Purple Allamanda

True to its color, this is named Allamanda violacea, synonymous with Allamanda blanchetii. It is viny and climb if there is enough support. I got interested here because mostly of the raindrops on the young flower buds. 

 The reddish purple color give it a 2-tone color making the blooms more attractive. It even turns pinkish later on after opening. The flower has a deep throat resembling a bell. Its cousin, Allamanda cathartica, is yellow and often called yellow bell.

 Even the fallen flower still shows the 2-tone color at the back side. 

Here is the main plant showing lush growth.

One very important consideration in planting this plant is its toxic properties. Every part of the plant is poisonous, so care must be exercised in planting it in areas with young children. Playing with it especially the toxic sap must not be done. Everybody must be informed of this characteristics.

 Macro Monday 2
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A Day Drive

My officemate and i went north of the big city to buy tokens for the participants in my coming training. The whole-day training seminar is for the office's technical staff. Our chosen tokens this time are sports bags. So there we go, in this extreme heat, which took us more than 3 hours to reach the place. It was through a circuitous route to the other side of the mountain, so it is already dinner time when we returned.

The bag factory is owned by a cooperative in an export processing zone near the beach in Mariveles, Bataan. They already look successful as they already build a 4-storey building to house all the activities for manufacturing bags, from the materials housed in the first floor to the main office at the top. And most offices are airconditioned, a big blessing for comfort while working, and blessing for customers like us too.

On our way back we took our snack in a restaurant that is very attractive to the travellers, i will show you why!

This facility is in an open space at the side of the highway. At the left side is a small hotel, and on the right and front are rice fields. Can you see why this is attractive, aside from the loud colors? 

It looks like a very big bus, camped at the side of the wide "street"waiting for passengers. But it is actually a restaurant, airconditioned with well-uniformed staff, also with attractive colors.

I wonder if this is copied from a foreign brand, well-plated on top of the bus as well as near the highway, Mr. Cupcake. Yes they have cupcakes, but they have a very long list of titles in the Menu. 

At the left of the wide space with red cobble-stones is this small hotel. But it is the row of wall-clinging bougainvillea that is catching everyone's attention. They are flowering now, and very elegantly lining the expanse of the otherwise bare wall. I am awed myself. 

The mix of flower colors are very well chosen, not redundant. Maybe other people will emitate this style in their spacious property.

Three of us chose different menu, so we can see more samples. Above was my choice, not very creative in the name "fish and chips", but with dip choices. 

It was almost sundown when we left the place. The sunset was made more beautiful by the tint of the  van. Never mind the electric lines covering the nice view. We went home with full tummy, delighted.

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Outdoor Wednesday

Almost Macro Shot Too

These shots are at the Blue Mountains, Sydney, Australia. I was looking at this tree because of its lovely white flowers. However, as i looked closer to get a close-up of the flowers, i saw the black lumps on the branches. I earlier thought they are plant characteristics, which might be common in these parts, anyway there are lots of biological materials that are unique to this country or this continent.

I looked much closer to scrutinize those black clumps, and i was surprised to see what they are! Can you guess what those black lumps are?

 They are black beetles with orange necks, tails and abdomens. They are actually cute in close-up, but scary too. I wonder what they are clumping themselves in specific areas of these tree. Other trees nearby do not have these bugs. I just left my curiosity thinking they might be beneficial insects, otherwise those park keepers who are so diligent in their responsibilities would have eradicated them if they are bad insects.

P.S. for those who will be interested to know about these insects, they are called plague soldier beetles. Stewart put the link at the comments below, here too: http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/jan-2012/plague-soldier-beetles/

At the other side of the park i saw bushes of these kangaroo paws. I also looked closer and i smiled as they really somehow look like paws, even if i haven't yet scrutinized paws of real kangaroos. I just assumed they resemble the real paws or these Ausies would have changed it even then! I even saw a yellowish insect with lovely color contrast to the paws!

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