What Color is Your Month?

The month of Julius is said to be named after one of those famous Emperors of Rome. It could also just as easily been called Gaius, Caesar or Augustus. Oh wait, we have that one, too. Because fighting was so extra dreadful for soldiers in winter, the New Year of history began with what else, a March.

March, the first month of the ancient calendar, was named after Mars, the god of war. To soften things a bit though, the next month's name was inspired by the Latin aperire, “to open.” Aaaah, all those sweet open buds trampled underfoot.

In my personal lexicon, every month has its own color. As there’s only twelve, this won’t take long. Listed under Janus in my private inventory is white. Februalia is pink and red, while Mars has a shamrock heart beat. Aperire is rewarded with lilac, and Maia, the goddess of gardeners, is all yellows and greens to me.

Junius, well, it claims blue and crystal as in summer skies and diamond rings. Surprise! Julius is red, white and blue. Augustus is golden for the sun and the mane of those glorious Leos. Septem (which means “seven” and should not be confused with septum) is ruled by crimson.

Octo, the olden eighth month, grooves to orange and black, and Decem is gift-wrapped in red and green. Hmmm, that’s only eleven. Ah, righto, Novem.

Grey.

It’s funny how I associate November, the middle month of autumn, with dull tones: Bleak, rainy, gloomy, wintry, melancholic, depressive, SAD (seasonal affect disorder), overcast, bare and desolate. Yet that association differs wildly from the actuality.

Take a gander at this color! No wonder the abundant symbol of Cornucopia is a blessing from November. The horn of plenty runneth over with vivid hues, electric skies, tantalizing textures, fanciful flowers, falling foliage and eye-pleasing fractals.

I think we might have captured the burning bush of Moses in the first two photos, at least those leaves appear to be dancing in flame. And image number three looks like a seablossom blooming under water. Always happy to remind you that you can enlarge the images for closer inspection. Simply place your mouse over the photo and click, then hit the back button to return to the blog.

If you read the photos like a story, we placed them from the brightest image at the beginning so you can watch the colors change, the trees strip teasing out of their fall couture to their bare naked branches. The last one is a pile of their clothes, left in a heap for us to clean up.

And who’s to say what implement is best for the job? On our walkabouts we find many abandoned tools and these are some of our favorites. I’m especially fond of the stove and iron. I’ve actually eaten deep-fried (tempura) leaves in Japan, but I have not yet tried them roasted, toasted, boiled or creamed.

The photo that makes me smile the most this week, was taken by Groom, and may not have caught your eye on the first go around. But if you do that enlarging trick that I keep harping about, then click on the 20th image (or third from the bottom, or the one just before the cloud-filled sky near the end). That center leaf, caught with such clarity before its fall to earth, well, I know why I’m still in love.