Quite an eventful past week at the Forest this week!
Seeds sown have germinated:
An Ampalaya (Momordica charantia) sprout.
I’ve been happily buying Ampalaya or Bitter Gourd from a family at the farmers’ market, believing that all of the produce they sell are organic. But then a few weeks ago, when I was about to put a few Ampalayas in my basket, I noticed there were blue streaks across the ridges. Ahay. And so, off I went, did not buy their Ampalaya, and sowed some seeds instead. Hopefully these will grow easily enough on our Porch trellis.
The little boy and I also sowed some Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) seeds, since I’m on a tea exploration phase, and Rosella supposedly has the highest antioxidants of any herbal teas. The daughter and I grew these when the Forest was still starting, and we actually harvested a lot of calices and made lots of delicious jam.
Not in our Forest, but I was very happy to see the little boy foraging for Pipinong Gubat (Melothria pendula).
We were waiting to drop off his Ate somewhere, and he noticed a twin Pipinong Gubat right outside his window. As I was starting to drive off, he requested if we could go back so he could forage! A definite parenting win, don’t you think? He foraged for really ripe ones (dark green — these shouldn’t be eaten as they are a laxative at this stage), which he then proceeded to sow in our Forest as soon as we got home.
Finally got to make some vanilla extract from Vanilla Beans (Vanilla sp) that Monica and Leon of @yapakmalumay grew and processed themselves in their homestead in Batangas. They are an inspiring couple who live closely and gently with the land.
The highlight of our Forest this week: A Philippine Nightjar (Caprimulgus manillensis)!
One afternoon as we got home, I had the urge to just walk through the Forest before entering our house, and then I saw this medium-sized bird fly near me. The little boy and I have seen him/her before but never got to take a good look. This time, when I turned around, he/she was perched on the Dwarf Coconut. The daughter’s first ID of it was Philippine Nightjar — isn’t she amazing? She has an eye for birds. And then a birdwatcher on IG, @hellobirdieph, confirmed. On a related note, did I mention that we have all these hairy caterpillars EVERYWHERE this season? Yes? Well, these hairy caterpillars turn into moths (and several of them are starting to make their cocoons on wall edges now). Do you know what the primary food of Philippine Nightjars is? Moths! The circle of life.