well. Some days it is clear, and others not so – but that’s OK because I love walking in this area.
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Enjoyed the pallet description, Frank. Good to go along.
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John,
Thanks. I wonder why I didn’t use “palate” in this post?
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😀 I got the wrong one. Thanks
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Frank,
I love the colorful way in which your mind paints a picture into words.
Peace and colors
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Marc,
Doing the beach walk posts is both enjoyable and a challenge. The latter comes in establishing the flow, rhythm, mood, etc … so I appreciate your kind words.
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You do it so very well Frank.
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Thank you kind sir.
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Great description. Colours are so important to our mood and feelings.
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E R,
Oh yes … working in the effect of colors on moods would have been a great addition!
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Love all the colors, it sounds like a mural to me! I know your feet are refreshed, but are they still flesh tone? Or, did they pick up some color?
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Resa,
Glad I was able to construct a mural for you! As for my feet, the sun isn’t intense on the Alabama coast that time of the year … but … I am out enough that the paleness of winter is gone. However, after returning (this year), winter lingered for 6 more weeks! … enough time for the paleness to return!
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