Spring is in the air…

Any idea what plant this is?

With so much going on in our region of late and so much to follow and keep up with, I’ve found it hard to concentrate and come up with something to share here, at Mich Café. Somehow, personal anecdotes seem meaningless on the scale of events.

It’s usually while walking a friend’s dog in the evenings (see Habibi of Dubai, 5 October 2010), with no contact with the online world that I get most of my ideas. Or as my sister, Asma, said when she failed to find a new post these past few days, “Have a look at your photo albums and you’ll think of something!”

But still these walks at dusk failed to inspire me and that’s maybe because there is so much going on in nature.

Spring is in the air, even in Dubai where you hardly feel the change of seasons. One day it’s cool and the next it’s 39 degrees Centigrade and summer sets in for the next 10 months.

This year we’ve had a short winter and only two spells of rain. Winter here means that I wear a T-shirt instead of a tank top and a light jacket in the morning and evening.

Not that I am complaining. In fact, it is during January and February that I cannot run because it is cool. I’m now waiting for March and the warmer and hot weather to take that up again (see Why I run, 13 August 2010).

Spring, the season of rebirth, renewal and rejuvenation, is in the air because there are more birds around and the plants and flowers are blooming comfortably before being scorched (apart from my gardenias! See Gardenias, roses and LTC, 8 February).

Blackberries in the garden

Also it’s when I can pick blackberries from the many trees in the garden. Blackberries, and watermelons, are among my favorite fruits, but unfortunately they are expensive to buy (see A love affair… with watermelons, 23 July 2010). It is one of spring’s privileges to have some directly off the trees in the garden for about a month each year.

As usual, I digress… The whole point of writing this post is that while contemplating nature at its best these past few weeks, I came across a tree or bush that I find extremely delicate and beautiful. It looks like lace dotted with flowers.

I’ve passed it several times and watched red buds bloom into little balls of fluff scattered among tiny white flowers and invade the sidewalk. It is so delicate and fragile, yet wild and clumsy.

With all my love for gardening, I can never recognize plants or flowers, apart from the obvious, or remember names. I took some pictures and wonder if anyone of my readers knows what this plant is? Please share if you do (more pictures of the plant here).