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Flowers in the rain 1

Sunday, November 12, 2006 | 2 comments

Today Esme and I decided to go to Tlalnelhuayocan, a town close to where we live, Xalapa. Because it was raining in the morning, we decided to wait until one o'clock. We had to wait quite some time for the bus to Tlalnelhuayocan, but finally it arrived. It was still raining a little, but the sky looked less gray, so we hoped that it would stop raining soon.

A large yellow flower close-up.
A large yellow flower close-up.

The bus took quite some time to get to Tlalnelhuayocan, probably also because it had to drive trough quite some heavy fog. The driver almost hit a bus coming from the opposite direction but finally we arrived in the town. Just before we stopped I saw several nice yellow flowers. And since I had planned to take some pictures of flowers in the rain, after we got off the bus, I walked back.

A large yellow flower, in the background a tree in the fog.
A large yellow flower, in the background a tree in the fog.

After I had taken a few pictures of the large yellow flowers I crossed the road. Nearby was a young cow so I decided to take a few pictures. I moved carefully in order not to scare the animal.

A young cow in the fog.
A young cow in the fog.

We decided to walk into the direction of the tow. The fog was very heavy, we had no idea of the surroundings so we just followed the road.

Raindrops on leaves.
Raindrops on leaves.

When we arrived in the small town of Tlalnelhuayocan we almost couldn't see the buildings around us. I like to take pictures of one or two churches in a town, but this time a picture was not really possible due to the dense fog.

Ipomoea purpurea, pink variety, with raindrops.
Ipomoea purpurea, pink variety, with raindrops.

We followed the road that left the center of the town. The rain had become more of a slow drizzle, what the people in Xalapa call chipi-chipi. I carried my camera in a plastic bag, and exposed it to the weather as short as possible.

Ipomoea purpurea variety with raindrops.
Ipomoea purpurea variety with raindrops.

The nice thing of the weather we were walking in was that everything green around us looked more fresh. It was hardly raining anymore, and not cold at all. I noticed a cluster of air plants (tillandsias) in a nearby tree, and took several photos.

Tillandsias (air plants) growing on a tree.
Tillandsias (air plants) growing on a tree.

Esme remarked that there were also orchids growing next to some other tillandsias, so I took another photo. Sadly no flowers, but if you know tillandsias and orchids only from the flower shops the photo above and below give a good impression of how those plants grow in nature.

Flower buds of orchids and tillandsias.
Flower buds of orchids and tillandsias.

At the other side of the road I noticed a Brugmansia species (Angel's Trumpet or Floripondio) with beautiful white flowers. When I took a few photos I noticed a great number of tiny black flies hiding from the wet weather inside the white trumpet shaped flowers.

White Brugmansia flower (Angel's Trumpet) as seen from below.
White Brugmansia flower (Angel's Trumpet) as seen from below.

Some time ago a friend of mine mentioned the Floripondio since it seems to be used to make tea either for for recreational intoxication, or for the fatal effect it can have. I look now a bit different at those beautiful flowers.

White Brugmansia flowers.
White Brugmansia flowers.

The next part of this blog entry can be read in Flowers in the rain 2.

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