Sunday, August 30, 2009

Today's Flowers!



This is my small pink flower on a small pot.
I am sorry but I do not know its name.


It starts like a small tree with small buds . . .




My brother Sweepy waited for the flowers to come out

and Sweepy got impatient waiting every week. . . .


The flowers would come out only when it rains.
It rained last night so the next day the flower appears!


Our human companion Lui held it gently.
This is how Lui greets the flowers.

So this flower comes out only during the rainy season.
In the Philippines, there are only two seasons:
the dry (summer from March to May)
and wet (rainy season from June to August)
The rest of the year it varies from wet and dry.


This small pink flower is so delicate
and it looks like paper and its petals are thin
that I really have to guard it well . . .


My Popsy Sumo is pretty wary of this flower . . .

because my father knows that flowers are delicate
and since my father moves briskly and quite clumsily
he might step on the flower and we might lose it!


So I have to keep watch over this flower . . .

It smells sweet and I am tempted to lick it, but I won't.


If I leave it even for a second . . .

I seem to hear it calling me!


So I can not leave the flower alone!
. . . and every time I do that
I can not play with Sweepy!



It is not easy guarding the flowers in our house Heaven.
But I am sure the other flowers and flower-lovers
at TodaysFlowers are not having trouble
watching their flowers so visit them!


. . . while I stay here and keep my watch . . .

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

When Orchids Fade and Fall . . .

Remember the flowers I posted last Sunday for my human friends who love flowers at FlowersToday? Well, here is our orchid plants on its last few days . . .



The flowers started falling and the casing where the flowers stayed before they start to bloom now turns yellow and brittle and wrinkled . . . just like most beings who get old . . .




When the flowers fade they fall. Now this flower falls before it fades. It fell near where my Popsy Sumo takes his afternoon nap.

Please do not mind my Popsy's glum-looking face. He sometimes look glum even when he is happy. Some people I know look like that too! They appear sad even when they are happy. My Popsy Sumo is happy because he got nominated for the Philippine Blog Awards!



The flowers fell on my little brother Sweepy too and startled him.

Sweepy is a little hyper. Anything that moves and hiss make him agitated and he almost attacked the plant until he remembered that we are supposed to keep watch over it. Sweepy takes his task seriously. He is after all a SuperDog!


Sweepy will keep watch over it for now. I would rather stay away when flowers fall. It makes me sad to watch flowers fade and fall. Our human companion Lui said that flowers need to fall so it can regenerate and have new buds and flowers. Lui said this is the reason we have flowers blooming all year round in our house Heaven. Lui said some people undergo rebirth also when they accept changes in their life and move on to create a new and better approach to living.

But I know that. Animals know the cycle of life and death. We understand it better than people. But that does not mean that just because we know and understand it makes us indifferent to it. Which is why when deaths and changes happen in Heaven I get sad . . . and I long for Lui's hug to make it bearable . . . and I am glad when Lui understands and gives me my hug without a need for words . . .

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Today's Flowers



This is one of the orchid plants hanging around our house Heaven. It fell from its hanging and we found it lying on the floor. The pot got broken and my human companions do not want to transfer it to another pot because they thought that might hurt the plant. You see the plant is about to present her flowers!



There. Can you see the flower like a baby inside a womb?



The people in our house Heaven started watching this plant closely and giving it extra care. Although we always have orchids blooming in Heaven this one needs extra attention. There are three flowers in this pot all waiting to come out and my job is to make sure nobody will touch it except my human companions. So when the birds and the lizards would come near I barked at them!


After a week, the bud takes a peek!


. . . and my human companion Lui held it gently in her hand.


And in a few days, the buds start singing in greeting!




. . . slowly the buds come out . . .





. . . and that's my little brother Sweepy helping me keep watch. Everyday, the plant gets noisy and smell differently until finally . . .




. . . there goes our beautiful orchids!




All three flowers blooming wild!
All three flowers singing and calling us with its heady scent!
The bees try to hover but I am still on guard.


I will keep watch over our flowers with my brother Sweepy . . .


. . . until they fade and fall!



I am sure there are great flowers blooming in FlowersToday
so do go and visit them too!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Today's Flowers!



My flowers today are like wildflowers.
They grow wild and sprout from wild grass
which my human companions planted
in front of our house named Heaven.

They appear like colored spikes among the grass . . .




. . . and later unfurl bright and beautiful pink petals . . .




. . . that suddenly fill the whole exhausted stretch of plants
dying of thirst from the 36 degrees heat of Manila's weather!
Yet, this plant remain strong and beautiful enough
to cover the entire plant box in front of Heaven!




My human companion Lui loves this plant so much!
Lui sings to it because it is not really a flower.
Like most of the wild plants we have in Heaven
the pink flowers are pleasant surprises
that reveal itself when the weather goes extreme.
Like when it rains on a hot day, the flowers appear!
Like my favorite bacon dog treats with cheese
that magically appear when Lui comes home
from being out all day . . . .



These flowers are so small
but when they appear at the same time
they call attention to all passers-by
who would stop in front of Heaven
making their day bright and sunny!


Lui said she will also try to post her own flower stories.
She said she will dedicate it to me
and for the people behind this meme
since it is the anniversary of FlowersToday last week!
So go and visit them for more flower surprises!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Today's Flower!



From one of our small pots came this shrilling noise one morning. It came from these two buds that tried to call us as we were still asleep and cuddled in our pillows!


It is the plant's way of calling our attention.



My Popsy Sumo heard it first. Alpha dogs are born leaders and my father was trained to lead. Popsy would still lead us even if we're now all grown up! When Popsy heard the bud crying out, he barked at the flowers!




When it was my turn to see the buds, my little brother Sweepy joined me. We checked these cute buds slowly unfold and reveal beautiful flowers that looked like two birds in flight!






It is so small that my human companion Lui tried to shelter it with her hands . . .

We are experiencing erratic weather (two storms passed and we have windy rainy days and hot sunny humid weather in between!) But no matter what Lui does to protect it, this flower would close by dusk, just like the setting sun . . .


My Popsy Sumo gets confused so he barks out loud to it!



. . . its petals folding back like a hand in prayer. . . and curls back like a bud to reopen again the next morning!




Sometimes, the buds fall and a new bud will grow in its place and again unfold by mid-morning to reveal her beautiful yellow petals speckled with golden brown spots. It is so beautiful that Lui made a drawing of it so that even if the flowers are gone and curls back or falls, we can still remember and enjoy its beauty!




Lui said this yellow flower is a fitting tribute to our former President Cory who passed away last weekend. President Cory's symbolic color is yellow just like this flower!




And when we look at the two flowers opening and closing everyday for a week when President Cory died and got buried, we all thought that just like this beautiful yellow flower flying wild in our house called Heaven, our beloved Cory is now flying free with her Ninoy in another magical place called Heaven! A fitting moment!



Goodbye, Cory . . . and may Ninoy keep you in your flight!


For more memorable flowers and flower stories, go and visit them by clicking here!