Reflections

Moonlight

The true joy of a moonlit night is something we no longer understand.  Only the men of old, when there were no lights, could understand the true joy of a moonlit night. ~ Yasunari Kawabata

Dawn

We went down into the silent garden.  Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence.  Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.  ~ Leonora Carrington

Sunset

In silence the three of them looked at the sunset and thought about God. ~ Maud Heart Lovelace

Linking to Mandarin Orange-Monday

Monday Mellow Yellows

Shades of yellow [Photo Hunt]

@ mirandablue
gold hibiscus

Yellow is one of my favorite colors in nature.  Yellow flowers are especially warm and cheerful, and like bright sunshine, this color is energizing.

@ mirandablue
chartreuse Cymbidium

Chartreuse is halfway between yellow and green.  Other shades of chartreuse have been described as apple green, lime green, light grass green, light green with a tinge of yellow.

@ mirandablue
golden trumpet

The golden trumpet was blooming in my aunt's yard last summer.  I have been looking for the name of the yellow bud below---I thought it was hibiscus but it's not.  

@ mirandablue

Carambola or star fruit is a tropical fruit, the flavor is reminiscent of citrus fruit and varies from quite sour to mildly sweet.  It is usually used to flavor soups, salads, fish and meat dishes, also as garnish.  Looking at this fresh ripe carambola makes me crave for some.:p

@ mirandablue
carambola or star fruit

Enjoy Photo-Hunt

Rainy day

@ mirandablue

It's another dark, rainy day here.  I wish I could stay home all day and just snuggle with Fritz and watch TV.  But there are things that I need to do this afternoon, which I hate doing---it deals with a certain government agency.  I am also expecting traffic to be bad today. To paraphrase a beautiful quote, "One thing a person must always save for a rainy day is patience."

For Thursday 2 Questions - you are invited to answer and join:

1.  What is your favorite rainy day quote?

2.  When was the last time you danced in the rain?

@ mirandablue

Rain-kissed [Watery/Outdoor Wednesday]

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head
with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

~ Langston Hughes

Posted for Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday

Tied [PH and CC]

"Humanity is a knot, a web, a mesh into which relationships are tied."

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Posted for Photo-Hunt and Color Carnival

"Beauty, like people, comes in all colors."

Ferris Wheel at MoA - Color Carnival

A colorful Ferris wheel inside the SM Mall of Asia, one of Storyland's kid-friendly rides.

SM Mall of Asia is the 2nd largest shopping mall in the Philippines and the 4th largest mall in the world. The mall attracts a daily foot traffic of 200,000 people. After it's opening in mid-2006, it took me about 4 or 5 visits before I found my way around without asking security guards and mall personnel for directions. I still get lost in this mall every now and then.:P

Posted for Color Carnival

Colorful necklaces

My first Color Carnival---colorful bunch of necklaces scattered around my work table. I couldn't resist sharing these colorful pieces after visiting Ebie's Color Carnival post. Not part of my daily get-up, but these complete the outfits of many women in some parts of the world. These necklaces were hand-crafted in Cebu and getting ready for their trip to America soon.

Feast your eyes at Color Carnival

Apples and Pears - Ruby Tuesday

A plate of fruits---they're pretty but not edible. These decorative fruits are made of inlaid shells...abalone, pen shell and the white pear was inlaid with a shell locally known as cabebe. The red chopsticks and square dish are functional.:P

red chopsticks with a coco shell and twine inlaid plate

More participants at Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday: gumamela

Gumamela is a shrub that grows from one meter up to 4 meters high. Gumamela is also known as Hibiscus, China Rose and Shoeflower. In the Philippines, gumamela is cultivated as an ornamental plant and comes in many colors---red, yellow, orange, white, purple, pink and other color combination.

Gumamela leaves, usually blended with Rose Hip has long been used in the Middle East and Okinawa as herbal tea. Today, the use of gumamela tea is gaining worldwide popularity. This flower is associated with longevity. As herbal medicine, gumamela flower, leaves and roots are used. Gumamela has the following medicinal characteristics: expectorant, diuretic, emollient, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, anodyne and refrigerant. Read more...

Posted for Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday: red pineapple

Here's a beautiful native Philippine red pineapple I stumbled at the forest in Tayabas. In 2007, Philippines was the second in the world production of pineapple at 233 metric tons. Costa Rica was number 1, and Cote d'Ivoire came third. Aside from puree, juice concentrates, canned products, dried and fruit cocktail, native Philippine red pineapple is also an excellent source of pina fiber.

But do you know how the pineapple got a skin covering that resembles a human eye?

There's a myth that most Filipino children must have heard while seated at her or his grandmother's lap. It started with a farm girl named Pina who lived with her mom as tenants in a fruit plantation. Her mom was the hard-working type, and Pina was also hard-working---but not with the household chores. She loved playing all the time. The myth goes on to say that the mother, used to being too vocal with her careless ill wishes or curses on people who didn't delight her, was liberal on such habit on her daughter, Pina.

One day, the myth says, Pina’s procrastinations went too far for her mom to tolerate them anymore. The mother told Pina to get her wooden shoes from the under their hut. Pina went down their hut and looked under it. But on seeing her old rag doll, Pina's imagination started working. She was soon playing with the doll and forgot all about her task. Her usual dialogue of “I didn't see it,” when actually she wasn’t searching but playing, did it this time. Her mom shouted invectives at her and a curse---“May you grow dozens of eyes!” so Pina would stop mentioning her favorite dialogue. Then suddenly, Pina disappeared.

A search party looked all over the plantation for Pina but they couldn't find her. Then Pina’s mom saw a curious new plant growing at their backyard. It was covered with eyes. She remembered her latest curse on Pina and knew the plant was her. From then on, she called the plant, a pineapple, or “Pinya” in Filipino.

The myth on the origin of pineapple aims at fostering obedience, and that parents ought to watch how they deal with their kids.

Posted for Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday: Audrey, Jr.

This strange red flower is straight out from the Little Shop of Horrors. Do you remember that 80's movie? This flower reminds me of a mysterious plant in that movie that has a craving for blood.:D My brother thought this is the plant where green peas come from! I found it in my aunt's garden when I visited her on New Year's day. Any idea what this flower is called?


Update:  This exotic plant is called Vietnamese Mickey Mouse plant, Hoa Mai, Ochna integerrima.

green peas???

with a lethal injection :D

mickey, is that you?

Posted for Ruby Tuesday

A poem in macro

I caught a wandering petal
Floating on a dreamy hush
Of a soft, still morning
The sunshine slants
To caress the tender, gypsy soul
As it glides across
A haze of green and gold
Landing gently
Without making a ripple
On a dewy blade of grass
Quivering
In drops of poignant,

Wistful tears.

@ luna 4.24.2008