Feeling Blue
a color, a state of mind, a connection to kin
Hello Dear Reader,
I hope you are well. It’s been quite a week and I’ve been feeling blue
about my kin in Asheville, NC where the rivers flooded and lives and livelihoods were lost.1
So I started to think about blues - - Singing The Blues, feeling Blue and, well, all the blue I’ve been noticing of late,2 like these empty chairs on a rainy day, welcoming nonetheless.
As I’m apt to do, I searched ‘blue’ and ‘water’ in Lightroom…and found this almost perfect color match - - Though the water is too calm, out of sync with the turmoil…everywhere, it seems.3
It’s hard to imagine water careening down a river and a mountainside taking buildings and roads and cars and people along with it.
And last weekend, in Hampton Beach, NH, I noticed this bright blue house.
How will it fare when someday the ocean just behind me will crash over the storm wall?4
And down the road, ‘Pay Here.’
Yes. We are paying, right here, right now.
And I feel blue.
So I find solace in this cloud-speckled sky.
Or wait, could this be a satellite image of the ocean below?
No matter. The bliss of blue. It’s everywhere.
Strangely, the more I see it, the lighter I feel - - not because I’m excited about garbage on beaches, but because it’s just funny when a thing happens and you’re not expecting it…All these blues are just, well, kind of cool.
Strange, how when you think of a thing, you can’t stop noticing.
And then this sign for the Navy Road, printed on navy blue - - Who knew that Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the British Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world?5
And when back from the walk, this blue vessel, ready to rescue whomever or whatever might need rescuing…
I wish I could disapparate6 and bring this boat with me to help, in whatever way I might, to Asheville, NC where so many of my Kinship Photography friends live.
Instead, I send what money I can and all the positive energy I can spare.7
Meanwhile, there’s garbage to collect…so much more than when we were here in August (check out Beach Treasures).8
I’ll have photos of my latest adventures with trash next week. Until then, take care.
As always, thank you for sharing your time and this space with me.
With gratitude for you being you,
Lyn
Is there a color or object or idea you’ve been focusing on lately? If so, please share in the comments below. I’d love to hear what’s impossible to ignore in your life.
And finally, if you like what you experience here, please share 13 Tons of Love with family and friends. It would be so exciting to hit 250 subscribers by my birthday on November 1, or maybe by Thanksgiving - - That would mean 18 more people joining our small community. Spread the word!
Just last Thursday night, as the storm was brewing, I was online with a group of people, many of whom were in Asheville, NC. They warned that our connection might be lost. A few days later, I prayed that they were safe - - all my friends from the Kinship Photography Collective. This past year I’ve been guiding a practice group called Re-imagining Loss & Grief. There are no words for what is happening in a town considered safe climate impact. Since none of us is really safe, how can we care for one another?
Some kind of blue - - That feeling of sadness and melancholy we call ‘the blues,’ melancholic music of African-American folk origin typically in a twelve-bar sequence (I’m not a musician, an am not sure what that means); The urban blues gave rise to rhythm and blues which gave way to rock and roll…which I often play when I’m feeling blue.
The recent bombings in the Middle East certainly don’t generate a sense of calm…as all the floods and crazy weather in other parts of the world. We remain unsettled, as our new condo isn’t ready yet (still painting and getting new carpets and stuff), though we are grateful to have a cottage in Maine to which we can retreat.
When it was built, there was probably still a beach and there probably wasn’t such a huge concrete barrier protecting it from the elements.
Apparently navy blue was the most color fast color at the time and did a great job of camouflaging dirt and wear (AI on Google).
From J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books.
Barbara Kingsolver recommends https://www.appalachiafunders.org/
The sticker on this bucket comes from Think Blue Maine, a statewide campaign that provides resources and information for residents, businesses, and municipalities to reduce stormwater pollution.
Apparently the bucket washed up on the beach. It’s now used as a collection bin for garbage found on that beach. We don’t have such a repository on the beach near us. It’s such a great idea.