To my surprise, it's that time of year and the streets of Key West are breaking out in disorganized bursts of orange again. You can't photograph a dog resting on a hot summer afternoon without cluttering your image with poinciana trees shouldering their way into the picture.
Afternoon temperatures are in the mid 80's (30C) or higher and a dog in a fur coat no longer has the stamina she showed when temperatures were twenty degrees lower. I sat on a bench outside Five Brothers Cuban grocery and Cheyenne caught her breath.
Poinciana trees are brash and garish and dump quantities of rust colored dead blossoms everywhere so they are an unmitigated nuisance, but who can argue with their beauty?
Some people can find fault with anything but I like these trees, not least because I like the bright colors and sharp contrasts that characterize colors in the natural tropics. I look out at deep blue skies, puffy white clouds and shiny green leaves. Some people like fog and drizzle and some like sun on a crisp snowfield. Me? This is my nirvana.
I have noticed over the years that trees decorate wealthy neighborhoods. Poor people don't seem to merit the expense of foliage that occupies space that could be more profitably used in low class neighborhoods. Key West has plenty of wealth and thus plenty of trees.
The poinciana trees presage hurricane season and most likely I will have plenty to write about that fearsome natural event as summer goes along. The national weather folks are predicting a terrible year for storms and they may be proved right. I take predictions with a heaping of salt as all it takes to have a bad year is one direct hit by a major storm. That there may be a dozen storms tromping across the Atlantic between now and December doesn't mean much if they miss the Lower Keys. For now I plan to enjoy the splashes of orange and wait to see what storms head our way. 
Key West in summer is where I like to be. And we have a couple of road trips planned. Oh well, if we have to go out of state I plan to enjoy the drive, and I know Cheyenne will.
Last year's essay is here:
http://conchscooter.blogspot.com/2009/06/flame-trees.html
Expect to see flame trees in the background of many pictures all summer long. Another sign that Key West should be paradise.
Afternoon temperatures are in the mid 80's (30C) or higher and a dog in a fur coat no longer has the stamina she showed when temperatures were twenty degrees lower. I sat on a bench outside Five Brothers Cuban grocery and Cheyenne caught her breath.
Poinciana trees are brash and garish and dump quantities of rust colored dead blossoms everywhere so they are an unmitigated nuisance, but who can argue with their beauty?Some people can find fault with anything but I like these trees, not least because I like the bright colors and sharp contrasts that characterize colors in the natural tropics. I look out at deep blue skies, puffy white clouds and shiny green leaves. Some people like fog and drizzle and some like sun on a crisp snowfield. Me? This is my nirvana.I have noticed over the years that trees decorate wealthy neighborhoods. Poor people don't seem to merit the expense of foliage that occupies space that could be more profitably used in low class neighborhoods. Key West has plenty of wealth and thus plenty of trees.
The poinciana trees presage hurricane season and most likely I will have plenty to write about that fearsome natural event as summer goes along. The national weather folks are predicting a terrible year for storms and they may be proved right. I take predictions with a heaping of salt as all it takes to have a bad year is one direct hit by a major storm. That there may be a dozen storms tromping across the Atlantic between now and December doesn't mean much if they miss the Lower Keys. For now I plan to enjoy the splashes of orange and wait to see what storms head our way. 
Key West in summer is where I like to be. And we have a couple of road trips planned. Oh well, if we have to go out of state I plan to enjoy the drive, and I know Cheyenne will.
Last year's essay is here:http://conchscooter.blogspot.com/2009/06/flame-trees.html
Expect to see flame trees in the background of many pictures all summer long. Another sign that Key West should be paradise.
13 comments:
NE Portland is not an enclave of the Filthy Rotten Stinking Rich, but has a verdant tree canopy (and not just noble fir, either). You've given me an idea for a post...
__Orin
Scootin' Old Skool
I absolutely positively refuse to believe there are flame trees in the Pacific Northwest. Ideas yes, poincianas, no.
Royal Poincianas are one of those trees you can stare at all afternoon long. Nirvana indeed.
Dear CS:
The true Satan enjoys endless heat.
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
Dear JR,
As he goes by many names, is the current one Tony Hayward?
Gotta love the lush greens and red that add to the tropical feel of the island.
Lovely trees! We've got an abundance of mimosa up here now, replacing azalea as the most profuse blooms.
(My dogs can't go out at all in the summer, so they stay inside and watch TV.)
Nice one Jeffrey- the oil is closing in on the dry Tortugas to prove your point.
riepe - I am a satanic socialist- we bore people to death by being correct all the time.
dear FB (Filthy Bugger is the north florida equivalent of CS I am told) all vegetation is scheduled to die in a few months as the official word is that the oil sheen is 100 miles from the Dry Tortugas.we make the most of everything while we have it. I look forward to moving and sharing your yak.
dear gainesville I am not a botanist . I thought Mimosas were one of those fruity drinks you suck up at breakfast to hide the DTs? I am told they taste better with bacon.
Here in East Texas everything is green, green, green, which I like.
Does it all go brown by August like California? Austin is our back up plan if the economy goes south here.
Poincianas are absolutely my favorite tree! I love these pictures!
Mimosas are nectar of the gods- Champagne for breakfast, champagne for lunch, champagne for dinner! Although when the oil hits the Keys I might take to drinking whiskey... straight.
Riepe: The human form (and name) of satan is reserved for my children's father. My daughter dubbed him that some years ago (not my name for him although I embraced it wholeheartedly) Although she calls him "Diablo" so I guess Satan is still technically open...)
It goes brown in Austin though not as brown as California. East Texas is stuffed with pines trees and stays green. Austin gets about 30 inches of rain annually and East Texas is between 50 and 60. I would prefer that you relocate to some place where you can still walk around and take pictures: Savannah, Honolulu, East Goshen?
No poincianas, but cherry and other trees that leave considerable petal fallout. The street in front of the house is totally covered in white flower petals, though I rode over them on the GTS and they don't seem to be slippery...
__Orin
Scootin' Old Skool
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