Stars and Fireflies

Abe V Rotor

Summer night in Amadeo, Cavite 2010

"Stars and fireflies mingle,
and fill the sky with gems;
man in praise is never lost
in the ways of the world."

Home, Sweet Home With Nature, AVR

Amadeo coffee - at par with world's best

Abe V Rotor

Mechanical dryer reduces moisture content to
14 per cent and brings out the coffee aroma.

Dried coffee beans

Dried coffee beans are classified by variety,
place and date of harvest, and quality.

Impurities are removed, broken and whole beans are separated.

Freshly roasted coffee are packed in jute sacks,
it is sold as whole bean or ground.

Proudly Amadeo Coffee.

Welcome to Coffee festival at Amadeo Cavite

Painting Dreams

Dr Abe V Rotor

Award winning entry on Painting Dreams, by Leo Carlo Rotor, 12 (2001)

There was once a girl on a meadow

gathering wild flowers for the rainbow,

matching their colors to the tiniest hue

whereupon a shower made them glow.

There was once a boy with new shoes,

down the street he went, heralding the news

with everything dissolving in a hazy view,

whereupon he rode down the avenue.

There was an old man walking with a cane;

he saw the girl with flowers in her hair,

he saw the boy whistling down the lane,

and asked where go they beyond their lair.

I don't know, said she; neither I, said he,

the world is wide why bother where we'll be;

'til the winds blew and the flowers faded,

and soon and far enough the road ended.

And the old man walked on, and on,

at his feet lay flowers strewn on the road,

and saw footsteps barely to the sight shone

in the sunset draped by a holy shroud.

And this the children painted in kaleidoscope

in versions a thousand thoughts blend;

their dreams do make for what they hope

lest pride makes that hope in despair end. ~

Arachne - Thread Artist

Arachne - Thread Artist

Spider Web, Amadeo, Cavite

Dr Abe V Rotor

From where art grows and blooms

the ultimate of human expression

at the tip of the fingers it looms

into reverence and passion;

from morning 'til noon

the thread weaves the evening

while Arachne smiles with the moon

o'er a masterpiece in silence shining. ~

Danger on the Road

Abe V Rotor

Like giant barbecue sticks, these bamboo poles pose

danger to pedestrians and motorists. Parañaque, MM

Secret of the betel (Areca) nut

Abe V Rotor

Areca or betel nut (Areca cathechu) is a solitary
palm that grows up to 10 meters, bearing nuts year
round. It lives to as long as fifty years.
Areca nut is indigenous in south and southeast Asia,
mainly in India, southern China, Thailand, Indochina,
Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and
the Philippines.

Nuts may be gathered while still soft and juicy.
C0mmercially the nuts are allowed to mature,
or ripened. They are dehusked and sliced thinly
or in cubes, and made into nganga (mama' Ilk)
snugly wrapped with betel leaf (ikmo) with a paste
of lime (calcium hydroxide) added. (lower photo)

A nganga stand typical in areca nut producing countries.

The component of nganga has not changed for centuries,
perhaps since 4,000 years ago as found in archeological
diggings.

Chemical constituents and properties

• Alkaloids - arecaine, 0.1%, arecoline, 0.2%, arecaidine, arecolidine, guvacoline, guvacine, isoguvacine; tannin, 15%; red fat, 14%; resin; choline; catechu.

• Fruit flesh on seed contains the alkaloid arecoline with psychoactive properties and chewing produces euphoria, increased alertness, sweating, salivation.

• Contains a large quantity of tannin. Also contains gallic acid, a fixed oil gum, a little volatile oil and lignin.

• The tanin is located almost entirely in the kernel which decreases as the nut ripens.

• Arecoline resembles pilocarpine and muscarine in its effect. Also contains phenolic compounds: hydroxychavicol and saffrole 12, tannin, resin, cholic and catechu.

Folkloric Uses

• Purgative, aromatic, astringent, antifungal, antibacterial, anti inflammatory, antioxidant.

• Young seeds are laxative, mature seeds are for expelling tapeworms (vermifuge).

• Sprains, bruises, contusions - Crush leaves, mix with a little coconut oil, warm and apply on affected area.

• Tooth whitener: Carbonize and powder a kernel and rub on teeth.

• ·Tapeworm infestation, and other parasites.

• Fruit in decoction considered abortifacient.· In excess, nuts can cause vomiting and diarrhea; intoxicating to some.

• The nut is used for headaches, fever and rheumatism.

2011 - Year of the Tree

Trees
Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree. ~

Sweet smell and touch of earth

Smile and a long trek uphill

Young naturalist-artists with their mentor

Seedling is weaned from the nursery ...

and transplanted on fertile soil with love and care.

Composite painting: We love the Tree

Putting the final touch

Silence and creativity at work

Student volunteers plant narra,
national tree of the Philippines.

Dr Anselmo S Cabigan, biologist and ecologist,
leads tree planting at La Mesa watershed

Chin Chin Gutierrez, artist-environmentalist
sings at a forum on environment, SPUQC

Environmentalist and singer-composer Noel

Cabangon sings at a student forum on environment,
SPUQC. Paintings on nature are works of students.

Home, Sweet Home with Nature, AVR