This weeks League topic : BLUE!. Upon reading that, the first thing that popped into my head was this:
After I got that out of my system, I considered that my town is chock full of "blue" things, and set about making a list of them. This is what I came up with:
Our state flag, for starters.
Blue skies.
The Blue Angels. They do not reside here,
but put on a show at our Air Station most years.
It's always been a big thing.
Great Blue Heron
Blue Jay
Blue Crabs
Blue Tail Skink
Blueberries
Blue Hydrangea
Bluebonnets
Bluegrass
The Gullah people and their culture are quite fascinating,
our town hosts a "Gullah Festival" every year.
Blue bottle trees
Based on superstition, it's said that the
bottles trap evil spirits at dusk. The spirits are held there until
morning, when they are burned away by
the morning sun. This is another Gullah tradition that has been
scooped up by Southerners. Most of the people in my
family have bottle trees in their yards.
"Haint Blue"
"Haints" are spirits, trapped between our world and the spirit world.
They are not pleasant, "just want to see my family" ghosts, these
are "I'm angry and I want revenge" type of ghosts. Because they cannot cross
water, the slaves used to paint porch ceilings, window and door frames in
a watery blue-green colour, that supposedly confused the ghosts, tricking them into
thinking that they could not enter the abode. This practice is still alive and well today
(so much so that Sherwin Williams came out with their own version of "Haint Blue.")
A couple of examples. I did not take these pictures, but
later I will be taking and posting some photos of a
few houses around here. (In certain areas, all of the houses,
including the newly built, have their frames and sills painted blue.)
including the newly built, have their frames and sills painted blue.)
The South is a fantastic place full of ghosts and superstitions. And blue things. Hope you enjoyed this, and thanks for reading!
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