Culebra Singularities

We are so surrounded by beauty here that the eye and mind can almost be overwhelmed. As with everything, it is the parts of the whole that make the picture, whether we see that or not. 

Every year I wait for this flamboyant to bloom. Long before I knew who owned the property, I would look to the end of my street and see this brilliant blooming tree, like a giant's bouquet. Unlike the majority of Flamboyants (or or Royal Poincianas as we called them in Florida or 'Copperpod, Golden Flamboyant, Yellow Flamboyant, Yellow Flame Tree, Yellow Poinciana, Rusty shield-bearer, Perunkonrai (பெருங்கொன்றை) in Tamil, Radhachura in Bangla, Peela gulmohar पीला गुलमोहर (Hindi)   - I like Copperpod!), this one blooms a golden yellow. There are a few more of them around the island, but you cannot forget your first one. Well, I can't.

Just getting started

The other bloom I saw this morning leaped out to me, maybe because the sky was grey and so are its surrounding leaves, but this one orange blossom brought back a slew of memories. I grew up on the beaches of Florida, but we would take drives when I was young and I can vividly remember the first time we drove alongside an orange grove, the air freighted with a heavy, sweet scent. My Dad, in answer to my question of what it was (we drove in Central Florida without air conditioning back then, imagine that), said "Look!" I looked. Rows and rows of lollipop trees, covered with white blossoms marched up and down gentle hills, as close to a drawing a 3 year old would make as it could be. Orange trees! We would come back later to see the transformation from bloom to brilliant orange spheres, just in time for Christmas and the one that would be in the toe of each of our hopefully hung up stockings. 

All of that, in a flash of vision. The bloom is too high for me to bury my nose in it but there will be others. Right now, one was just enough. Is that a little orangelet next to it?

Have a singular sighting Saturday. Do something searching.