I am truly happy to be back again. It's been eight days now since I last posted on Hive. I've been feeling a bit under the weather and things were not at their best, but that is in the past. Yesterday, I went out for a long drive after being cooped up in the house for almost a fortnight. How long can you be afraid of the weather ? lol. The change of scenery did me a lot of good. Just watching the flowers blooming on the roadside, untended, uncared for, neglected and even abused by nature is still thriving and at its best.
Lantanas are blooming everywhere in pinks, yellows and oranges growing wild. Most of them appear like ghosts coated in layers of dust from the roads. The heat right now is drying up red clayey soil which flies up in clouds of fine dust as the vehicles pass by. Rain is slow in coming and so are the hail and thunderstorms which would have wreaked havoc a few times over in the month of April normally. This was the only bush which looked fresh and beautiful untouched by the red dust devil. Wild Lantanas are invasive and we used to have these all over the city a few years ago. The buildings which mushroom up in this silicon valley city have destroyed even this invasive bush.
As we drove out of the city we got to see sheep grazing on dry grass. I had to stopp and watch them for a bit for this is a rare sight in the city. Their pastures now look brown and crackle under our feet as we walk. Yet the sheep see nothing wrong with it, they seem to graze contently as if it were fresh, juicy grass.
Summer is the time for bougainvilleas This bush on the roadside had only flowers and no noticeable leaves. The tender leaves will spring up after the first heavy rain. Right now we see flowers of every hue growing wildly all over the roadside.
A young golden shower / golden cascade tree was in bloom a little beyond the place where the sheep where grazing. This tree bloom after the first showers but its almost the end of April and these here seem to be blooming hesitantly.
Most roads here are lined on either side with the Delonix regia trees. It's such a pretty sight to enjoy especially when you go on long drives out of the city limits. The wires hanging around do make an ugly scene but to watch lines of these tree planted 10 feet away from each other makes you feel like you are in some magic land. In July when the blooms dry up the lovely green canopy provides another beautiful picture for the tired eyes hurting from the harsh light of the summer sun.
I spotted a cannon ball tree on the way. These flowers bloom plentifully and cover the thick trunk of the trees in peach color. Once the blooms are done they give way to huge fruits which look like cannon balls. These blooms look like hooded snakes when you see them up close. They do have a delicate, pleasant smell as well.
These blooms were really high up on the trees and I couldn't get any close up shots.
The sky blue cluster vine isn't really invasive but it did seem like an invasive plant from the way it is seen here. It is seen climbing over fences and posts and the heavy duty electric cables. This whole stretch looked amazing that it blew my mind away. What a drive it was I was so happy to have gone out. It kind of refreshed my mind.
I am hoping and praying for some rains, I have had enough of this weather already and we have one more summer month to go. If the rains don't come fast enough the scenery around me would become dry except for the huge trees which draw deep from the ground below. Thank God for the huge variety of trees we have here.
Here is your Proof of Brian. I think you meant #ProofOfBrain
Source
🙏