Cavite Sunset

I can’t help but admire this lovely photo which Nissa took yesterday in their balcony. It is a perfect capture of a sunset. She used it as her cover photo on Facebook. Breathtakingly beautiful!

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When Nature Speaks

Another photo of the lovely Mt. Matwiltwil. Sunrise at its best. The world is certainly a lovely place.

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What Nature Brings

Sometimes you need to open your eyes to the vista all around you. This was taken in our place in Pangasinan. It is a forty-five minute climb to the top.

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A Butterfly Garden

 

Nate And His Butterflies

Have you ever tried catching a butterfly with your hands?

You can’t, right? Unless you use a butterfly net to catch one.

Let Nature be their friend.

Let them free,

Before you know it,

They might land somewhere near

And you’ll be able to admire their shapes, colors, and the

designs of their wings.

There are so many plants that butterflies love.

They have very short lives.

Enjoy them while they fly.

 

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When You Feel Like On Top Of The World

That’s Nissa and me taken on the hills of Caleruega in Nasugbu, Batangas ten years ago. It’s one of those road trips that we really loved. Nissa took hundreds of pictures of the place. Beyond are the Nasugbu mountains which hikers open go to to explore.

Seeing this today on my newsfeed reminds me of those happy days when we used to go on roadtrips and enjoyed those lovely times with the family. You’ll pass by Tagaytay and can even take a look at the scenic Taal on your way to this place.

Compared to what I see now where some towns of Batangas are buried deep in ash, where homes were sadly destroyed, where animals and pets were abandoned by their owners in their haste to flee, where there are large cracks in the highways going to those places, I just feel so sad and so inadequate to help. I keep them in my prayers though that this catastrophe would finally end.

Sometimes in life, we experience those life-threatening circumstances and events that we never thought would happen and we are mostly not prepared for it. We are quite happy staying in our own comfort zones, eating three meals a day, having a good night sleep, free to move around and do what we want. Life is short, we all know that. When things like the volcano eruption happens, one feels helpless. How could you go on when the things you took pains to have like your own place under the sun is suddenly destroyed and not habitable anymore? How would you feel if you see a deserted place all around you  and even those animals and plants you have nurtured for years are suddenly dead?

I read a report that the pineapple plantation in Tagaytay is destroyed. Initially P74.5M livestock  and crop damages were reported in Cavite and Batangas. They were covered in blankets of thick mud.  Coffee farms are included. A friend (they are a couple actually and both are chefs) tells her experience with the ashfall in their area the afternoon of January 12. They have a newly-opened restaurant in Tagaytay. They were both resting after a hectic morning of preparing menus in their restaurant when suddenly they heard a roar and they thought it was just thunderstorm, the sky blackened and ashes  began to fall.  Everything became gray. They are worried that the ashes that fell on their roof might actually destroy it. There is no water and no electricity. The painstaking days of putting up a restaurant a few months ago has come to naught. I remember that when we had typhoon Ondoy back in 2009, the couple and some of Nissa’s friends (they were all classmates  in college except Rhea’s husband) came to visit us and brought groceries  and things to cook right here.

I believe that  God is good though, He won’t give us something that we can’t carry. Our load might be heavy at this time but He is always there for us.

We need your prayers. Please include the Philippines  and all those affected by this disaster. THANK YOU so much.

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Before Summer Ends

 

An eye-catching, double-petaled Bougainvillea. Bougainvillea blooms always remind me of summer, those lazy days when staying in the garden early in the morning is a reward in itself.  And seeing this lovely fusion of fuchsia colors makes me smile.

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Morning Watch

I’d like to wake up early

And watch the dawn breaks.

Maybe listen to the sounds

of  nocturnal insects

Or watch the sparrows fly

looking for food.

I’d like to meet the sunrise

And wish for a beautiful day.

Or maybe watch those buds bloom.

Amidst the noise of city streets

There is a quiet corner

Where I can be.

There is a lovely place where I can dream

Again.

Here, here.

 

 

 

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A Thousand Mornings (Part 3)

This is just a borrowed title from one of my favorite poets Mary Oliver.  A Thousand Mornings is one of the two books by Mary Oliver that I treasure. Her words inspire, uplift  and  cheer me up to no ends.  Always, I would read a few lines or two, commit to memory some of her words and my day is complete.

All is quiet except the hum of the small electric fan underneath the computer table. It rained last night and there is a little breeze coming from the window. It is one of those mornings that you get a little introspective, you think about life and living and you are grateful for God’s blessings.

Silence.

I always love what silence brings. I always love greeting the morning hearing nothing but the quiet of dawn, a new day feeling hopeful and anticipating what lies ahead.  It’s those few minutes of bowing your head in prayer and listening to the silence in your heart that make life so precious. You ask but sometimes God surprises you with small miracles. You smile at the thought that life though sometimes harder than it seems is still  beautiful.  You smile at the thought that even if you are alone, happiness is within your grasp. You smile at the thought of a new day, a day to make more memories to hold.

Mornings.

I love watching a sunrise. It holds a promise, it inspires a dream.  Sometimes, it plays hide and seek with the clouds  but you feel the warmth of its embrace. I love the sprinkling of  water droplets brought by the rain at night. How I wish I could capture those magnificent bubbles reflecting the beauty of the morning.  I love the fresh morning look of the garden after the rain.  Sometimes, you get lucky finding new blooms or a new shoot of some seeds you planted a few days ago.

Surprises.

I love those too. A week ago, I noticed my blackberry shrubs bearing fruits at last. I even asked my friend who gave me the seeds last year if they are flowers but she told me just to wait until they ripen into…. yes, black.   They are turning red and Mom said they might be just flowers growing. I can’t wait.  The three turmeric pots have sprouted  leaves finally. The light green oblong shaped leaves are lovelier to look at than the leaves of ginger.  Oh but I love squeezing a leaf of  my ginger plant on my fingers now and then. The aromatic scent is addicting.

Tea and coffee.

Mom would not make a choice, she has always been a coffee lover. I love both though and I love those different tea infusions. You know that feeling of choosing a flavor to suit your mood for the day. Last Saturday, my daughter brought me a box of Twinings’ Lemon and Ginger, a lovely addition to my English Tea Shop’s Cranberry Vanilla Delight, Green Tea and Spiced Red Fruits. I have a few small sachets of Japanese Green Tea. Brewing a Japanese loose leaf green tea has always been a challenge for me, it is easier to use tea bags.  I have two lovely tea kettles with strainer  and I love using each one with the tea bags.  Sipping tea on small cups is just lovely, isn’t it?  Do you read tea leaves?

A thousand mornings….to dream, to read, to appreciate what nature brings, to make another day as lovely as yesterday. Dance to the beat of the day even when no one is watching.  Dance to the music in your head.  Dance to your heart’s desires.

“This morning

the beautiful white heron

was floating along above the water

and then into the sky of this

the one world

we all belong to

where everything

sooner or later

is a part of everything else

which thought made me feel

for a little while

quite beautiful myself.”
― A Thousand Mornings, Mary Oliver

 

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Up Close

 

My lovely Ruellia

And it’s not enough that you trim the grass,

taking shot of a lovely bloom is a must.

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Today’s Quote

If you can find a path that has no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.

frank a. clark

 

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