Flowers in The Ruins

These are some shots i took when we had a very quick touristy stop straight from the airport at the oft visited The Ruins in Talisay, Bacolod. I thought that the brave water lily blossoms made this a poignant scene. Where life, love and passion once stood, only a skeleton of what once was remains.

Just yesterday huge tremors shook the south and left centuries old churches in ruins... beautiful frescoes and murals now only a memory.

Yet the spirit, the indomitable spirit will blossom like stubborn flowers in the ruins.

Your Timely Detox

In the photos are the flowers of the Laurel Clock Vine. In the morning they open up to the world and when evening comes they tuck in their petals and bid everyone goodnight, following nature's rhythm and cycles. Such wisdom from the Creator of the whole universe.

There are set rhythms we should avoid tampering with...or turning upside down such as work and rest, being awake and sleeping, night and day.

Listen to your body. Rest if you must. Have some rang jeud tea.

In Malaysia, juice from crushed leaves of T. laurifolia are taken for menorrhagia, placed into the ear for deafness, and applied for poulticing cuts and boils (Burkill, 1966). In Thailand, leaves are used as an antipyretic, as well as an antidote for detoxifying poisons (Kanchanapoom et al., 2002). Several Thai herbal companies have started producing and exporting rang jeud tea (Chan & Lim, 2006). The tea has been claimed to be able to detoxify the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. (Wikipedia)

I used to think Ruffa was a weird name. Pronouncing it seemed like i was disappointed in something or someone was toxic to be around. Would you name your newborn daughter Thunbergia laurifolia? Laurie for short.

Sorry for the disjunction. A detox nap is in order.

Patchwork

 

I found this quilt displayed in a hall in one of the girls' schools in the city. It is big, no one can miss it. Retazos or left over discards swatches of various prints stitched together ---  a hodge-podge of colors and designs which seemingly do not fit at first. When sewn to each other, you begin to see there is nothing random about the pieces.

Like friendship. Without getting to the heart, we feel disjointed and find no bond. But when lives are shared, even the most unseemly types become friends. Each piece has a story: sad, happy, funny... and those tales by which we unravel: animosity, tragedy, hurt... yet mending is always a choice. Can't throw away those bits and pieces of our days which have made the fabric of our lives richer.

Like family.

Like our selves.

Like a garden.

Simply Divine

There is just something about being outdoors early morning right after the rain. The torrid sun is nowhere to assault you, the rest of humanity is just about to get up, and here you are -- the world, this little space in time, is all yours.

Before a barrage of the day's troubles begin, relish the sweet kisses of pink buds and little star-shaped pods that were whispered your way by the Divine before they find their final resting places. The nurturing of one's well-being in this manner is simply divine. 

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?