Making Rainbows

We've been having very occasional showers here lately and every bit of each one is welcome, resulting in plants looking happier. With the sun still doing a summer like beat down, moisture in the ground can almost be heard being sucked away. Except for the moisture of sweat. That seems to be a constant. Maybe I need more clay in my skin.

Another thing rain brings is rainbows but I've been missing them lately. Even though the places I've  been housesitting have awesome views, the rainbows remain out of sight, around a corner, hiding in some part of the sky unavailable to my searching eyes. It's not like I am searching real hard, like some stormchasers rushing to the Batmobile like vehicles they use at the first word of an approaching weather system, with a 360 periscope view of the land and water scapes. I am not.

Ok, that's not entirely true, sometimes I chase rainbows, but the rainbow window closes fast these days, so the lazy way is my way right now. Instead, I found a rainbow in the yard here, one I've shown before but different. 

Only days ago I was looking at this rainbow eucalyptus and it was in a boringly brown state. But with just a bit of rain, the bark has started to lift and separate, revealing layers of color previously hidden. I'm sure I could extrapolate a whole lot of deep meaning from that, but I'll leave that to you, dear reader.

This tree is close to a fence, with some power lines running through its branches. I wish it was in the middle of a parklike yard with lush grass so I could spread out a cloth and supine, gaze up that trunk of color;  but substituting that for the pleasure of it up close, while upright, is fine. For now.

Tossing in a little throwback Thursday, I found this from a few years back. I found some other photos from other years on this date, but one was a pornographic pepper I'd grown or political bits and they just weren't working for me, . This did.

An October 23rd night at Dinghy Dock (which will be re-opening real soon!)

Have a try for truth Thursday. Do something towering.

See? See! Si.

Obviously, loving this natural world around me and having great enjoyment taking photographs to share what I see, I put a lot of power into being visually aware. And then, every once in awhile, the universe just holds up a little sign that says, Hello, you are not awake! Perhaps you'd like to wake up. Hello!!! Taptaptap.

That's what happened yesterday. I was on the phone (which, to tell you the truth, will most likely never feel like a phone to me. It just isn't a phone. It does too many things and I can hold it and walk around with it and...well, it just seems like anything but a phone - I wish it was called something else - The Not Orange Juice Can Communicator maybe)...

Ok, I was on the NOJCC and walking down the outside stairs when I paused for a moment and looked ahead of me, rather than at my feet (which I do on stairs to avoid hurting or breaking anything  and that's a good thing, most of the time). I look ahead and see this tree. Right in front of me. Right where it has been in front of me on the maybe 75 times I've been up and down those stairs. The person on the phone  endured my semi-yell of discovery - he knew it was there since it is his home, and that way we could both oooohhh and aaaaahhh together. The name rainbow eucalyptus was new to him; a fun thing to give a name to something he already enjoyed.

The only reason I knew that name was because, way back in September when I was in Michigan at that fabulous conservatory the woman who was curator there told me about the one they had, a sapling that we never found. I had looked them up, because her description was so extraordinary and the name and description stuck. And here was one. Right here in front of me.

Articles on the rainbow eucalyptus all sound just about the same, where it originates (the Philippines), what it is uses are (mainly, horrifyingly, pulpwood!), where it also grows (lots of places, Puerto Rico got them sometime in the 50's). This article is specifically about them in Puerto Rico and mentions a building that a specimen is in, but...not where the building is. Someone needs to go back to Research Paper Writing 101. I'm pretty sure the reference is to the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, if you'd like to go see their trees.

 

While this tree is not at all a sapling, its potential is 200 feet with a six foot girth. I won't be around to see that, so I'm enjoying it now. Worthy of having a picnic at its feet, breaking a few leaves for aromatics...while the pig next door sings. More on that another time.

I leave you with this. Why people want me to house sit and care for their homes and animals rather than their children. Wise decision.

 

You won't...what? Oh yes you will! Don't misjudge us old people. We didn't get to be old by giving up! I love you, K!


Have a turnaround Thursday. Do something teleporting.