Flora and fauna

It's that time of year where the little rain that we have had so far has woken up the plant life, the butterflies, and the weird little flying ants and lacewings. One of the luxuries that I find myself missing (and am surprised that I find myself missing) is having a nice vase of fresh cut flowers in the house, or even just house plants. So, at the moment, as I cycle and walk around I find the colourful plants and trees catching my eye, and I keep having to stop and take photographs. 

I can't always do them justice with my phone camera, but here is a selection of the Gambian plants that are brightening my days at the moment. 

Colourful and unusual flowers: 

Spot the butterflies! There are three in this picture.

Beautiful flowering trees:

Fire trees:
I really can't stop taking pictures of these. They light up the horizon as if they really are on fire. This weekend, while visiting Sandele Eco Lodge, I found a nice description of them to go with my many photos! 

Huge tree:
This tree blows me away, but I can't do it justice in the photos I take and my neighbours are starting to think I am mad trying to get a good angle on it! It's has such a large canopy that it cover the whole of the road - and is really amazing when you stand underneath it and look up. This doesn't show the whole size of it, but it gives you an idea!

You can click on the photos to see larger versions as a slide show.