THE TROUBLE WITH GARDENING

There's just too much work to do in the garden, and thinking about it makes you want to quit sometimes. But then, little by little, a 20 meter plot is almost ready for planting after many days of hard work. There's so much investment there: time, labor (yours, and a hired hand) and yes, love! and you just can't leave it bare.

While this may sound like you're making a mountain out of a molehill to those who haven't tried it, I'm sure many gardeners would agree. I mean, only gardeners experience the frustrations in this line of work - frustrations like weeds, pests, too much rain ( or lack of it), sweltering heat and just like what we had a few days ago, stormy weather. And in your frustrated mind you asked questions like why do weeds grow faster than your pampered broccoli? Why of all the plants and weeds and grass and shrubs that grow in abundance nearby, pests choose to nibble on young leaves of your squash? Why can't a weather be good all the time? Why can't it stop raining? Why do typhoons come when the corn is in its most vulnerable?

But then, like everything else, these problems end, one by one. The weather becomes favorable, the pests find the maturing leaves too hard and brittle for their liking and weeds succumbed to constant assault. The compost that you put in your plot just started to take effect and your veggies growing just fine. That's when you find yourself humming a tune while pottering around the garden. You see the first huge yellow flower of squash and to you, it seems like a child's brilliant smile and you smile back! Frustrations? What frustrations? Hah!

The first sign of success perks you up so you made plans last night. Still you can't decide which vegetable to plant next to the bunching onions. Tomatoes? Snap beans? Peanuts? Radish? Melon? A bit of a problem as you can see when you have too many choices. Of course, it won't be too difficult to decide if you didn't buy all those packets of all those seeds!

You wake up earlier nowadays - too early a few times so you impatiently sit on the doorstep, waiting for the sun to show up. Even then, your impatience is rewarded (as if you deserve it). Just before the sun appears above the horizon, the colors of the spectrum tinting the sky greets you. As you walk through a thinning fog and open the garden gate, the waft of dew- laden grass awakens the senses.

The thought of quitting disintegrates.

And that's the other trouble of gardening. You just can't quit.

Island Fever

 

 

The sandbar at Puntod Island of Panglao forms a letter C during low tide.  It's one of my favorite places in Bohol. You can see the Balicasag Island from here.

This is Puntod Island silhouetted against the horizon.  We were about a kilometer away from the island when I took this shot.

The boat we rented during our island hopping.

The day started and ended beautifully...with little mishaps and serendipity along the way. . .

On the way to Panglao Island via Causeway and Tagbilaran Fishing Port route. This tranquil view of  Banat-i Hill and Baclayon coastline is one of the gift nature freely gives to travellers.

Seven months.  That's how long ago since the last time I used this computer. As a blogger, that's a major sin of omission. 

A rather drastic change of lifestyle actually-from a city mouse to town mouse.  Now I'm using spading fork instead of laptop to do a day's work.

My friends' reactions differed.  Some said it was a stupid move to quit my job. That's expected. Heck, I even thought it was indeed stupid when my first musk melon plot suffered from fungi attack due to heavy rains. But you know what? When what you're doing is what you really want to do all along, that's all that matters. In my case, frustrations like fungi attack is nothing compared to the satisfaction of harvesting bumper tomatoes or sweetcorn. Or munching a crispy lettuce leaf straight from your garden! Nothing's quite like it. And that's just the tangible side of things.

So now you know. Posts for sally's musings will be a bit different from now on. I'd probably be babbling about my garden...if I could, I'll post some photos too...

That's all for today.  

SCAMS AND SCHEMES!!

I know you've heard this before but I am saying it anyway:  Earning money online is easy IF you know how to do it.  But if you are a newbie, expect to be discouraged after a few months.  I mean, if you tried signing up on PTC sites like I did, I am sure you earned a little, like 2 to 10 dollars. Some PTC sites pay you two to three times but after that, they just refuse to pay, saying that you have to invest money first before you get paid, as if spending time clicking their ads is not an investment  already. So you rent referrals who are mostly either inactive or just plain lazy to click. And you rented them for a month at $0.22 each.  So what happens is that you are losing instead of earning more because you have rented some lousy referrals.  And before you knew it, it's time for renewal. My advice is,
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The French says je t'aime;  Germans, Ich liebe dich; Italians, ti voglio bene; Filipinos,  iniibig kita, to name just a few of the  different translations of the English sentence I love you. And somewhere, right now, someone is saying that to someone special, the object of his or her affection. Some people though find it so hard to say I love you. Why is that? Well, the reason for one person may vary from yours, but mostly it's one or two of the following:
Firstly, saying I love you needs courage.  Lots of it. Why? Because when you say  "I love you", 
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Dumaluan Beach, Panglao, Bohol

Dumaluan Beach of Panglao Island is one of the most frequented beach resorts in Bohol. It's area is big enough to accommodate hundreds. As you can see in the picture, Dumaluan  has white sand and full of trees like coconuts (lots of it), talisay, and other native trees that usually grow near salty water. They are really a great plus factor as they provide shade from the scorching sun during summer and act also as wind breaker during habagat season (southwest monsoon).
It is best to go there on weekdays because weekends are usually the days for families to have  a picnic but if you really have to, reserve a hut in advance. The good thing about renting a hut is that you can stay for as long as you want. There are huts (about 50) that are open on both sides and also enclosed nipa huts for those who want privacy. The rent for a nipa hut (private) is 1000 pesos  (about 20-22 USD) for one day (24 hours) accommodation. There are bigger rooms available too for those who want to stay longer.  Like most resorts, Dumaluan also have the amenities for scuba diving, island hopping, dolphin watching, kayaking, kite gliding and they also have a boat with glass floor (it's like snorkelling without getting wet).

Unlike those resorts along the Alona strip where the night-life is rather too "lively", at Dumaluan, you'll experience nature and quiet. Although there are times when parties are celebrated, they usually sizzle out at midnight. The favorite pasttime however is beach-combing, hiking or jogging along the beach. So for those who want to relax, Dumaluan is the right place to be.

For reservation, log on to  http://www.dumaluanbeach.com/reservations.php or
email @ resort@dumaluanbeach.com

Landline no.: (+63)038-5029092
Fax no.:(+63)038-5029081
Mobile no. +639178834888

pickpockets galore?

Just this morning, my sister called from the pier, asking me to look inside her bedroom to see if she'd left her wallet there.  It wasn't there... not in her room, not in her daughter's, not in the living room, nowhere inside the house. Although, and I really hope so, there's a chance that she left it inside her wardrobe cabinet (which is locked).  But the thing is, her shoulder bag's zipper was open when she arrived at the pier. And her wallet gone. She was riding on a tricycle with another passenger whom the driver picked up on the way to the pier. Of course, the other passenger's stop changed after he (allegedly) got what he wanted.

Similar stories like this has been told and heard. It's an annoying fact that this crime is rampant and shows no sign of stopping and of being stopped or solved by authorities concerned. It's an annoying fact that we have to exert more effort trying hard not to become a victim of such crime. I mean, there you are, travelling alone, afraid, and defensive. What could be more exhausting than that?