“Of the warm colors, red is Thoreau’s favorite: he loves to see any redness in vegetation. It is the color of colors, he says in ‘Autumnal Tints,’ and speaks to our blood. Red foliage, he writes, shows nature as being ‘full of blood and heat and luxuriance.’ While Thoreau delights in the feast for the eyes provided by reds, oranges and yellows, he realizes that they cannot be the staple of his diet. Thus he writes of yet another warm color, but one sober in its aspect: ‘Brown is the color for me, the color of our coats and our daily lives, the color of the poor man’s loaf. The bright tints are pies and cakes, good only for October feasts.’”