Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Periwinkle - More than a Color

If I've never mentioned it before,  periwinkle is my favorite color. Not quite purple, not quite blue. Periwinkle. It's a color. It's a flower; in fact, it is the first flower I could name, growing wildly on the east coast of Florida. We considered them beautiful weeds and I was amazed when I saw them, many years later, in garden nurseries. For sale! Periwinkles! Amazing.

But the first periwinkle I ever heard of was the periwinkle on the beach. Looking like tiny clams, in every pastel color in a color wheel, marked with soft, darker striations of that same color; miniature works of art. They would scatter in the sand at the edge of an incoming wave, what seemed like hundreds of them at times, burying themselves quickly. They were a magic color trick on a pale beige background, digging back to the water until another wave would claim them. If you look up periwinkles, all you'll read about is the periwinkle snail. But these weren't snails, they were the tiniest of clams. Tiny, beautiful and they made a great soup. I found stories about them, but no photos. Maybe there aren't any periwinkles any more...

If you must have some? Ask for Periwinkle Place
It's a hard color to find, some things called periwinkle aren't it at all. And sometimes, it is. In Joe's Ferreteria one day, a woman was buying some paint and it was periwinkle. Really periwinkle. I had to have some, mad impulsive buyer than I am. Would it look the same on the brush? Would it look the same on the wall, on the wood? Yes, it did. And it does. Now my little kitchen area is periwinkle and it makes me happy each time I look at it (which is often in the small space I call home).

And that's why there was no post yesterday...I was consumed with periwinkle. Just so you know.

While I was painting, the sound of weed whackers came closer and closer. Adding to my already high joy, Steve and Walt were clearing away some of the jungle around here. They would stop and ask, more? And I would look to the water from in front of my door and say, More, please. So in between painting and rearranging pots and pans and small kitchen appliances, spices and herbs and food goods canned and boxed (where did it all come from and why do almost invisible spiders make webs in every tiny nook?), I sat and walked and wandered the yard, not so silently thanking them for giving me the bigger view.

This is from another view, but I love this palm tree
Color on a greyish day
Pre-historic take off

Cwim the Huntress, checking out the jungle, now on the ground
A very satisfying day. It's all about periwinkle. It's true.

Have a world of color Wednesday! Do something widening.

7 comments:

  1. Great pics!
    Periwinkle is purple.

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  2. Thanks on the pics! No, periwinkle isn't purple -

    "Periwinkle is a color in the blue family. Its name is derived from the lesser periwinkle or myrtle herb (Vinca minor) which bears flowers of the same color.

    The color Periwinkle is also called lavender blue.[1] The color periwinkle may be considered a pale tint of blue or indigo – a pastel blue."

    In other words...it's not purple and it's not blue...it's periwinkle!

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  3. http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/5-tiny-homes-youll-love-big-time.html

    Just thought you'd enjoy this collection of small homes. :)

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  4. Thank you, Anon! Nice collection, especially the Bodega from Tumbleweed, I didn't realize they made off-wheel homes and plans.

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  5. Great post. You increased my appreciation of the periwinkle flower.

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    Replies
    1. Anything that heightens awareness of the simple pleasures...then my mission is being accomplished! Thank you.

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    2. and p.s. Periwinkle is not the bi-valve I was thinking of and I was severely, in love, corrected. I was thinking of the coquina. But coquinas come in periwinkle, so I'm only half memoried.

      Delete