This is the 1st time that flooding of this magnitude happened here. And it happened not with a typhoon, just the southwest monsoon forced by a typhoon in South China. I wonder if this is ominous and significant!
Because our eyes and minds are already bombarded day and night by rushing waters, crying people, hungry and shivering evacuees, I will instead post happier moments. I hope this will at least pacify my lonely soul and divert this loneliness to nicer feelings. I think psychologists call this strategy as sublimation. So sublimation, be it! I am having happier visuals. I am so blessed being with the only 10% in Metro Manila not affected by floods. (Sigh!)
As many of you know, that church in the horizon is a big landmark in most of my sunset shots, as viewed from my 5th floor window. No sunsets are seen for the past two weeks, and the church is always in very grey surroundings.
During excessive downpours, the church is nowhere to be seen, as in the above!
So with these abnormal situation we are in now, i will try to sublimate my visuals and thoughts to nicer things by posting my last weekend shots from our garden in the province. I am sorry I cannot put the scientific names here yet, as I forgot my external drive in the province, which I can still get only after three weeks. So please pardon me if they are not yet identified.
Many butterflies converge in my blue Duranta. We have other nectar plants like Ixora, Turnera subulata and Turnera ulmifolia, Lantana, but Duranta is much favored. They go to other plants only for a few seconds, but stayed longer with the Duranta erecta.
Above is black and white, while below is black and blue
....please pray for our people, to lessen suffering from continuous rains and floods, sickness and hunger!
Thank you very much
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Andrea - I'm really envious of the butterflies. I still remember that competition with One where you had a bush full of them.
ReplyDeleteI hope the flooding stops soon, I haven't been watching the news recently, so I only learnt about it here. My thoughts are with you and your people.
Oh b-a-g, thank you very much for the positive energies sent our way! The rains are not that heavy today, i hope it stops now.
DeleteOh yes, i still remember that naughty competition started by One, i actually miss her posts and blogger friends' communication in that manner. I also love the responses we all got, and now i remember what that is called "kiasu"! Hahaha, i had a difficult time recalling the term.
Andrea I sorry to hear about the floods and devastation in your country. Thank you for checking in on me but I have been lazy about blogging and have had a blogger leaving me nasty messages and attacking me personally.
ReplyDeleteHi Helen, i miss you and our lovely exchanges here! Yes i noticed you don't often post anymore. Did you delete already the nasty comments? There are really people who are difficult and disagreeable, but don't bother with them too much. As long as we have clear conscience and we are not stepping on anyone, let them be! Don't be much affected by negative people. Keep your energies going, how are your landscaping projects now? I remember your dinners, which many of us attended...virtually! :-)
DeleteAndrea, I pray that the floods abate soon. It really is a case of the two extremes of weather isn't it. I'm glad you can still see beauty with the wonderful butterflies.
ReplyDeleteHi Missy, the rains stopped the whole day for some sunshine to be seen, however it rained again this early evening, and our soil is still very saturated. We hope tomorrow will already be a fine day! Yes we need to see beauty despite mishaps or else more negativity will float around. I hope it will neutralize something.
DeleteWhen there is a flood or a disaster such as this - the only one person anyone can turn to is God.
ReplyDeleteOnly God can make a difference in this kind of situation. I don't think so there is such thing as over-praying. We pray as to ask God to hear our request and when God answers them - it is always for the good of his people.
I hope things get better soon. With the ice-caps melting it is not making any better. I'm glad that you are cheering up the gloomy situation by giving hope like a rainbow. In this case a rainbow of living colours - butterflies.
May God have mercy and give hope to the hopeless & the helpless.
May God give compassion and strength to carry on to those who are suffering
and that divine providence to those who really need it.
hahaha James, you did not get my joke! By mentioning 'overpraying' i am trying to make a joke! To your prayers, i say...Amen!
DeleteYou have such a mix of happy and extreme emotions here. I feel terrible for the people affected by the floods. We are also going through the same things here but with severe storms and lightning! Houses are hit, fires start and vehicles get washed away with the flooding. The monsoon is certainly an exciting time but it also can be a little too exciting. Your butterflies are gorgeous. We work with several of them in the butterfly pavilion here at the gardens. Enjoy these bursts of color and stay dry!
ReplyDeleteyes Kreesh, the conditions here are not only too exciting, but extremely exciting! It actually is bordering on madness for some! Hopefully it ends real soon and conditions in the evacuation center don't get too harsh for the people. Thanks for your prayers!
DeleteBeautiful butterfly photographs! I've been keeping an eye on the floods that are happening at Manila and surrounding areas at the moment. My thoughts are with the victims. Hope the floods subside soon.
ReplyDeleteI is amazing at the extremes the weather has been in places this year already. Stay safe there and they are all in my prayers.Your Butterfly pictures are so beautiful. There are so many gorgeous ones.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts and prayers are with you and your people to lessen the floods. I do love your butterflies. It is so interesting to see some many similar butterflies all over the world.
ReplyDeletevery nice article. thank to share.. i love it.
ReplyDeleteScary to have so much rain. I pray that the floods will stop and there are sunny skies again. The extra water can go to places facing drought problems like certain parts of US. Do you have problems travelling to work?
ReplyDeleteWe have a National Technology Forum and Exhibition for Agriculture and Fisheries for our clients and helped individuals/agencies last Thursday to Sunday, and I also have a coordinated booth for my IPR assisted clients. Being the organizers, i also have 3 speakers in my care, and we started while there are still floods in many places. Many booths are not occupied. We get home so late at night everyday, and my legs and feet are so tired, also my mouth from too much talking, so now i didn't go to the office to hopefully rest and laundry, haha! I don't have problems going to the office, and our area in the province is fine too. We had the sun for 3 days and then there is again a new warning that an impending typhoon is already in our area of responsibility, and we might get its wrath starting Wednesday. OMG, i am so sorry for many of us! Thanks, and thank you for the concern.
DeleteWhile you were away, one of your butterflies flew over to my garden, hehehe!
DeleteAndrea, the smallest EO leaf you sent has sprouted shoots. I am so excited and keeping my fingers cross now.
The pictures from the Philippines these last few days have been heartbreaking. I do hope the devastation ends soon so that the country and its people can recover.
ReplyDeleteOn a happier note, I'm delighted to see your duranta and the butterflies. My duranta has proved to be a real butterfly magnet this summer. It seems to always be covered in the beautiful insects. It's interesting to see that the same thing happens in your garden half a world away.
Thank you so much! We are resilient people, and we hope we recover fast although a lot of resources were wasted from the already wanting cofer!
DeleteYes Duranta has a wide range of adaptation, and it preferred by lots of butterfly species, tropical or temperate!
Just seen the pictures of the floods in your area and hope that you and family are safe and my thoughts with all people effected by this disaster. Thank you for the beautiful pictures of butterflies and may they bring sunshine and blue skies to you all
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Klara, i appreciate that. I and my family are safe as well as my friends, we belong to the 10% of Metro Manila not affected by the floods. It stopped today but rained again this early evening, and the soil is already saturated so not good again. Hopefully tomorrow is already fine!
DeleteHi Klara, i visited your site again and that supposedly security kaptcha is not giving me a chance to comment there. Is that really very necessary? I remember many followers of my site told me to put it off when i tried to use it earlier. So I got rid of it since then.
DeleteThose are very ominous skies...
ReplyDeleteHi Linda, thank you so much. If only we can use some big blowers to drive those dark clouds there, it will alleviate both our situations!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear of your flooding. As usual, it is the poor and homeless that suffer the most in cases like this...
ReplyDeleteLovely butterfly photos.
Glad you are not flooded - and hope that help can be brought to those who need it.
ReplyDeleteI disagree that my butterfly is depressing - I think no butterflies at all would be depressing.
Stewart M - Australia
Oh Stewart, maybe it's like beauty "in the eye of the beholder", I am saddened by the thorn wing tip of your butterfly, as it looks definitely not old yet!
DeleteThe shots are definitely uplifting and beautiful. The butterflies appear all set to flutter away, at a moments notice. Here now, captured by your lens & gone the next moment.
ReplyDeleteMy prayers n Best wishes for everyone in flood affected Manila. May good times n conducive climate prevail.
Thanks EGT for the positive wishes! However, you are not allowing me to visit your blog, i wonder why!
DeletePrzyroda jest piękna, ale i okrutna i powoduje cierpienia ludzi . To jest straszne. Mam nadzieję, że przestanie wreszcie lać i ludzie wrócą do domów. Oby tylko one jeszcze były.Motyle są cudowne i trochę rozweselają ten smutny post. Pozdrawiam.
ReplyDeleteNature is beautiful, but cruel and causes suffering people. This is terrible. I hope that finally pour stops and people return to their homes. They would only have były.Motyle are wonderful and a little amuse the sad post. Yours.
Read your comment at Bom's blog... Blog burnout?
ReplyDeleteActually, me too... anyway, good pics on the butterflies...
Hi Lrong, i went there again to read my comment, haha! Thanks for visiting and appreciation.
DeleteWonderful butterfly photos!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you are well Andrea. I love the photos of the butterflies. They are like a wish for better times soon. :)
ReplyDeleteYes Melanie and thank you so much. Please pop in my other blog and you will see there the plants, also wishing for better times!
DeleteDear Andrea, I am so sorry for the suffering of many in your country due to too much rain but so glad that you are not affected . . . except of course in knowing and seeing how bad things are for others. I know it must be hard for you. I do not watch tv or really read much news these days . . . so I knew nothing of the flooding in your country. Your post of the beautiful photographs of butterflies is certainly uplifting and a joy to see. I hope that things are better by now. Wishing you sunny skies that open the view to the stunning church. Carol
ReplyDeleteHi dear Carol, I so appreciate this message. Yes it is so discomforting to see news on TV all the time and people are suffering but I can't help but pray for them. But sometimes, a lot of things really depends on our past choices, and many of those people affected by floods don't learn from their experiences. Things might get better now with the sun showing there again, i hope typhoon will not be sooner. Many places have already stagnant water and diseases might ensue. I pity our government and our economy, as funds could have been placed on education rather than calamity funds.
DeleteI am seeing the church again, yey! I pray for you too!
Hi Andrea, The floods made the news here in Canada and I thought of you and hoped you were okay. I hope the rains stop soon and the flood waters recede. I feel for the families that have experienced losses and hope all will be better again soon.
ReplyDeleteYour butterflies are so beautiful, and nicely remind us that for all the bad in the world, there is some good to balance it.
Thank you so much for the kind thoughts Jennifer. At least we are spared of the floods, but i got sick since last week, now I am better, so can blog again. I hope tomorrow i can already go to the office.
DeleteI am sad to read of the floods and devastation. I am glad you are in an area less affected. The butterflies are truly a bright spot in the darkness.
ReplyDeleteAndrea, I am so late in dropping by, I do hope that the worst of these conditions are now over. I will be thinking of you all and thank you for those cheerier images.
ReplyDeleteKind thoughts are never late, I certainly appreciate it. Though spared of floods i got my share of coughing, fever, allergic asthma, and the other night had food poisoning. I had myself admitted in the ER at 1:30am and was so scared. At least i was back home at 8:00am that morning and now feel better from everything. Thanks.
DeleteWow, that is really a tragedy there in Manila. Very sad situation. I am a bit late posting, so I hope things are better now. It is true that we pray for rain in the dry season and then get far more than we wanted. Glad you were able to find the beauty in the sadness. Those are some gorgeous butterfly shots! I have noticed that the butterflies in my garden prefer Duranta above everything else as well, especially the swallowtails. Hamelia patens and Jatropha are close seconds.
ReplyDelete