Island Flowers

I know that it is now technically spring back in the States, but I also know that just because it is 'officially' spring it doesn't mean that it's actually warm and pleasant! I'm sure many of you are still dealing with snow and chilly weather. This was always the hardest time of year for me- I always wanted it to be warm and free of snow for my birthday.... living in upstate New York, and being that my birthday is the 25th of March... I didn't always get my wish.

It is hard to believe that there is still snow back home, since it's starting to get really hot and humid here. We're in dry season, actually we've been in dry season since we got here, but it was much rainier than usual earlier this year. Now it is just very hot and very humid, with no rain showers to cool things off. And those rain showers produced lots of lovely breezes. I'm told that it's going to be unbearably hot later in the year, and that it's a good idea to just go to class with Ryan so I can sit in the AC or to stand in the pool for hours at a time.

Since I'm sure you are all MORE than ready for spring (as I would be) I thought I'd share some of the beautiful plants we've found down here! They're simply gorgeous, and they're everywhere. There are about a dozen different ones on our walk to school, all along the sidewalk and draped over the fences. The flowerless plants are beautiful as well. Many of them have interesting leaves with bright colors or cool patterns. The plants are actually some of my favorite things to photograph, since each one is different- but each one is also beautiful! I don't know how anyone could look at some of these steep hillsides covered in brightly colored flowers and wildly patterned leaves and not have their spirits uplifted. Maybe that's part of the reason that studies show that Dominicans are the happiest people in the world! I want to share a bit of that happiness and joy with you all, so here's a slide show of some (just SOME) of my favorite plants. I've also included a link to the album, in case anyone would like to save or print a particular photo- I can't send any of you live tropical flowers for Easter, but I can send you one to print out and brighten up your fridge!

Here's the slide show, please enjoy!

And here is the link to the album:

Tropical Flowers