Frozen delights like ice pops or ice cream bars were unheard of during my childhood years. Sorbet yes but only scraped ice with sugar, artificial flavoring and food coloring to make it look inviting. And a few teaspoons of milk added for a higher price. Very seldom did I get the chance to savor the taste of real ice cream like what is readily available today. 

summertime or not

tasty palate refreshers 

fruit-flavored ice pops

oo0oo

pink green yellow bars

reminds me of my childhood

no frozen delights

When the sun is below the horizon the refection of its rays from the atmosphere produces a soft glowing light from the sky. This is what we call twilight! According to Wikipedia, it is the time between dawn and sunrise, or between sunset and dusk. We then have morning twilight and evening twilight.

I am reminded of the song "Twilight Time" popularized by the Platters, two lines of which I would like to borrow. 'Deepening shadows gather splendor as day is done. Fingers of night will soon surrender the setting sun'. Truly beautiful lines!

Looking at the sky at twilight time on evenings is one thing I enjoy. More so when a full moon is up there. I find it really so romantically captivating, the shade of blue akin to the ocean simply so soothing.

A little past six in the evening of Friday last week found me at our front lawn. I waited till the moon, almost full, would be just above the coconut tree across the street. The sky was a clear blue, so calming to the senses. In no time at all,voila, there it was, smiling shyly like a demure lady!

Here I am sharing the shot I took that evening twilight time.

moon at twilight time
shining amid a blue sky
homeward bound birdies


oo0oo


moonlight before dusk
beauty unsung by many
 evening reverie


oo0oo

Some twelve years ago, or even earlier, I started an orchid garden right here at home. Within a span of three years my collection grew to a good number of different varieties of vanda, dendrobium, phalaenopsis, and cattleya. I was so fascinated with orchids then that I spend hours everyday, more on weekends, giving them my brand of TLC - tender loving care. How I loved to see them blooming in different colors, shapes, and sizes.

Orchids stay healthy and blooming if given the needed care - proper watering and a regular dose of food and fertilizer. Left unattended for long without these, relying only on sporadic showers and rains, they will surely suffer. Sadly, that's precisely what happened to my collection. After being away for ten months on a teaching stint outside the country, I came home finding them much reduced in number and in a desperate state.

It has been a good eight years since I got back. My orchids? Just a few left and flowering spikes are rarely seen. Fascination turned frustration.

eye-catching display
nostalgic mem'ries of yore

my orchid garden

oo0oo

looking at orchids

sad heart aches to remember

my elegant spikes

Birds are regular visitors to trees around our house. They fly from one branch to another seeking for food perhaps or finding a better view of what's below. Oftentimes they choose to perch on a tv antenna nearby. They never stay long though. I was just so lucky this morning to find one still perching when I was ready to take a shot. My great joy!

tv antenna

favorite perch of small birds

a bare branch nearby

oo0oo

my morning delight

a bird i capture on cam
perched on antenna


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early morning sky
a mantle of snow white clouds
lone bird finds its perch

Among the thousands of different flowers in the world, perhaps the most easily recognized  is the rose. Roses have long been the symbol of love and beauty. The ancient Greeks and Romans identified the rose with the goddess of love - Aphrodite/Venus.

I find it worth mentioning here that the rose is the national flower of two great nations - England and the United States of America. It is the provincial flower of Alberta in Canada and the state flower of four US states - Iowa, North Dakota, Georgia and New York.

Whatever the occasion roses are almost always a favorite choice, despite its stems having prickles. And the color red seems to be the most attractive one. After all it is the color commonly associated with passion - most especially love!

Incidentally, the rose is the birth flower of the month of June. Do you know yours?

 faces beam with smiles
as eyes are drawn to a scene
hundreds of roses


oo0oo


eyes on red roses
a sweet loving thought creeps in
hubby's favorite

Watching television is a favorite pastime for most people regardless of age. Unless there's something pressing that  needs my attention, I do watch some shows. Motivations vary. Updates on what's happening here and abroad, thirst for knowledge, vicarious travel. And of course entertainment - a good dose of laughter and smiles, sometimes even tears.

Just like many Filipinos I easily get hooked to soap operas. I used to sit on my rocking chair watching a string of telenovelas after supper. Not now anymore. There's only one I'm following and it's aired at noontime on weekdays.

This particular telenovela has definitely that kilig element that attracts millions of followers. The scenes are wholesome even for kids. It has really taken the country by storm. In fact, even Filipinos living/working abroad look forward to this time slot on TFC channel.

You sure know what I'm talking about folks!

waiting for my fave show

a long string of commercials 

i click up button

oo0oo

yellow butterfly

flutters past the glass window

pleasant distraction

oo0oo


rocking on fave chair
eyes on fave soap opera
lunch is getting cold

We are now in the middle of June and, with the rains falling more frequently, I can declare that summertime is indeed over. Time for plants to celebrate!

Waking up in the middle of the night, hearing the sound of raindrops falling on rooftops is such pleasant  music to my ears. Much as I want to savor the sound for long, its rhythm easily lulls me back to sleep. Even during mid morning rains,  the temptation to steal a few minutes of sleep is oftentimes irresistible. Well, no cause for worry. Yielding to this kind of temptation, I firmly believe, can never ever be a sin. 

cute little rivers 

running along rooftop grooves

 wednesday morning rain

oo0oo

the spattering sound

of rain falling on rooftops

pulls me back to bed


oo0oo


rooftops come alive
with the dancing of raindrops
music finds its voice

Having borne the brunt of summer heat for many weeks, the Bermuda grass on our lawn did turn brownish for some time. Thanks to sudden sporadic rains and drizzles they have slowly regained their healthy green color. Thicker and taller they grew too.

After a few days battle with a pair of shears, of course  not me holding it, our lawn  now looks prettier. A well-manicured lawn is surely a pleasant sight to anyone. So refreshing to the eyes. And the feel of thick green Bermuda grass on bare feet is just so comforting.

With stronger rains the past few days the green grass have turned greener. Still recovering though are small patches of brown. As more rains come, they'll soon disappear from view and nothing but green will remain. A scene I am looking  forward to with great anticipation! 

map of green and brown

handiwork of recent rains

and a pair of shears

oo0oo

like small islets

floating in a sea of green

brown patches on lawn

Sunsets evoke different feelings among viewers. While some view a sunset with awesome delight, others may look at it with lonesome sadness or soothing tranquility. Whatever emotion it creates in the heart of a viewer must be largely conditioned by thoughts prevailing at the moment.

The beauty and magnificence of a sunset vary wherever it is viewed. This particular shot shown below was taken somewhere in Bogo City of Cebu by a good friend of my youngest son. Enamored by its beauty, I am sharing it in this blog, with the kind permission of the one who took it. Thanks Lem!

time before sundown

crown of pinkish orange clouds

embellish the sky

oo0oo


a heavenly crown
floats above two giant rocks
as the sun breathes bye

Facebook is indisputably the most popular social networking site today. For many, a day is never complete without it. It shouldn't be shocking at all to know that there are young people who open and close their day reading/posting news feeds and messages on Facebook. 

While others my age may find it so unproductive, for me time spent on Facebook is happy, unwinding time. Through it I am updated of happenings in the lives of people who matter in my life. Links shared offer me insightful reads and moments of joy and laughter. And tears too if the story is so touching.

It is just so amazing how technology has made photo sharing so easy. A shot taken now can be seen by family and friends as close as a few seconds after it's posted on Facebook. No more waiting for the mail to come. Such a joyful relief to loved ones separated by oceans.

The photo shown below was posted by my son just a few hours ago. I so love it that I decided to make it the subject of my post today. How I miss this threesome! 

lazy afternoon

 sweet scene of cuddling threesome

papa with twin sons

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lips caught in motion

a pout a frown and a smile

papa with twin sons

One reward I get from maintaining this blog, among many others understandably, is the knowledge I gain on whatever topic I search on the net related to my post. Questions I need answers to are easily settled with a mere click or two on my laptop. Thanks to the power of Google search!

Is a bug an insect? I had to be sure and a Google search came to my rescue. Indeed it is! All bugs are insects but not all insects are bugs! If I were to explain it mathematically - the set of bugs is a subset to the set of insects.

Funny but I just recall a lesson in Geometry on plane figures. Is a square a rectangle? Of course it is! All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares!

What a way to end this short essay!

while having my walk

 a lovely bug on a leaf

catches my two eyes

oo0oo

seldom seen insect

flies in and hops on a leaf

i pause from my walk

oo0oo

sun-kissed vine leaf

welcomes multicolored bug

sniffing its flowers

Coral vine, or cadena de amor as we commonly call it, is widespread here in the Philippines. Some gardens cultivate this climbing perennial plant to adorn fences. They need not be cultivated though for they easily grow on soil where birds drop the seeds. In fact, left to spread on their own in open spaces, they can be seen as noxious weeds even with the blooming flowers.

Chain of love! I can see you nodding in agreement to this literal translation of cadena de amor. Undoubtedly, this explains why a turning-over-responsibility ceremony in high school usually called the JS Prom is oftentimes referred to as a cadena-de-amor ceremony. No need to elaborate for most of us experienced this particular ceremony before moving on to college life.

It is interesting to note that the leaves and flowers of coral vines can be consumed as food by humans. I just learned from my reading that in Thailand they are flour-coated and fried and served with noodles.  How about trying it folks?

butterfly on leaf
adds beauty to coral vine
climbing an old fence

oo0oo


cute pinkish flowers
 their beauty many ignore
not the butterfly


oo0oo


captured on paper
a fresh scene she sees outside
butterfly on vine

One late afternoon  at Novotel Ploenchit my sponsor friend suggested  snacks before we go out. Shown the attractive choices on the menu card, I gladly settled for a slice of black forest cake. For one thing, I wanted to satisfy my curiosity on how delicious it would compare to the rest I've savored in the past - Goldilocks, Red Ribbon, or where else.

The moment of truth came when the plate was delivered to our table. Wow! My eyes opened wide in  great delight at the artistic presentation. Curly strips of dark chocolate surrounding an icing-like mixture topped with a luscious red cherry. And for added effect, a tapering ribbon-like chocolate strip, with rows of flower designs on one side, winding its way upward. All these as toppings of the main cake. 

Such a mouth-watering sight before me! Nothing remained on the plate for I consumed everything to the last bit.  The best black forest cake I've ever tasted in my whole life! 

the rain still falling

a mouth-watering plate

taste buds' great delight


oo0oo


pleasant crunchy sound
as choco topping crumbles
inside my sweet mouth

In one of my posts last March I highlighted one of the tourist attractions in our province – the Loboc River Cruise. For today’s post I would like to share an experience cruising along a different river in a foreign land - the Chao Phraya River. It is the major river in Thailand and it flows through Bangkok.

In the evening that followed our Grand Palace Tour  we were treated to a sumptuous dinner while on board a luxury boat - the Chao Phraya Princess. The atmosphere inside the boat was just so romantic. There was live music from a versatile saxophonist. And a lovely Thai lady entertained us with sultry songs, a few in Thai, as well as lively ones that made the guests want to dance.

A day cruise along Loboc River is so refreshing because of the fresh air and lush vegetation on both sides. Cruising along Chao Phraya River at night offers a totally different experience. Ethereally enchanting! What makes it so? On both sides of the river are historical landmarks of Thailand that glow during the night. The lights seen from a distance made me feel as if I was in a different world.

on a river cruise

savoring bangkok by night
long time dream no more

oo0oo


ethereal feeling
cruising along chao phraya
the glow of landmarks

A couple of months ago I decided to transfer two gumamela plants still in their pots. They didn't look healthy in their previous location, partly hidden they were from the sun. Rarely did they produce flowers. And small ones they were, if ever.

They have found a new home, right below our dining room window. How they must have breathed a sigh of relief that very day they were transplanted. With a daily dose of the morning sun, except on a rainy day of course, these gumamela plants have shown how vibrant they can be.

The view this morning was a first time. One plant with five flowers smiling their widest golden smiles! An awesomely beautiful display that made my heart sing!  

a lovely morning
lovelier with golden smiles
hibiscus in bloom


oo0oo


kissed by the sun's rays
flowers respond with sheer joy
smiles so sweet and warm