Think Pink

(Raindrops on pink petunias. 2007)

More pink here, if you please. ~ Franz Liszt

I hadn’t intended to make pink the next color in the color series, but I was reminded via email that the Race for the Cure in Cleveland is coming up soon. It usually takes place in October, but they moved it to mid-September this year. I suspect that’s because it’s been cold, rainy and/or snowy, and windy on race day over the past few years. There’s a better chance for good weather (no snow) in mid-September.

M and I usually participate in the 5k Race for the Cure. We won’t be doing it this year because we’ll be heading back east that weekend to pick up the rest of our stuff (finish the move home), and have one more visit with family and friends before we get completely settled back into the routines of life, work, and home.

In addition to the Race for the Cure, the color pink reminds me of spring, little girls, cotton candy, bubble gum and the London Financial Times (the pages are a stand-out shade of pink (salmon) that I found odd when I first saw the Financial Times while riding the Tube because I never would have associated pink with financial news).

(Spring blossoms. 2007)

(My granddaughter. 2005)

Although we (in the U.S. at least) associate pink with little girls in these modern times, I was surprised to find that in 1918 the Ladies Home Journal recommended pink for boys and blue for girls:

There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.

I think the idea was that pink is a shade of the fierce, passionate red whereas blue is softer (albeit cooler).

(On South Street in Philadelphia. 2007)

Red stirs up passion, but pink is said to create weakness (I’m sure there are feminists who might agree with this). Pink as a fashion statement for men tends to go in and out of style. Personally, I like a man who can wear pink and wear it well.

(A Mummer in pink. 2007)

Pink is playful, tender, romantic, and charming.

(Mirror, mirror. Mummer’s Parade 2007)

In color therapy, pink is said to be calming, and provide feelings of self-love, self-worth, caring, tenderness, and acceptance.

(Water lily. 2007)

According to the Wikipedia entry about pink, pink was first used as a word for a color in the 17th century. It was used to describe light red flowering plants called pinks (in the genus Dianthus).

(Pink tulips. Longwood Gardens. 2007)

Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli introduced the color shocking pink (a color described today as magenta) to the world in the 1930’s. Shocking pink has also been known as hot pink and kinky pink.

Finding pink in nature is relatively easy if you’re looking at flowers. Animals (other than humans) are another story.

There are pink flamingos:

(Cleveland Zoo. 2007)

Pink flamingos always make me smile. They remind me of when M and I were first married and we took a trip to Florida. We were young, and I was madly naive at the time. We saw some flamingos somewhere along the way and I wondered aloud why they are pink. M said it was because they eat shrimp. I commented that the flamingos we’d seen weren’t near the ocean and he made up a story about land shrimp. He’s very good at making up stories, and providing enough truth and/or details to make it seem as though he knows what he’s talking about. I almost bought it. [I should note for the record that M only does this with silly stuff. He doesn’t lie or make up stories about the important things in life.]

Pink flamingos are pink because of their diet, of course. They eat foods that are high in alpha- and beta-carotenes.

I’ve always wanted a pink flamingo lawn ornament to put by the pond. Alas, the pink flamingo lawn ornament may be going the way of other extinct species. The company that has been making them since 1957 (Union Products of Leominster, Massachusetts) has gone out of business. Donald Featherstone, the artist who created the pink flamingo sculpture, is working to find another company to buy the flamingo molds and continue production.

But I digress… as usual.

I did find a couple of pink animals other than flamingos in my photo collection. The pink hippo:

(Mummers Parade. 2007)

And the pink elephant, a creature I have thankfully not encountered during my heavy drinking days:

(Rockin’ on the River Festival. Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. 2006)

In feng shui pink is the color of love, and is said to have delicate and soothing energies.

(Pink peony. 2006)

My favorite shades of pink occur in the sunrise and sunset.

(A pink sunrise. Ocean City, Maryland. 2007)

(A pink sunset from Alcatraz. 2006)

Those of you who read Purple Craze may recall that my husband and I painted the back of our house sunset colors. One of those colors is pink:

(Ducks hanging out by the pink of the house. 2006)

My other favorites occur in red-beet eggs:

(Red-beet eggs. 2007)

… my teapot:

(In my kitchen. 2006)

… and my shoes:

(My feet, fully clothed. 2007)

What is your favorite shade of pink?

(Pink zinnia. Longwood Gardens. 2007)

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