Fall Colours

Went out for a walk today, and saw the very colourful leaves. They’re mostly yellow, but there are some red and orange, and some are still green. Here are a few pictures.

The weather is great today, and no wind. The leaves won’t last long, though. And there’s usually a bit of snow in October, so I’m expecting some within the next month.

I’m actually not a big fan of this season. To me, it means winter is coming, and that’s cold. I don’t like feeling cold. Give me summer or tropical weather all year. I could definitely live in a tropical place.

How’s your fall (or spring for those of you in the southern hemisphere)?

A Few Minutes to Spare and Relax

I’d arrived quite early for work, so I went to the nearby park to sit and read for a few minutes. This is what I was treated to at the park.

Beautiful, isn’t it? The colours were so vivid, and the weather is amazing. Sunny and warm in the middle of November.

As I sat and read, I realised how easily I could get into the book. It was so relaxing, and despite the colourful sight, I could immerse myself into the book. The time passed so quickly, I couldn’t believe how twenty minutes could have gone just like that. I need to do this more often.

Where do you go to read? Is there somewhere you can relax and get lost in a book? Let me know in the comments below.

Green

My favourite colour is blue. Cobalt blue, to be exact. I discovered my love for this colour through copper II sulfate, which is a slightly lighter shade of blue, but I like both.

But green is what makes me feel like I have energy. Especially the green of new spring leaves. And the time for that green is now. The above picture is the new leaves of hydrangea. They’re quite vivid, aren’t they?

What’s your favourite colour?

Tonight, as I was washing the dishes and thinking about the colours of the dishes, I asked myself the question, “What’s your favourite colour?”  I always answer blue.  To be more accurate, the colour of copper (II) sulfate.  Why?  I don’t know.  It just feels right.

But then I started thinking, is it really my favourite colour?  There are many cases in which I think other colours are perfect.  I’ll look at all of the main colours.

Blue is a great colour because it’s often quite neutral, my preferred clothing colour, and looks good on cars.  It’s also the colour of the sky, which looks amazing when there are no clouds.  Neptune has a beautiful shade of blue, too.

Green is arguably my favourite colour to look at outside.  I love the lighter green of new leaves in spring.  It makes me feel more energetic and alive.  It’s the colour of life.

Yellow just makes me happy.  It feels sunny.  My grandparents used to have a kitchen and dining room with a lot of yellow, including their kitchen breakfast table, which was a bright yellow.  That room was one of my favourites in their house.  The yellow just made it feel so welcoming and comfortable.

Orange is a warm and bright colour that just gives me a warm feeling.  I would not paint my walls bright orange, though.  Too bright and hard to look at.  It’s great in small quantities and is very eye-catching.

Red is similar to orange, but I also like the darker wine red.  I think that would be a great colour for the walls and carpet of a home library I want to have.  It would complement the reddish cedar or mahogany wood I’d like my bookshelves to be made of.

Brown isn’t my favourite colour for many reasons.  I don’t like brown clothes.  I sometimes associate it with soil.  However, brown wood is another matter.  Actual wood furniture (not fake woodgrain) is quite nice, as well as older brown wood buildings.  It gives me a bit of a warm, earthy feeling.

White is safe.  It’s good for many things, but I really don’t like white walls.  Too boring.  We’ve got off-white walls with a slightly brownish tinge in our apartment.  But as far as what’s best in white, I’d say paper and websites.  I prefer to read text on white.

Black is also pretty safe.  Black furniture is very attractive-looking.  My computer is black, actually.  If it’s a shiny black, it looks great, I think.  But as a background on a website, it makes it difficult to read the text, giving me an awful afterimage.

Pink is okay as a highlighter. And I do have to admit it looks good on my daughter.

I was hoping to write a review of Dune tonight, but I’ve been busy recently, mostly with being sick and having to deal with my daughter not sleeping well at night.  But I’m okay now, and my daughter seems to be sleeping better.

Before I finish, I have to ask you a question.  What’s your favourite colour and why?

Plants on alien worlds

Do you ever wonder what plants on alien worlds would look like? The answer may be in the type of star it orbits.

Red dwarf stars give off little light and heat, so plants would need to absorb as much light as possible, according to a preview of an article I read online. It makes sense that they would appear black.

F type stars are quite bright and would likely need to reflect a lot of light. Shiny leaves? But what colour would they be? Apparently, green, yellow or red. Maybe anything in between, too.

This makes it interesting for creating new worlds for science fiction. Knowing the spectral type if the star gives you an idea about what colour the plants may be. Going beyond that, it may give an idea about what wavelengths animals can see.

In my planned sci-fi novel, the star I chose is a bit younger than the sun, but a G type star. The plants are likely to be green.

But I’d love to see planets with plants of many other colours.