Bananas... Yummy!

After 4 or 5 long months of waiting, the bananas Tatang and I raised in our backyard finally started ripening. We cut the main twig of 10 bunches. Well, the locals call it Tarnate, one that’s atleast similar to Tordan. The type is not usually sold in the market with its thin skin. It can easily rot or at least wane  its sweetness. I was surprised when Tatang cut the whole tree after. He said it won’t bear fruits anymore. I didn’t have anything to reprimand him and besides he already cut the whole plant (haha).

Winter Breeze...

Summer is fast approaching [should be] yet the climate suggests the other way around. Dry season in the Philippines has intensified these past few weeks as the winter monsoon causes gust and atmospheric turbulence with irregular rainfalls [showers from a crying sky, laughs]. Well, actually, it has started last December and will last until April [as far as I believe] with the peak of cold dry winds during February [hence, why we feel it immensely this extent].

At night, I can really experience the chilling effects of a draft as winter breeze rushes into my room. It brings about a sound sleep causing sometimes a simple catnap to be a slumber. I am actually preparing for an entrance exam in a medical school in Manila but I can’t help but fall asleep early at night when cold air from afar [in the field] The verve I have developed to cause my concentration to review is always disrupted by the tempting and nippy wind [wheee...]

I have to rush things now. I have lots of subjects to deal with, formulas to practice, concepts to revisit, terms to redefine, and the like. My aim is of course not just to pass the coming exam but rather most importantly to exceed the standards set by the school and have myself qualified for admission. Well, high hopes should always prevail.  c;  You, winter breeze, is something I have to conquer! Haha... You are now regarded as my finest obstacle along with sleepy and lazy night-time hours. Zzzz...

Green Thumb

              Early today I have transferred my tomato seedlings from the nursing pots to the soil. It reminded me then the times when I was still in my grade school years cultivating the soil in our backyard and growing vegetables and fruits. I always join my dad whenever he’s to plant trees both in the farm and in our yard. Today, coconut trees serve as natural fence and lot boarders in our compound. I used to have a row for pechay, tomatoes, squash and eggplants of which seeds came from dried fruits and flowers of the said veggies. I also have had a mini-garden with golden bush shrubs, the mayana and oregano herbs, euphorbias and santans. At the middle was a starfruit (balimbing) tree to which I had 2 orchids and red-orange ornament from Bocaue. Honestly, I presume I really have the gardening skill as everybody in our place commends me to have the so-called green thumb. Well I think what inspired me to start planting was my Inang who was at that time enthusiastic to grow crops in her farm. While Tatang’s busy in his ricefield, Inang grew corns, peanuts, string beans, squash and pechays. There were also lady’s fingers (okra), bitter gourds (ampalaya), bottle gourds (upo), sponge gourd (patola) and winged beans (bataw). From the underground tubers and bulbs to low-lying shrubs, from crops with prop roots to green leafy v’s with stunning tendrils , the whole farm created an astounding collection of glittering foliage and nutritious produce. However, I think, as years went by and as she grows older and feeble, she was no longer capable of doing farm activities. The same thing goes for my case as I became engaged to school and other related activities.

           

            After almost a decade, I am once more into a backyard project [well at least for the moment while waiting for the next academic year, c;]. Last October, my Tatang and I transferred 3 banana suckers in our backyard and one has already bear fruits since late November [though ‘til now, the fruits are not ripe] and it will take atleast 2 months more [sighs]. Our papayas are great. We have harvested many fruits for long same for my calamansi. Right now, am still nursing some ampalaya, squash and bell pepper seedlings, hoping that next week they’ll be ready for transfer.

            The funny thing here is, ironically, while I love growing vegetables, I certainly do not like consuming them [well at least I choose some recognizing the need to have them in my diet]. I eat cabbage, pechay, squash, carrots, tomatoes and water spinach [oh so great, in sinigang or simple blanch], toasted garlic and onions, potatoes and taro. I don’t know why but I just don’t like string beans, ampalaya [well it’s bitter anyway], okra, eggplant, cucumbers and family, mustards and a lot more [laughs]. I was actually raised in a farm but I just don’t have the taste for much of the veggies. All I know is I enjoy growing them, in a detail I know, protecting them from occasional weeds and opportunistic insects  until the right time comes and have them harvested.