Balanoy

On a recent trip south of Metro Manila we had a pit stop at a gas station: to split a big bowl of lomi and have a bladder break. I want to extol the yummy dish but this is not a food blog. 

Just a couple of steps to the station's toilet was some firewood and a bunch of some plant resting in a pail of water. There must be something to this unfamiliar (to me) plant. Why was it being kept in water (though obviously it was already more dried out than fresh)? Must be an herb that went into the dish. A trade secret, i thought.

Until i passed their shelf of assorted snacks...

Look closer and you'll notice that sprigs of the same plant sit atop the goodies. That's when i asked the woman tending the store for the name of the plant. Turns out that this plant known to locals as balanoy is being used as some kind of lucky charm. I thought, too, that it was there to ward off undesirable cockroaches, or even ants and moths that could spoil the goods.

There must be something more to the balanoy than mere superstition. Known also as the solasi, this plant is also the Sweet Basil according to what i found on the web. If so, balanoy then is your very useful herb in the kitchen.

Cosmotology

This flower called the Cosmos has broad sunny rays that shoot  out from a disk of minute florets. Not your high-end ornamental and may be dismissed as all too common. It shoots straight up as if to announce that the day is filled with so much potential. Stay with it a little longer and it will show you its generosity. You will find that this plant keeps on flowering for months. 

With this, your garden will be a butterfly magnet -- the cosmos universe obviously in agreement.

Hairy Flowers

I don't know what these flowers are. My first time to see such unique blooms that look like fruit still waiting to be harvested. In the shade they look like light bulbs of a chandelier. 

Here's another hirsute beauty:

This one is the Red Hot Cat-tail which also the Chenille (French for caterpillar) plant. Are you not tempted to run your fingers through these avant-garde flowers? 

Moss on the Road to Work

What makes the walk from my house to the corner jeepney stop so calming is the row of moss-covered base of walls which hold court in the shade. This velvety smooth yellow-green carpet is a boon to still very sleepy eyes.

Nature has a way of dressing up rough surfaces, of spreading a mantle, of concealing the otherwise ugly man-made structures. They have a sort of calming presence. 

Carnation on My Table

Don't you just love it when you get a table at a restaurant that has a nice touch such as this? One pink carnation is all it takes to set the mood for a nice conversation over lunch. It's that little extra that does it. 

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower.                                  - Georgia O'Keeffe

Of course they had to take it away to make space for the dishes we ordered. But while it sat there,  it was ours, even for a brief moment.

Dream Garden

After a restful night i awaken early to the songs of birds who announce the newness of the day. I get up, walk outside slowly, mindfully, prayerfully. A heartsong bursts forth as my eyes notice new fruit. I look forward to investing in today.

 

How can one walk past a rainbow of zinnias and not feel blessed? It tells me that it is all right in my world no matter the chaos in the world at large.

Sanctuary, this truly is. Everything contained. Everything thriving. Everything at peace. And now, let me have my cup of tea.

Gift of Healing

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” 
― Rachel Carson 

Try as we might to capture a thing of beauty forever, at best we can make only representations of what floors us in nature. We can immortalize it in paintings and photographs or even leave it etched in our memory. However nature is absorbed --- in itself or in our replications --- healing is given to our spirit.

Take a stroll in the park, go somewhere rustic, tend your garden. Or start painting. Soak it all in and receive the gifts.