Simply Belle

Took these pictures today.

These are the birds that come in our backyard on a daily basis. They love our bird baths. First, they come and take a bath, turn around and poop in it, and take a nice big drink. Ehew!!! How unsanitary!

Has anyone of you seen hummingbirds? If not, look at the first two pictures. See, how small they are? They are the smallest birds in the world, about ohhh, 2 inches in length. They can only be found in north and south America. They are known for their ability to hover in mid-air by quickly flapping their wings. They are the only birds that can fly backwards. They can hover stationary, too. Talking about agility! They are a delight to watch especially those with interesting colors. So far, we have two hummingbirds in our backyard, but later in the summer, they come in droves and in different kinds.

Sometimes, there are 4 or 6 hummingbirds vying for a place at one feeder. Males are very aggressive and territorial. They will chase anyone hovering around their feeder and this goes on all day. I often wonder how those less aggressive ones get their meal.

This Black Chinned hummingbird finally sneaked in and had a chance to get his meal without getting chased by Anna, the aggresor. He/she must be scaring other one or must have dozed off. See Anna in the next picture.

I presume, this is Anna because of the iridescent pink colors on the head. You can barely see it. Click on the picture for better image.

I believe the next two pictures are gold finches. Finch is shown doing his usual bath-poop-drink routine.

Lovely gold finch on the Juniper tree. Juniper tree, by the way, gives out pollen that affects most people here including myself. We can’t escape from it because our forest is surrounded with it. Nasty tree!

I carefully took this picture of the quail through the blind from my bedroom.

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As suggested for posting by my dear hubby.

kamote lifted at http://www.philippines.hvu.nl/vegetables1.htm

On the way to Virac, at Tilod, Baras, my husband spotted a pig alongside the road. Stop! Stop! he yelled. “I want to take pictures of the pig.” Well, we had cooked kamotes in our car that we enjoyed eating for snack as they were delicious. You know when you have been away for so long, this root food suddenly becomes delightful.
When I was young, I usually complained when my mother fed us kamote for breakfast before going to school.

I whined “kamote na naman!

“It won’t help me get through lunch especially I have to walk 3 kilometers to school in the morning” I added.

Well, I could either starve or force myself to eat it. On our recent trip to bikol, ironically, I mainly stuffed myself with this kind of food. It even appealed to my Japanese and American friends to the extent that they even favored it over any other popular local goodies to bring to Manila for our baon. What so funny is, while in hotel lobby, my friend offered kamote to one of the filipino guests only to be refused. I told my friend, kamote is considered a peasant food. She was completely surprised because not only it is preservative-free, sugar-free, organic, cheap, delicious, and at this day and age when obesity is rampant and health problems are on the rise, this food is nothing but good stuff. We ate it with fresh shredded coconut flakes and lato. It reminded her of Japanese white potato.

I got sidetracked…let me finish my story…

Anyway, my husband took the kamote and fed the pig with it. The pig looked customarily hungry, not wanting to deny any handouts, a beggar at heart. We were yelling at my husband not to feed kamote to the pig on his palm as the pig might chomp on it. Of course, he ignored our warnings. Evidently, he knew what he was doing as he raised horses before. He cupped his hand so it would be safe. The pig ate the kamote out of his hand and oinked for more…oink! oink! oink! I said “that’s enough, save some for our hungry stomachs,”

In exchange for food, the pig was kind enough to pose for some pictures. He was accomodating and leaned up against the pen to show off his body. My husband and my American friend had a blast! They thought it was cute! The villagers were wondering what was so cute about that creature that all it does is eat, eat, root, and oink all day long.

Of course, he oinked him a thank you.

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Date rolls and dried figs…all raw.

Yesterday, my husband and I went to the city to buy his food supply (healthy stuff), and to dine out in our favorite restaurant. We went on a Friday, my day off, so it was just the two of us. We would have come in three had we gone on a weekend. A was thoroughly disappointed but she figured she couldn’t miss classes as there is only a few weeks before graduation.

We decided to swing by at the health food store before we did our grocery shopping. I didn’t want to go inside because I might just end up buying expensive stuff that we seldom use. My husband insisted I come just so he would not be alone pushing the cart. I stayed for a while in the car deciding if I should come in or not. Then, blogging came to mind. Aha! I could take pictures of his purchases and share it with my blogger-friends.

The store was pretty crowded with narrow isles, crummy, and kind of smelly emanating from herb products and other weird stuff. Now, you know why I was reluctant to go inside. I had the huge camera with me, by the way, too conspicous for the shoppers but I didn’t let it bother me as long I minded my own business. I browsed around the isles, finding something that would interest me. Colorful juices on the shelves caught my attention…blackberry juice, green juice, pomegranate juice, naked juice, carrot juice, grape juice, blueberry juice……and NONI juice. Noni juice? I remember a friend of mine has been preaching about this product years ago. I listened but never really took her seriously. I was already hooked on a different juice called odwalla that contains a lot of properties beneficial for our body. Besides, she told me the product was kind of pricey.

“Why not give it a try,” I murmured. $18 is affordable and with a dose of 4 tablespoons a day, I should get a lot of use out it. Not bad! I brought it to the counter where my husband’s groceries were and had the saleslady ring it up. My husband saw the price and thought it was pricey for a juice. He said, No! With my stern look, I said, Yes! And he acceded. Ha!

I took 2 tablespoons of juice right away since the instructions prefer that it is to be taken on an empty stomach. I hadn’t eaten my breakfast because I was saving it for the big meal. Then, on the way home, after several hours of running around in the mall, I took 2 tablespoon again. The product is laced with taste enhancers like guava juice so the taste is bearable. It would probably even appeal to the taste buds of the kids.

That night, I felt somewhat different. My nose wasn’t clogged as it has been. I have been suffering from severe allergies that started in February and it can linger until end of May. I have tried all kinds of over the counter homeopathic medicines but I never really found the remedy that I was looking for. But now, I finally can breath again through my nose! What a great feeling! It feels heavenly! You know what it is like when your nose is completely clogged? Even drinking water was like a chore. It felt horrible! But now, thanks to NONI, I can breath again.

If you would like to know more information about this product, you may do your own research. Just type in Noni juice. P.S. (I am not paid to write this post.)

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When my husband was reading his book in the front porch overlooking the golf course, he saw a bunch of straw lying on the corner of the porch. He was about to remove it when he wondered where it came from. He looked up above at the vent where the gas fireplace came out of the house and saw the nest. Sure enough, there was a mourning dove laying eggs. So, what do you do? You leave them alone until they are done doing raising their brood and let them raise their chicks.

Suddenly, I heard my husband yelling

“Hurry! I think I might have a good blogging material for you!” my husband yelled.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Just hurry before it is too late and bring the camera!” my husband ordered.

What a cozy and comfortable place to lay eggs. I took picture here and there and she didn’t seem to be bothered by the commotion we were making. The partner was looming around waiting probably for his turn to sit on the eggs but couldn’t do the switcheroo as my husband was right below reading. Ahhh, they shouldn’t be doing their business up there anyway as it is not good for the house. S stayed in the porch as long as he wanted and if they wanted privacy, they should look somewhere else like out in the wooods. But…you know how they are.

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Excerpts from an essay composition that we could all learn from–year 2002.

I am like a river because my life has been a gentle yet somewhat rough flow of experiences that have shaped and molded me into the person that I am today. Just as the river begins as a nebulous rush of water but gradually shapes a distinct path, my life has gradually been shaped through trial and error. However, a river cannot flow without the help of the eroding sands beneath it, and I, too, have had people who have helped me and changed their ways in order to provide me with the best path available.

In all of my turning points and realizations, I chose not to dwell in the past, but, rather, learn from it to prepare me for the future. It is just like a river that never flows backwards–it always continues forward. When an obstacle gets in its way, it either goes around it or flows straight through it. However, a river cannot form without something to shelter it on three sides. My parents provided me with this protection.

My mother was a big influence on me because she taught me how to live comfortably while still appreciating everything. She grew up destitute on a tiny island in the Phil. Just like me, she did not date boys at an early age and was a tomboy. She worked very hard at school and strived to please her parents. She made sure that these values and ideals were instilled in my sister and me. Growing up, she did not shower me with lots of money so I would learn to spend wisely. She always shed tears of joy each time I won an award–even at my lousy choir performance.

From an early age, she taught me how to cook and clean. I have always been helping in the kitchen–baking, cutting, grating, washing, etc. Nowadays, I am too busy to do these things, but I liked doing it when I was little because it made my mom so proud. Now that I am almost going to college, I will know how to care for myself.

My father, on the other hand, always rewarded me whenever I did something good. Whenever I got good grades, he would give me money or a treat. This pushed me to always do my best. I do not get treats anymore from getting good grades, but I have been molded into doing my best that it is now automatic that I put a 100% effort into all my work. He also strives to keep me on the right path by putting me into interesting programs such a piano, ballet, and tap dance.

Throughout the course of my life, I have not paid much attention to how I believe I am perceived to be. I think that I am still learning and still flowing through life. I believe I am wise but a little dumb, friendly, kind, and funny. In the future, I want to be someone that a younger child would look up to. I want to be able to live life happily and hot have any regrets. I know I will go through many more experiences and obstacles, but I just hope that I will go down the right paths. I would have never become the person that I am without other people to help me. I am even thankful for the kids who bullied me, who made fun of me throughout my life because without them, I would never have grown wiser and stronger.

My attitude towards life is a very optimistic one. Since I am lucky enough to have had a wonderful upbringing, my future will only get better. I still believe to this day that no matter how much you practice your religion, what really matters is whether you reflect your belief onto others with kindness and caring. I know that love and happiness are much more valuable than money or possession. I still believe that a person who has many friends and no enemies is richer than a person with a million dollars.

I once heard a story about a little boy talking to his grandma. The little boy asked his grandma what were the ingredients to make a cake. The grandma said they were yeast, sugar, flour, and eggs. The little boy, disgusted, said those ingredients were gross and could not fathom how they could transform into a delicious cake. The grandma replied saying even the worst things can turn into something quite delightful. Just like troubling times can turn crisis into opportunity. After all, a river is made of tiny little atoms, bacteria, and dirt. What is more beautiful is a sight of a crystal clear river running through a beautiful forest.

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