Color Archives - Page 11 of 12

Turkey

May 26, 2009 jennifer Color

I know that these guys are usually discussed only at a different time of year.
But I just have to comment on them for a minute.
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Look at the wattle on these turkeys!
Sometimes God’s love of color really catches my attention.
The blue head and red wattle are quite the combination, wouldn’t you say?
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Something about the brightness of the color combination was really beautiful to me.
I’ve always loved red, white and blue. They’ve been my favorite colors for years, but in the past year or two I’ve come to really like the tomato red with a lighter, brighter blue or even aqua color.

It’s not a color combination that a lot of people around me use much. But I love it.
And here I was, staring at it on a turkey, of all things!

For the past year or so, I’ve engaged in a casual observational study that I call Observations in God’s Use of Color. I love to pause and look around and learn a little about how colors coexist in the natural world.
I’ve learned that nature isn’t very matchy matchy. Sometimes it’s very understated. Sometimes it’s anything but. And sometimes the most average seeming things are punctuated with amazing flourishes.

I guess that’s what grabbed me about these turkeys.
We don’t think of them as beautiful creatures. But what a colorful flourish!
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I really love color. Since I’m on the subject of turkeys, I guess it’s ok to say that every Thanksgiving when I ponder the things I’m grateful for, color is always on my list. I’m just so grateful that we have such a simple thing as color to enrich life so much. Being grateful for color reminds me to give thanks that I can see, as well. Simple gifts. It’s a wonderful life, isn’t it?!

If you’ve had an experience when a glimpse of unexpected color stopped you in your tracks or made you catch your breath for the sheer beauty of it, please share. If you haven’t, start watching for one.

You’ll be surprised.

Happy observing!

Standing Out

May 20, 2009 jennifer Musings on Life and Beauty

Something about this yellow tulip caught my eye and my heart.

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There it stood, in the middle of a huge planting of almost spent red tulips.

But it was yellow.
And just beginning.

It made me wonder: did they do that on purpose?
Was it a yellow bulb that somehow ended up in a bag of red ones?
How did it happen?

I love the way the yellow tulip stands out. Somehow it is more beautiful because it is different.
And having it there makes the whole picture more beautiful, as well.
If it had been a planting of all red tulips, I would have admired it from afar, but one yellow tulip in the center was what drew me away from the sidewalks to the edge of the scene.

I thought of life.
I’d like to stand out like a yellow tulip.
But sometimes I’d like to blend in like the red ones.
And perhaps, to some, the yellow one is a drawback instead of a standout.
Perhaps someone thought it was a shame when they saw it.
It’s interesting that the yellow tulip didn’t bloom when the red ones did.

I remembered my cherry trees, how they stand side by side and yet have their own schedule for growth and blooming.
Like people.

I guess life gives us all the chance to experience both colors, to learn what can be learned from standing out AND blending in.
I hope we all can have the sense to use good judgment and know when it is time to ditch the red crowd and stand alone, to stand for something worthwhile, something true.
And the more we influence others for good, the more we are surrounded by goodness.
Isn’t that the point?

2 comments beauty, Color, flowers

CUTE!!

May 19, 2009 jennifer Favorite Things

A few weeks ago, I walked into a little candy shop in a nearby town.
And they had something they didn’t have the last time I’d been there.

Gummy butterflies.
Cute gummy butterflies.
Big gummy butterflies.
Soft gummy butterflies.
Gummy butterflies that smelled delicious.
Gummy butterflies in beautiful springtime colors.

I had to have some.

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Last week I had a mother/daughter luncheon at my house for my kindergartener, her friends and their mothers.
We put them in a jar on the center of the table and the little girls loved them.
They were gone in a blink.

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So I had to have some more.

I mean, think of the potential!
I’m just sure there’s something amazing waiting to happen with these adorable things.
Like, cupcake toppers, or on a cookie…

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When I said they were big, I meant it. Their wing span is 2 1/2 inches!

Last weekend I went and got some for my friend whose husband and boys were going camping so that she and the girls could have something fun to try on their girls night in.

Yep. Right now they’re my favorite candy.
Except I don’t want to eat them. I just want to look at them.

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Guess what!
I just poked around online a little bit, and found them for you.

Here you can find them in a 20 ounce bag:

http://www.blaircandy.com/gubu20bag.html

Here you can buy them in bulk (5 pounds):

http://www.candywarehouse.com/gummymonarchs.html

If anyone does something amazing with them, I want to see it! Enjoy!