wayfaringwordhack (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wayfaringwordhack) wrote2013-05-28 11:14 pm
wayfaringwordhack) wrote2013-05-28 11:14 pm
Entry tags:
Red
When we moved into our apartment, I was thrilled to see all the flamboyant trees on our road. At least I hoped my tree identification skills had not failed me and that they were indeed flamboyants. Then spring came along and all over Cairo, trees started flowering: Jacarandas; pink and red cotton trees; acacias; red bottlebrushes; purple, white, and pink orchid trees.... But not ours. They barely put on any leaves. Still, the good ol' Web said that flamboyants flower in May and June, and I told myself to be patient. But that didn't stop the worry that they wouldn't bloom.
A month ago, I even wrote an entry in a journal about it: Studying the flamboyants for signs that they are going to flower. Strange, but I carry around a knot of stress, of fear, that they won't bloom. I so very much want to see a sea of red from our balcony.
Chiding myself for being silly, I got the binoculars and checked out the treetops. And lo and behold, buds!
Whew. I finally relaxed, and a couple of days later, my impatience was vanquished by the sight of the first flowers:
Then we left for a week to vacation on the Red Sea, and when we got back we had our very own wished-for sea of red awaiting us, just as I had hoped. Another name for flamboyants are flame trees, with good reason:
The fuzzy sparrow gives a rough idea of how big the flowers are:
Just visible on the left is a minaret of one of the nearby mosques we have the joy (just a wee bit of sarcasm) of hearing several times a day:
Billowing waves on a scarlet sea, or carnelian clouds...
A month ago, I even wrote an entry in a journal about it: Studying the flamboyants for signs that they are going to flower. Strange, but I carry around a knot of stress, of fear, that they won't bloom. I so very much want to see a sea of red from our balcony.
Chiding myself for being silly, I got the binoculars and checked out the treetops. And lo and behold, buds!
Whew. I finally relaxed, and a couple of days later, my impatience was vanquished by the sight of the first flowers:
Then we left for a week to vacation on the Red Sea, and when we got back we had our very own wished-for sea of red awaiting us, just as I had hoped. Another name for flamboyants are flame trees, with good reason:
The fuzzy sparrow gives a rough idea of how big the flowers are:
Just visible on the left is a minaret of one of the nearby mosques we have the joy (just a wee bit of sarcasm) of hearing several times a day:
Billowing waves on a scarlet sea, or carnelian clouds...
I don't think you can tell from this (dark) photo, but the tree on the left is deep red while the one on the right has an orange cast.
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But! I bought J a frangipani for Christmas and it is in bloom now, so we do have it. :P
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The black locusts are in bloom here--they have a sweet, sweet honey smell and dangling flowers, and it's almost enough to make one imagine one's in some tropical place ....
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And Wikipedia tells me this: Black locust is a major honey plant in the eastern US, and, having been taken and planted in France, is the source of the renowned acacia monofloral honey from France.
That is the kind of honey I always bought in France. :D
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P.S.
Re: P.S.
Re: P.S.
Re: P.S.
At least it seems to me that you must be up early. :P
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I miss that tree-I don't remember having seen it here. I did see a lot in bloom in Florida around May a few years ago. I think I even posted some photos.
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