Tiny wonders

Call me dorky, but this blog post is to showcase flowers.  But not just any flowers, the wildflowers of Oman. 

It's been an oddly cool and "wet" year.  These conditions the past few months have lead to the normally tan, rocky, and sandy hills to take on a green hue.  It's been such a contrast to our first year here where it was fairly hot and dry all year long.  In the normally rocky, dirt patches around the school and our home, there are lots of low-growing grasses and weeds, as well as the wildflowers.  I suspect some of these flowers might be weeds, but nonetheless, they are beautiful.

But you have to get close to see them.  Most of them are tiny.  While most people might overlook the majority of them and just see the green, I've gotten out of our car and taken some walks, crouched low, and taken a good look. 

I've always like little things.  Something about the tiny beauty all around us that most people don't notice yet they are there, just as beautiful as the "big" things usually noticed.  If you've ever walked with me on the beach, you know I can't look up.  I'm always looking down; waiting for the next pretty agate or shell to be happened upon.  Same with on a hike.  I love looking at the big picture, but then my head keeps to the ground and sides of the trails, looking for the small things.

So seeing all these tiny flowers has really given me joy.  They, along with the grasses in bloom, have also given me allergies for the first time in three years, but it's been worth it.  I've loved seeing more green around us in general, and the flowers have been the cherry on top. 

With our sweet little Panasonic camera with macro setting, I took a couple days to find and shoot the little beauties.  A common trend I found with a lot of the flowers/plants were that they were low growers, had small or very small flowers, were "fuzzy" or had some other type of thorn.  It makes sense in a dry climate with intense sun and a fight to survive.

They might not be here next year!  Just depends on the weather, and how long those seeds have to wait again.  I hope you enjoy!

 

This stunning yellow flower grows on a low spreading plant that has the appearance of a succulent.

 

I really liked this plant.  It had a very "Fall" look to it after I picked a bunch of stalks for my vase.  Each branch was covered in the tiny buds of the white flower.

 

This unique flower was growing on the wirey plant below.

 

The ultra-tiny flowers on this plant resulted in the pods below.

 

This was one of my favorites.  The long tendrils on this plant had the bright white flowers all lined up.  Below, you can see the end of the tendril not fully extended.

 

 

This was another favorite.  From far away, it looked like a taller red/pink plant, but up close, each sprig was actually a bunch of small green/red pods.

 

 

Up real close, you can see the gorgeous color and intricacy of the pods. 

 

A fuzzy one...

 

Berries!

 

These white guys were easier to spot by the casual eye, but being up close allowed you to see how fragile and soft their petals were.

 

This is what most of the ground cover looks like, which standing by it, you can just see the bits of color peeking out.  From the road though, you wouldn't even notice.

 

This little lady doesn't want to be touched.

 

Another very tiny stunner