Nature in all its glory...

One thing I love desperately about Mexico is the striking beauty of nature that surrounds me. I live in a small farming community, and I'm surrounded by others. The nearest real town is a 20-minute drive away, mostly on dirt/gravel roads that are basically just one big pot-hole. When I walk out my door and look around, I see nature in its extremes. It's all dry and brown, dust in the air at all times. Or, it's a verdant rain forest during the rainy season, so much so that the streets I walk numerous times DAILY are no longer familiar to me by sight! I love the beauty I see around me in the states, but there is something more profound about what surrounds me here, and it keeps me in awe every moment I'm awake!

Several days ago, Sandy and I were heading back to Arrayanes to have lunch with her family. There was this amazing storm that was following us and arrived just after we did. The clouds were incredible. After the storm (which wasn't as bad as the clouds looked), we went out and started taking pictures of flowers. It was great because all the plants were still wet with rain drops, and my camera surprised me with how beautiful the pictures came out. Sandy took all of these pictures. Enjoy!!

THE STORM

AFTER THE STORM

These little flowers are found all over the place and, as you can see, in a rainbow of colors.


These are something like miniature roses. This clump was just beautiful!




These little orange flowers are so interesting! The four pics above follow them (essentially) from stalk to bloom :)



Just pretty!



This one makes me think of buttercups! It's just so teeny!


These have a very interesting color because it's sort of mottled with white. So at a distance, it looks fuzzy though it's not!



The second one is just a close up of the first. The stalks for this flower are covered in little stems for blooms. They grow all over the place--a common road-side plant but very picturesque!


These make me think of stars!


A miniature sunflower! I've never seen them so small. They have big ones in Mexico also, but the little ones are more like weeds on the roadside.



I don't know what these are, but they always strike me as elegant!

The video is of a little plant whose leaves close up when they are touched by anything. It's very small and hard to see if you're not looking for it. But we did!!

On my way home, I stopped and took several pictures of the mountain range that surrounds our little villages. My printer photo editor has the capacity to make panoramic pictures from several normal sized pics. So, I gave it a try. Here's a taste of what I see every time I walk out my door!!