The panorama on the sunrise side: an awesome view of Malarayat

The quiet panorama on the sunrise side of the farm: an awesome view of Mount Malaráyat and the river below the gap.

20 January 2013

Philippine Tree of the Month: Pili


Towering in the garden in less than five years is a Píli tree (Canarium ovatum), one of the very first seedlings we planted when we started here in San Celestino. I first appreciated this tree on a trip to Bicol, then to Negros Occidental. Apart from its delicious nuts, it is a handsome specimen tree and a sturdy hardwood.

Little did I know then that it is endemic to the Philippines, and comes in several varieties, all naturally occurring only in our country.

13 January 2013

Home-Grown Lunch




How I wish we can always have dishes that are practically all grown or raised by us! Our lunch on this cool and damp day is nilagang manok, from our own free-range chickens and mustard leaves we've grown from seeds (below). Even the ginger we used is our own produce!