Flame Trees of Guam

There is a tree which we have been told is called a "flame tree," with orange flowers that blaze upward from the foliage like jets of fire:

In fact, it is not a native tree, but an ornamental tree that we see all over the place - Spathodea Campanulata, the African Flame Tree. I do not believe that it is the same as the flame trees of Thika, but it is charming to know that there are flame trees here, too. Part of knowing that it would be OK to move to Guam came from the memory of the pioneering spirit of not-so-long-ago, when ambition or need drove people from their homelands and families to unfamiliar places far away. 

Of course, heading from the States to Guam in 2010 is in no way at all comparable to committing as crew on a caravel to the New World - or heading to America from the East or the West, to forge an opportunity for oneself - or leaving for Kenya from England to start a coffee plantation. But it was unexpected - and  it's still far enough away that we can't get home on our own; and we're out here for good (for the time being), to make this work and not look back. 

Well, internet access certainly makes it easier!