Fifty shades of brown

 

I might have labeled this post "the fifty shades of gray" since gray (or grey) is just as prevalent a color this time of year on the steppes...but I understand that name has been preempted by a soft-core pornographer. In have actually stolen this title from Jan, my girlfriend, who coined this memorable paraphrase as we flew home from California a few weeks ago. Her utterance was not meant to be complimentary. Brown has a terrible P.R. problem: ask the next fifty kids what their favorite flower is and I can pretty much guarantee you that almost all will opt for red, yellow, blue in pretty much that order. Likewise with adults--although depending on which circle you inhabit, the responses could be "mauve, chartreuse or taupe", or "green, lavender or pink"--we mature beyond the mere primary to the increasingly recondite in this long life of our's.

You cannot live on the steppe--or at least not happily--unless you come to fancy brown. Not just Cordovan like the shoe polish--but the entire broad spectrum--which I aver is as rich and diverse a range as any shade can proffer.  The picture above (and those below) were taken a few years ago on an autumnal hike at Roxborough State Park half an hour south of Denver more or less. Really--anywhere in the interior American West, much of Asia, Africa or the Pampas or Patagonia--or much of Australia for that matter--is basically a symphony of browns [not just in winter].

russet brown against the jaundiced brown of prairie grasses...and the dark brown green of the forest patches--the puffy white sky and blue stains of sky are the only things that can't be somewhat tinged with brown this time of year...

 

Blazing Star (Liatris punctata) comes in a silvery brown, with golden brown behind...let's check the Dictionary for synonyms: Thesaurus.com gives us

amber, auburn, bay, beige, bister, brick, bronze, buff, burnt sienna, chestnut, chocolate, cinnamon, cocoa, coffee, copper, drab, dust, ecru, fawn, ginger, hazel, henna, khaki, mahogany, nut, ochre, puce, russet, rust, sepia, snuff-colored, sorrel, tan, tawny, terra-cotta, toast, umber

It's almost worth re-reading the list: not many color names are this evocative! I must admit each year I fall a little more in love with the many browns, and resign myself a little more willingly to winter's blandishments. Only thirty six shades, perhaps you can help come up with a few more?