Lightning is Nature’s Primordial Invention

Electrical energy transforms into chemical energy
passing from the inorganic to the organic world...Dr Abe V Rotor

Lightning is Nature's quick-fix agent converting inert atmospheric Nitrogen into soluble Nitrate compounds that fertilize soil and water, and nourish plants, other autotrophs, and saprophytes principally the mushrooms such as these specimens shown in the following photographs.

Shelf mushroom; Auricularia (tainga ng daga)

Dung mushroom

Oyster mushroom; stinkhorn

All over the globe lightning strikes at one point or another
incessantly night and day, in good or bad weather.

The atmosphere and earth meet in deafening thunder
that accompanies a spark of a thousand atomic bombs
enough to light a city for days if captured and stored.

In the process chemistry combines nitrogen with oxygen,
one-to-three in proportion to form nitrates in tons
and tons in a single bolt, becoming negatively charge
and soluble, riding on the rain to descend to earth.

Nitrate the free radical ion joins a positive ion and forms
combinations of compounds that nourish plants and all
all photosynthetic organisms, and the saprophytes, too
- the mushrooms and their kin of Kingdom Mycophyta.

Wonder the hills and mountains turn green soon after
the first rain in May or even only a shower in April;
afterward the whole landscape builds into a realm
of emerald green as the sky sends boundless energy.

Electrical energy transforms into chemical energy
passing from the inorganic to the organic world, thence
through the living world - the food chain and web,
food pyramid, there into the ecosystems and biomes,
finally to the biosphere that make the earth full of life.

Mysterious are nature's ways, the sun's energy
transforming into electrical energy through lightning,
henceforth building proteins, the building blocks
of all living things, great or small, as they grow and die,
and into the next cycle the process is the same -
ad infinitum. ~

Mushroom - Mankind's ultimate food

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB AM 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Abalone or Plerotus mushroom is a common commercial species - 

adaptable under different conditions, practical and easy to grow. 

Scenarios: 

1. Look under rice stalks (dayami) in the field, under the skirt of mandala. Ureka! Mushrooms!

2. Dig truffles in their underground lair, guided by trained nose of pigs and dogs. 

3. Enter a barn where mushroom is grown in multistorey shelves.

4. Dig an anthill, say tabi-tabi, and find the legendary mushroom called u-ung buntun (Ilk) 

5. Go out in a dark night, look for glowing mushroom - they are phosphorescent.

6. A day or two following an episode of thunder, lightning and heavy rain, go find mushroom under trees, coconut and bamboo groves and banana hills.

7. Lastly, when nuclear war breaks, Heaven forbids! stay in the deep underground shelter, and farm the only complete food that does not need sunlight -  in fact loves total darkness. The Mushroom is mankind's food for suvival in prolonged nuclear torm.

Eighteen Verses in a Garden

Eighteen Verses in a Garden

Dr Abe V Rotor

Wall Mural SPUQC (AV R)

Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Red, red, oh, the bleeding drops of red,
Erythryna, Erythrina,
Stain my palms and feet and my side
And I shall never doubt Him again,
Nevermore, nevermore!

2. Euphorbia splendens, that name is honor
for your lowly kind with cruel thorns,
for you surpass the glory of the Sequoia;
bestowed a throne on the head of the Holy One
flows the color of your flower,
flows the faith of a multitude.

3. Touch me not.
Yet I did.
Shy to my touch.
You shrunk.

Touch me not.

4. They say you are a False Bird of Paradise
left behind after the Fall;
with one sweep of the mighty sword
to smite the sinful, you survived,
and now bear the color of that sword
as golden as your soul.

5. Yellow bells:
what chime,
what song,
what music,
what message
come forth
from you
in the morning
of your full bloom?

Shhh... listen.


6. Lantana, odorous yet amorous
in many mysterious ways,
leaving scent in the misty air,
trails for some beautiful wings,
a kaleidoscope of sun rays.

7. Wings, wings - they are not all that fly,
or they fly in the mind, like fragrance
riding in purest colors, as dewdrops
become nectar, and nectar into dewdrops,
greeting the morning sun,
sinking, sinking, gone.

8. I like the fig; it is mysterious:
its flowers ensconced inside its fruit
become seeds by the wand
of a wasp, a fairy in disguise
to bestow the humble a prize.

9. Grow, grow fast with the season,
Ride high on the southeast monsoon;
Grow, grow fast and hide in the mist,
Before the caterpillars have their feast.

10. Dress up quickly and beam with valor;
Youth is fleeting for both frail and bold;
Play with the sun in rainbow's colors,
After the equinox, the wind grows cold.

Yellow waterlily, SPUQC Garden

11. Mimicry's the name of the game,
all in survival's name;
defense and offense,
conceit and deceit -
cloaked in beauty
or nonsense.

12. We love to play the flower game"
"Loves me, love me not." It's also sane.
If I ask, "What do other creatures gain?"
Ask the butterflies, the bees and the bane.

Bromeliads

13. Bromeliad - trees would be bare without you;
You hang on their limbs, and blossom, too;
Deep in your bosom some little ponds lie,
Oasis to fish, frog and dragonfly.

14. How sweet it is to recall
memories beyond the hall;
the meanest flower of the vale,
the simplest note that swells the gale;
the morning sun, the air and skies -
it's keyhole to Paradise.

Climbing velvet vine across a fence. Don Antonio Heights 2, QC

15. There is a beautiful maid, her bonnet velvet -
it is all but in the mind enslaved:
Annals of suffering clouded into the night,
Soon die with this pretty sight.

16. Jewels in the morning designed,
to rave the sensuous mind;
in the morning they sparkle,
at noon droop and wrinkle,
bleated and dry and blind.

17. Frolic while it's May,
before the sun's last ray;
blessed in the blossomed hour
of an ephemeral flower.

18. "Do sheep eat flowers with thorns?"
Asked the Little Prince a grownup.
Roses may have the answer,
But we humans miss the point. ~

We Can Re-Create the Garden of Eden

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog 
 Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio 
738 KHz DZRB AM Band, 8-9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Arch of the Centuries and Fountain of Knowledge, University of Santo Tomas, Manila

What really make gardens beautiful may draw two schools of thought – Romanticism and Functionalism. But a typical Philippine garden for one does not take side on the issue – it portrays both schools in an integrated, harmonious design patterned after the richest and the most enviable biome on earth – the Tropical Rainforest.

And here are gardens to see - the Sunken Garden of UP Diliman QC at the back of the Oblation, and the UST Botanical Garden along España in downtown Manila. And for more extensive gardens, go to San Fernando La Union Botanical Garden in Cadaclan at the foothills of Cordillera. When picnicking at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center visit the vegetation along the lakeshore.

There are striking features of a garden. For example at UST, there are man-made waterfalls.  Trace the flow on a meandering rocky stream that ducks under a footbridge before plunging into the depth of a pond, its bottom murky and cool and rich in detritus. Here clams and snails, and other bottom dwellers, mostly decomposers reside, shy from the sun and ensconced in the very food source that settles down. Such is the niche of these sessile, benthos creatures.

A Garden of Algae and Mosses

The running stream at the UP Sunken Garden keeps the environment fresh and cool, lapping on the rocks and sending spray on its banks. Small waterfalls and boulders lay along its path.  Here thick algae and mosses layer after layer form a carpet on which another niche is found - the domain of bryophytes in Lilliputian imagery, or one depicted in the movie, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

But the ultimate source of water is the sky, from clouds that gather and grow atop the forest.  Transpiration from trees on one hand and evaporation on the other attract clouds, pulling them down in shower or downpour at anytime of the day or night. It is for this phenomenon that this biome got its name - rainforest.

The garden’s design simulates this condition. The waterfall, streams, a large fountain and a series of ponds maintain high humidity in their environs. High humidity and continuous supply of water are crucial in the formation of multi-storey vegetation and subsequently the presence of a myriad of resident organisms.

An Evolving Ecosystem

It may take years for a new garden to approximate the structure of a typical rainforest. In the process visitors may not be aware of the slow transformation, one sere after another until a climax community is formed, a true measure of it is homeostasis or dynamic balance. The scientific and aesthetic aspects are interesting to study. Inference can be drawn on the viewpoint of ethico-morals that governs man of his role in God’s creation – and the transformation of man himself as one good and faithful steward of the environment.

A botanical garden is thus transforming deliberately like an evolving ecosystem. It is Nature’s laboratory and a playing field of biological diversity.

Drynaria fern on a tree in acrylic AVR

Biological Diversity

1. As a field laboratory the garden demonstrates ecological cycles – invasion, colonization, competition, and emergence of dominant species, as well as seasonal and long-term succession patterns. We may not have the four distinct seasons, but there are tropical trees that demonstrate some temperate characteristics carried by their ancestral genes, such as the deciduousness of narra (Pterocarpus indicus) and talisay (Terminalia catappa) simulating trees in the temperate region that completely lose their leaves at the onset of winter.

2. The garden is a living manifestation of dynamic balance in a changing environment with the organisms constantly adjusting to the demands of the latter, but at the end they also change the environment itself. The transformation process or seres always leads towards homeostasis and the result is the formation of a climax ecological system.

3. As a showcase of natural habitats, the garden adjusts to the development of niches and diversity indices. The garden never sleeps, so to speak. It is an arena and the drama of life goes on and on.

Energy Flow

4. When we look at life, we look at it in the realm of physics and chemistry – the flow of energy through the food chain, food web and their hierarchic order, the food pyramid. The light energy of the sun is transformed into chemical energy by plants through photosynthesis, and is passed on one after another through the links of a chain until the remaining energy reaches the ultimate member – the decomposers that transform organic substances back into inorganic forms so that the next generation of organisms can start all over again. We can  witness this among the residents in the pond, and among insects, arachnids, birds, reptiles, and others that inhabit the garden.

Plant Physiology and Animal Behavior

5. The garden demonstrates physiologic responses of plants - tropisms or reactions to light, touch, and the other elements on one hand, and animal behavior on the other. Why do plants grow tall, while others do not - even if they belong to the same species? Where do toads and frogs hide in summer? How do they survive without food and extreme hot and arid condition?

Dragonflies hover low before a rain. A preying mantis resembles the leaf or flower on which it waits for its prey. These and many more demonstrate intelligence among animals.

6. There are biological indicators of the state of the environment. The garden has a host of these indicators such as lichens and fireflies. The presence of both attest to the pristine condition of the environment and clean of air around. The garden itself is a barometer of El Niño. There are bamboo species that produce flowers at the onset of the cyclical phenomenon.

Balete trees atop a church ruin, Magsingal Museum, Ilocos Sur.

Gene Bank

7. The garden is a sanctuary of wildlife. In spite of the crowded environment and high-rise buildings around, a garden is always with butterflies. Some people say, if you see butterflies there must be a garden nearby. It is because the garden is their natural abode with plants they feed on and rear their young. The ponds and streams are a sanctuary of dragonflies as well, and their waters teem with both phytoplankton
and zooplankton 
that students in biology can
study with the use of microscope.

8. As a gene bank, the garden is a depository of biological diversity, providing access to genetic studies, propagation and exchange with other institutions. A garden must aim at expanding its collection of species, even those that are thought to be weeds and volunteer plants. In many ways nature is the principal architect of biodiversity. Birds, water and wind carry seeds into the garden. When we design the garden we follow Nature rules. For example, plants are classified according to water regime, type of growth, sunlight requirement, seasonality, etc.

9. In another article I wrote, I mentioned about the garden as a microcosm of the biosphere, the pond a minuscule of a lake – and now, the new the garden is a replica of the Tropical Rainforest.

10. This miniature replica of a Tropical Rainforest, where living organisms – macroscopic and microscopic – live in a state of unity and harmony is man’s way of redeeming a lost Paradise. There is more than just romanticism and functionalism, not even human imagination can describe it. Indeed we can re-create a Garden of Eden is some little corner of the Earth, the greatest offering we can make to the Creator who gave us the capacity to build it. ~

Meditation in Verses. In celebration of the UN World Poetry Day, March 21

Beauty builds upon beauty,

Ad infinitum to eternity. ~

 Dr Abe V Rotor

Photos by Marlo R Rotor 

Living with Nature - School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]

Sunset

Quirino Bridge, Banaoang Pass, Santa, Ilocos Sur

Sunset:
call it beauty,
the color of war,
and death itself;
it is enough,
the passing of day.

the coming of night.

Paper Stars

Manressa Retreat House, QC

Strewn with a pattern most queer,
Stars tells us of the destiny of men;
Wouldn’t a genius from slumber stir,
Or a faithful pray beyond Amen? ~

Living Impressions

Rainbow, Morong, Bataan

Beauty seen once breaks a heart,
Wait for the image to depart.

Being right and reasonable;
Black or white, and measurable.

She's coy who speaks soft and light;
Smoke first before fire ignites.

Every promise you can't keep
Drags you into a deeper pit.

To endure pain of hatred,
A leader’s wisdom is dared.

Make believe prosperity;
Sound of vessel when empty.

Take from the ant or stork,
Patience is silence at work.

Good wine grows mellow with age;
Good man grows into a sage.

He finds reason for living
Who sees a new beginning.

Beauty builds upon beauty,
Ad infinitum to eternity. ~

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Part 1: Two popular poems of Robert Frost. Part 2: Common Types of Poetry

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature - School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio 738 DZRB AM, [www.pbs.gov.ph] 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

 

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow.   

My little horse must think it queer   

To stop without a farmhouse near   

Between the woods and frozen lake   

The darkest evening of the year.   

He gives his harness bells a shake   

To ask if there is some mistake.   

The only other sound’s the sweep   

Of easy wind and downy flake.   

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

 

Part 2  

 Common Types of Poetry

Article researched from the Internet, serves as lesson guideline in Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid on the subject, in celebration of this year's UN Poetry Day.     

The more you read up on the different types of poetry the better you’ll understand the techniques used by poets. Listed below is a fairly comprehensive list of the more common types of poems and structures. In some instances you will find examples that show a pattern, rhyme or rhythm.

ABC: This type of poem strives to create emotion and images and consists of five lines. The first four lines are alphabetized and can begin with any letter but the fifth line is not restricted to the use of any letter. Example:

Changes, they are

Dreadful, sometimes

Exacting, occasionally

Fun felt, at times

Life changing and sustaining to the end

Acrostic poem: This is where the first letters of the lines spell out a word if you read them vertically. There are many poems structured like this but probably the most famous is done by Edgar Allen Poe and is called “Elizabeth.” Below is a small example of a poem called Halt.

Halt is stop and wait

Agree to not continue

Lunging forward cautiously

Torn between waiting – moving

Ballad: This type of poem has a rhyming pattern and is usually accompanied by music. Many ballads are used in country music or western-type movies. Ballads are also used in many Latin songs. A ballad rhyme scheme is usually ABCB.

Bio: This poem is written about one’s self life, ambitions and personality traits.

Blank verse poetry: This is unrhymed poetry and usually written in iambic pentameter. The lines can be composed of any meter. This was a favorite during the Renaissance because of its resemblance to classical poetry. This was probably one of the most influential forms of poetry in the English language since the sixteenth century. William Shakespeare wrote much of his plays in unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Canzone: This is a Medieval Italian lyric style poem with five or six stanzas but which has a shorter ending stanza.

Cinquain: This type of poem consists of five lines. The first line is just a one-word title, the second line has two words that describe the title, the third line has three words that tell the action, the fourth line has four words that express the feeling and the fifth line has one word that recalls the title. This takes some thought but can present some good poetry. This poem is called Dolls.

Dolls

Cutesy cuddly

Sleep sooth shush

Sometimes make me smile

Figurines

Classicism: This poetry has the characteristics of Greek and Roman art, architecture and literature. This example is by Alexander Pope and is called Eloisa to Abelard.

In these deep solitudes and awful cells,

Where heav’nly-pensive contemplation dwells,  

And ever-musing melancholy reigns;

What means this tumult in a vestal’s veins?

Why rove my thoughts beyond this last retreat?

Why feels my heart its long-forgotten heat?

Couplets: This is a two-line poem with a simple rhyming pattern. Each line should have the same number of syllables and the endings must rhyme with one another.

A spider crawled upon my head

But still ignored my total dread

Elegy: This type of poem is a sad and thoughtful and is written around the death of a person.

Epitaph: This type of poetry is written for those that have died and is usually used as a commemorative inscription for some person’s headstone or tomb.

Ghazal: This is a short lyrical poem that arose with the language Urdu. Urdu is mostly spoken in Pakistan. This particular poem is between five and fifteen couplets long. Each couplet carries its own thought; however, the full poem is linked by rhythmic structure. The lines within the couplets are equal in length. The themes tend to be centered on love and romance but they don’t have to be. In closing the poem, the poet’s name is either mentioned or alluded to in some way.

Haiku: A poem structure used by Japanese but has now made it into the English mainstream. This type of poem is made up of three lines with the first line having five syllables, the second line having seven syllables and the third line having five syllables. Most Haiku poems are usually centered on nature themes.

Bending down, then not

Trunks meet blue sky and green earth

Trees in abundance

Idyll: This type of poetry depicts peacefulness and many times contains country scenes and includes stories about heroes and the bye-gone age that has eluded us.

Italian Sonnet: Known as Petrarchan sonnet. This follows the rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA CDE CDE. Note that this has four quatrains and no couplets.  Italian Sonnets contain lines that are divided into a group of eight (called an octave) and then are followed by a group of six (called a sestet). Most sonnets are now written with the a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a rhyme scheme and the sestet is either c-d-e-c-d-e or c-d-c-c-d-c. Later another variation was added and this was c-d-c-d-c-d. The following poem is by James DeFord.

Turn back the heart you’ve turned away  

Give back your kissing breath  

Leave not my love as you have left  

The broken hearts of yesterday  

But wait, be still, don’t lose this way  

Affection now, for what you guess  

May be something more, could be less  

Accept my love, live for today.

Your roses wilted, as love spurned  

Yet trust in me, my love and truth  

Dwell in my heart, from which you’ve turned  

My strength as great as yours aloof 

It is in fear you turn away  

And miss the chance of love today!

Limerick:  This poem consists of five lines and has a very distinctive rhythm.  It follows a rhyme scheme of AABBA, with the first, second, and fifth rhyming lines being longer than the third and fourth.  Limericks are often done with humor, can be mean spirited or have a naughty edge.  A good limerick by Edward Lear is shown below.

There was a Young Lady whose eyes,  

Were unique as to colour and size;  

When she opened them wide,  

People all turned aside,  

And started away in surprise.

Narrative: This type of poem tells a story and does not follow the traditional rhythms and rhymes used in regular poetry. This story can be true or imagined and it can have all the elements of fiction such as characters, possibly a narrator, a plot or even dialogue. Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, The Raven fits this structure.

Quatrain: This is a stanza or verse consisting of four lines, especially one with lines that rhyme alternately. The rhyming scheme can be  ABAB or AABB.

Rhyme Royal: This type of poetry consists of stanzas that have seven lines in iambic pentameter.

Rondeau: This lyrical poem has its origin in France. It contains ten to thirteen lines, has two rhymes and the opening phrase is repeated twice as the refrain.

Sestina: line stanzas plus three lines at the end of the poem. line stanza pattern is ABCDEF FAEBDC CFDABE ECBFAD DEACFB BDFECA. In the last three line section the pattern has two of the words, one in the middle of the line and then one at the end. This is also a very difficult and complex poem to write.

Sonnets: A poem in iambic pentameter and is made up of fourteen lines. English sonnets use quatrains and couplets with this pattern. Rhyming pattern is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Many of Shakespeare’s poems were written in this pattern.

Villanelle: This type of poem is less common and much more difficult to form but it does produce thought-provoking effects. The rhyming scheme is sophisticated and can be tricky. The scheme is ABAABAABAABAABAABAA. Note that there is no space between the last two lines. Notice that the first line is repeated as the third line of the second, fourth, and sixth stanzas. See that the third line is repeated at the end of the third, fifth, and sixth stanzas. 

A very good Villanelle by Dylan Thomas is shown below. It is called Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The lines “Do not go gentle into that good night” and “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” are repeated throughout the poem. Notice the structure and rhythm of the poem. This is one of the more difficult structures to work with but when done correctly is very effective. ~