A Farewell to Summer

Bouganvilleas

In the Philippines, we have three seasons - hot, hotter, and hottest. We are about to bid goodbye to the hottest season as we start to welcome more and more rains. Kidding Aside, the two seasons are actually wet and dry. August usually opens the typhoon and monsoon seasons where a lot of typhoons start to trace its path coming from the Pacific.

This beautiful Bouganvillea are the last reminders of the long sunny afternoons as the torrential rains that visited us last weekend just melted most of them. Stay dry Cavite, we still have a pandemic (record high) to fight!

Masked Rider

Masked Rider, General Trias

On this new normal, everyone here in the province of Cavite is highly encouraged to wear a mask. It's nice to see a large percentage of citizens complying, knowing that they do care not just for themselves but also for the people around them.

Economic Zone

Cavite Economic Zone

Located on a large area that is shared by Rosario and General Trias, the Cavite Economic Zone is the bread and butter of hundreds of thousands of employees. A lot of manufacturing plants and offices are housed in this zone. At the moment, most office personnel are still working at home, but the manufacturing plants are on-going operations, some with safety precautions like shuttles and protective gears provided.

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This post is part of Skywatch Friday that features different views of the sky around the world. Visit Skywatch and go on tour around the globe seeing sunrises, sunsets and so much more than the sky that you know at http://skyley.blogspot.in/

Lines and Pink Skies

Pink Skies, General Trias

Ever wonder how skies can get this pink hue to it, well I do. I know that the setting sun has to do something about it but why don't it color it this way every single dusk? Well whatever the reason is, it's not just a blanket of color, it is an instant mood that covers anything in its view.

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This post is part of Skywatch Friday that features different views of the sky around the world. Visit Skywatch and go on tour around the globe seeing sunrises, sunsets and so much more than the sky that you know at http://skyley.blogspot.in/

Empty Gate

CEZ II Gate, General Trias

Usually packed with workers, this gate or commonly called as Gate 5 is almost like an entrance to a ghost town. I do know the operations did resume already even before this month but this new normal surely have affected the number of employees and workers that are striving hard for their daily bread and butter to feed themselves and their families. Praying for all the workers, especially those who live in minimum wages such as manufacturing workers and traffic enforcers. 

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This post is part of Our World Tuesday that features different versions of their everydays around the world. Visit Our World Tuesday and go on a virtual tour of different places and the stories behind them. http://ourworldtuesdaymeme.blogspot.com/

A Mark of Spanish Colonial Influence - Guest Post Sunday

General Trias City Plaza

Two days ago, we just commemorated our 122th anniversary of our cessation of our allegiance to the Crown of Spain. It’s been 499 years since the first presence of the Spaniards at Pearl of the East. They are not here anymore, however, they left their impact in our society. Above is a photo I took of a city in The Cavite Province, one that revolted against them and symbolized as one of the sun’s rays in our nations’s flag. 

By just looking at the orientation of most cities’ and municipalities’ major institutions buildings (Cavite’s General Trias’ “civic center”, the sample photo), Spanish colonial architecture is not very obvious in plain sight. One of the many things how the Spaniards initially shaped our beloved country. Government buildings, church, school, public market (it  was originally at the city hall’s location, the tall structure on the left of the photo) surrounding a plaza were strategically placed in the middle of the town to achieve maximum effect in terms of imposition and dominance of influence. 

But for how long will this setup last (like how the market was relocated) as the world keep changing?

C. Q. Viniegra

General Trias, Cavite / Los Angeles, USA

Carlos is a huge drone hobbyist and enjoys taking videos and still shots of amazing landscapes. He lives in Los Angeles, California but he frequently visits his family and friends here in Cavite.

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Cavite Daily Photo is inviting Caviteño authors who would like to share their stories and experiences about life and living in the province we call home, Cavite! If you are interested to write and share your best photo, email me at stevensonque@gmail.com

Mister Mustard

Most of the plants on my garden are ornamental plants, mostly orchids and bromeliads! But this little fellow is the only vegetable I have on my garden, It's a Mustard spout. Here in the Philippines and in most Asian countries, Mustard leaves are a common vegetable. I don;t eat them but since I grew and took care of this little mister, I would have to put it on my Sunday soup in a couple of weeks!

Have you tried Mustard leaves?

122nd Independence Day

What is Freedom?

Balikbayan Box

Balikbayan Box, General Trias

A large number of Caviteños in the early 70's and 80's migrated to the United States. Some of which are my Aunts and Uncles who started their lives in California and built their family there. Time to time, my grandparents would visit them there and with every trip, they come home with a lot of gifts for the whole family here at home. Here, my grandma shows her almost exploding box on the photo.

These boxes are called "Balikbayan" boxes. Balik in Filipino/Tagalog means back and bayan means town/country so it literally means back to home box. 

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This post is part of Timeless Thursdays. You can click on the link below to visit or join this linky and share your Timeless treasures whether they may be photos or thoughts.

Colorful Lunches

One thing I miss about working at the office are the colorful lunches I prepare for myself. Aside from different food items, I also use different bento boxes (lunch box in Japanese) that comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. I have some boxes from my brother in the US, some old Tupperware from my Mom, and even a cute cartoon character one which is a gift from my friend who visited Japan.

On this bento, I had steamed rice, corned tuna, and scrambled eggs. I also have lettuce and cheese slices and this cute little jar of mayonnaise. I think this is a balanced diet of a meal, plus I love the variety and color so I was so excited for lunch time at work!

How were your lunches when you went to work during the old normal times?

Care for Roses?

Pitimini Flowers, General Trias

These roses have tiny versions of the usual ones. But I must tell you the scent of it is the same exact fragrant ones. My grandmother call these types the 'pitimini' but looking through google, they are called straightforwardly Miniature Roses. 

This one is a surprise gift from my Aunt. I was sitting at our store front when a car passed by and somebody on a mask was shouting at me. When I saw it was my Aunt I rushed to her and my cousin handed me a big pot with this beautiful pink blooms! I was not very successful with growing roses before but now that I am serious about my garden, can you my dear friends give me some tips on how to take good care of roses? What are good practices to prevent white things and bugs and encourage them to bloom?

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea, General Trias

So yesterday, it was a great and fun-filled day for me as I celebrate my 30th! I know that the quarantine has been greatly relaxed here so I asked four of my best friends to come over and they are all so gracious to be there and celebrate with me. Since our two other best friends are in other islands, and the other two are in France and Kuwait, they just video called so it's like we are all together again at that afternoon while they sip their own tea at their spot in the world.

So here's some savories and sweets I prepared for you all my blogging friends! What would you like from the tiered plates?

Early Starters

Fruit Stands, General Trias

Now on a very leaner lockdown with just curfews imposed, anybody can now go to the market and buy what they need for the day. With this new normal, shop owners have to wake up as early as 2 am to fix their items with suppliers and tend their store to be ready for the 5 am opening where citizens start to flood out the store to fulfill their daily market lists. As you can see, the plastic barriers are still raised up while in preparation but when the clock strikes 5 in the morning, all of those cover up faces and creates transparent barriers.

Raindrops on Rooftops

Rain over Pandan, General Trias

It's been almost a week since the rain last visited our city. Lockdown has been greatly relaxed but the rate of infection is still at all time high with more than a thousand new cases two days ago. The rain is always a very welcome visitor especially as it's one way of nature to help in somehow disinfecting the streets through water downpours and at the same time, keeping irresponsible loiterers at home.

Has it rained on your side of the world in the past few days?

Refreshing!

Watermelons are symbolic to Summertime here in the Philippines. Although nowadays, with the trends in agriculture and propagation, watermelons can now bear fruit all year round. Before, these were just summer crops grown in rotation during drier months like March to June due to its strength and hardiness during droughts. 

In this time of the pandemic, fruits can be a luxury even in our home so whenever we get a fruit or two, especially this watermelon, it really is a treat for me not just to my tastebuds but also to my eyes! There's something about watermelons that feels refreshing even Just the sight of it! Do you get that too with these?

By the way, it's a brand new month! Happy June everybody around the world!

Filipino-Chinese Families of Cavite

Tan Family of Fujian - General Trias

In Cavite, there are a number of Chinese-Filipino families that have been living in the province for more than a century now. One of which is my own family which is shown on this old photo above. My Grandfather (Rightmost) is from Fujian Province and he traveled all the way to Singapore and then to the Philippines when he was still a teenager during the early 30's. Then he met my Grandmother (on his right at front) and they started a family in Malabon (now General Trias) in Cavite. My grandmother was a Filipino which makes my father (upper right of my grandfather) half Filipino. The man on the leftmost is my Grandfather's brother and his family.

I have always been so proud of how my grandparents raised our whole family from humble beginnings walking miles and miles to start their business which then became one of the leading hardware stores in the province during the 80's to the late 90's. Both my grandma and grandpa had passed away but their legacy will never be forgotten not just by us their family, but also all other people in our city who's lives where touched by theirs.

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This post is part of Timeless Thursdays. You can click on the link below to visit or join this linky and share your Timeless treasures whether they may be photos or thoughts.

Distance, My Friend

Robinson's Supermarket, General Trias

This is part of the new normal that we have here in the Philippines as supermarkets and groceries are limiting people that are inside their store premises. To help shoppers with their wait, chairs are provided just like these at the driveway just outside the Supermarket in a mall at General Trias. One thing I like about most Filipinos is that as long as you provide them with a set of justifiable rules that would benefit them and everybody else, they would [usually] follow. 

The big question, what happens when there are no clear and well-thought of rules?

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This post is part of Our World Tuesday. Click on the photo and be taken to beautiful views around the world!

Manila Palm

The Adonidia merrillii or commonly called the Manila Palm is a kind of palm tree that is native to our islands and our neighboring Malaysia (Sabah). It is also called Christmas palm because is bears fruits which are of bright red in color. Here in Cavite, the Manila palm is a usual addition to any home garden landscape which have a bigger area because they do grow up to 25 feet high.

This lockdown has enabled me to learn more about things that we don't usually have time for and one of which, and I am sure you know much if you are a frequent on my blogs, is about plants and gardening. This time did not just taught me about names and species but especially the healing properties of being close to plants.

What things have you learned or hobbies you uncovered in these times of the pandemic?

Behind Us

The lockdown has been lifted this week. I should have said relaxed but with the rate of cars and people roaming around the streets, it's like the quarantine had even cloned more people and now they are all on the loose! They do wear masks as I see it from our balcony, but my friend Myrcel who is both a nurse and a market vendor who takes care of their family business, took this photo for Cavite Daily Photo kept seeing a lot of people just everywhere and not practicing social distancing at all.

I just hope and pray for my country, that is all that I can do given the situation and also with the compliance of the citizens and the rate of planning by the government. Our nation is so behind as compared to a hundred other when it comes to planning and mitigation of the situation.

This post is part of Weekend Reflections.Visit the link or click the image below to be reflected to other views around the world!

Rain Clouds

Rain Clouds over General Trias

This week, there have been a few instances that the rain visited the province. This photo was taken Tuesday when we all though the rain will kiss our grounds in General Trias but decided to just pass by neighboring cities. Even if the rain visits us occasionally, the temperature index are still maintained at a range of 40C-50C everyday.

Spring is in bloom in some parts of the north like the US and Europe and down under, they enjoy colorful autumn season. How has the weather been on your side of the planet? 

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This post is part of Skywatch Friday that features different views of the sky around the world. Visit Skywatch and go on tour around the globe seeing sunrises, sunsets and so much more than the sky that you know at http://skyley.blogspot.in/