Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Summer Approaches, Petunias Go

Nearly all the petunias around Abu Dhabi have been pulled up and discarded as the warm weather takes hold. The green-jumpsuited workers, their backs bent over the city's flower beds so many months this winter, now spend their days trimming lawns and squatting by sprinklers, watching to see if the water sprays the right way.

I clipped, fertlized and watered my own petunias this morning. They're definitely not ready for the trash can. I really think it's possible that my flowers can make another great showing before we leave Abu Dhabi. And tomorrow I will get someone to help me turn my incredibly heavy cycads tree - I think he's getting a little sun burn.

As I move about the city, the heat produces a thin coat of water on my face. The body's natural cooling system is amazing. Someone told me that women in the Gulf have fewer wrinkles because the perspiration on their faces prevents their skin from getting too dry. There's a silver lining to everything.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok, when I was in Canada, I was told women looked younger for longer because their skin was preserved with the cold weather...lol..women we do look for anything that culd explain others beauty.

Frances Gunnison said...

Go figure.
As long as I'm in Abu Dhabi, I'm buying into the idea that perspiring benefits my skin. Works for me!

Anonymous said...

I guess hot 'n' humid is better for your body and skin, as compared to hot 'n' dry. But I definitely think cold weather in general suits the skin better.
But yeah, something I'll keep in mind, the next time I curse the weather here in Dubai ! :-)

P.S. Nice blog !

Anonymous said...

Actually the humidity is not great for my oily skin but great for my hair. When I lived in Michigan my skin was flawless cause the cold weather and clean water made it that way.

Lots of Egyptian women have really nice skin and I wonder why since the water is not great, there is a lot of air pollution and the weather is so dry. I guess its just genetics.

Frances Gunnison said...

Hot and humid is less comfortable, but it seems to me it's easier on the skin...maybe I'm deluding myself.
Anyway, it's been very hot lately, for mid-May, hitting 43 (109degrees fahrenheit) the other day.
Ilka, I agree, it's unfair but true that our genes often have more of an influence on how we handle things than anything we ourselves do.

Hey, Gee, I enjoyed your blog a lot - is that a picture of Little Italy/NYC on the top of the page? I used to hang out there a lot in high school! Small world.