I have a book called Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours*. It was published in 1821, and written by Patrick Syme, who’s described as a flower-painter, which sounds like a pretty good job. If you like flowers. And can paint. And don’t need, you know, money or anything.

It snowed the other day so I went out to get some photos. The thing I noticed mostly was how much orange will stand out in a mostly-monochromatic field of colors; almost all of the photos have a spot of orange in them.

And this is where the book and the photos intersect: just for fun, I’m going to match the various oranges that I photographed with descriptions from the book.

This one seems to be most similar to Colour 77 – Buff Orange. The book says buff orange is sienna yellow, with a little Dutch Orange, and adds that is it similar to the “Streak from the Eye of the King Fisher.”

the snow day series
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.24.2026

*The full title is Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours, with additions, arranged so as to render it highly useful to the ARTS AND SCIENCES, particularly Zoology, Botany, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Morbid Anatomy, annexed to which are examples selected from well-known objects in the ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, AND MINERAL KINGDOMS. Title just rolls right off your tongue. Eventually.