Doing a little puttering today around the yard, wondering if the tree in front will ever stop shedding it’s little leaves. For weeks she’s been dropping leaves, and I’ve been having them cleaned up. To look up today and see lovely new light green sprouts of leaves took me a little aback. Silly me, thought the dang thing was dying. This got me to thinking about re-birth. This seems a little appropriate for Earth Day.
When autumn leaves are falling in Canada, we know our trees are going to sleep for a few months. This deciduous marvel is so life affirming at it’s re-birth in the spring. I don’t know why, but I never expected deciduous trees in Dominican Republic. Jejeje, to me … it’s all about the palms! The possibility exists that this tree is semi-deciduous, when the tree loses old foliage as new growth begins. It’s perpetually summer here, why would the trees go to sleep? Some may of course, I’m only looking at this one tree. I’ve no idea what kind of tree it is. Trying to find that information has proven difficult. Having been part of a landscaping business for 16 years it’s a little disconcerting to not know what all of this new vegetation is. But, looking at this tree, I’m very glad to see the new green shoots. She didn’t go to sleep as her northern relatives do, but she simply “shook” off the old and grew on the new! It’s a little corny, but I’m diggin’ this 🙂 Yup, gonna get me a book on Caribbean flora soon … I hope! If anyone has suggestions for a good book or website, please stick it in the comments.
So here we have it, either evidence of spring, or recoup from lack of rain, but we have a re-birth. Perfect timing to notice this on Earth Day. For all the ills we do to our poor planet, with all the garbage on the streets, with our carbon footprints so high, Gaia still sends her message, “I am a living thing.” Let’s do our part to help keep planet earth alive and to return her to more pristine conditions.
I’m starting with my carbon footprint … how about you?
Listen to the palms…
~Loca Gringa
© Loca Gringa and https://locagringa.wordpress.com
Loca Gringa 
I have seen trees do this when they are stressed. Your drought may have inspired her to drop her leaves?
It’s possible, but the regrowth is lovely!
That drought happens every year, its part of the dry season 🙂
Yup, but the tree … that’s fascinating 🙂
My daughter spent her first 6 years in Hawaii. When we took a trip back to Maryland in the Winter, she saw miles and miles of trees with no leaves. She said, “Why did we come here. I hate this place. Everything is dead.”
I replied, “Don’t worry! In a few months, all of the leaves will grow back and it will be beautiful.”
She frowned me and said (sarcastically), “Oh right mom….”
It was then that I realized it required a big stretch of the imagination, (since she had only lived in Hawaii), to believe that thousands of ‘dead’ looking trees were going to suddenly come back to life. Seemed like an impossibility.
Sometimes, when it comes to things that you have never seen or experienced before, you just have to have faith.
Imagine her surprise when death (winter) transformed into life (spring), and she found out I was telling the truth. 🙂
Where’s the like button?
No está aquí, Loca Gringa!
I will have to write the story on my blog….showing pictures of the same trees, “dead” in the winter and “alive” in the spring. If I do that, then the like button will magically appear.
Jajaja, still, we need a like button for comments 🙂