Paving paradise part nth

  So we chose to move up to the hills...far from the highway now regularly jammed on weekends...away from the commercial areas...never mind their convenience...

  But now the two big developers have joined together to create even more of the same up there too.   

  Saw the forest bulldozed...very very very sad.

  And yet in the future, I know I will patronize it. Or even be a tenant. 

  Surely, an asthma attack after twenty years of clear lungs...may be related to the construction around.  And what about EVERYONE now having respiratory problems.  It's not just the pollen, I say.  For former Manila residents maybe it's even being used to the cement dust and THEN experiencing pollen.

  I used to hear about "Green Lungs" in the city of Kuala Lumpur every day. Not once have I heard it here.  Just because we are not prone to the smog from Indonesia, or are not in a valley like KL is, does not mean we do not need the "green lungs" too.

  Bye bye birdies.

  

Philippine Sights Reed Diffusers

Here is a collection of reed diffuser oils inspired by sights in the mostly Southern Tagalog region, including of course, Laguna, and a Southern island in the Philippines.  Reed diffusers are an alternative way of making a room smell good. Rattan reeds placed upright in the bottle of oil wick up and diffuse the oil--in this case a combination of essential and fragrance oils. They do so continuously as reeds stand in the oil, eliminating the need for flames and wax as in candles and burners, or electricity as in electric burners.

"Tanawin" Reed Diffuser Oils subtly scent your space with:

Guimaras

samyo ng matamis na mangga sa natatanging isla

fragrance of sweet mangoes on the unique island

a blend of green mango and coconut

Silang

halimuyak ng hardin sa bayang luntian

fragrance of the garden in this verdant land

a blend of lemongrass, basil, and other herbs

Laguna     
simoy ng sampaguita sa lupang tinubuan

breeze of sampaguita in the land of one's birth

a blend of sampaguita and bamboo

Amadeo    
aroma ng kape sa maaliwalas na gulod ng Tagaytay

aroma of coffee in the pleasant Tagaytay ridge

a blend of coffee and vanilla

Tanawin Reed Diffuser Oils bring pleasant memories of cool Tagaytay trips, or languid Philippine beach holidays into your home.
They're available for sale in Santa Rosa, on your way back from Tagaytay, or via meet-up in Alabang.  Unfortunately they cannot be shipped as yet. They would make great resort, restaurant or shop merchandise in the Tagaytay-Silang-Sta. Rosa area.    email poeticscents@gmail.com

Mmm, smell that? It's the Narra tree!

     You never know what tomorrow will bring. Tomorrow is today, and today is heady with the scent of the narra trees' flowers.  How lovely to wake up to this naturally-fragranced air! The  exotic "bango" (scent) comes in wisps, swirling in the air, blown in through our windows by the breeze.  The lush green leaves are making a graceful brushing sound as I type.  Music and fragrance from the trees and air!

     I was going to start posting yesterday, but then it was going to be an angry post, a bad start for a new blogger.  Yesterday, and on some days since last week, we have been inhaling, no--choking, on smoke from one of the 'developments' out here in Santa Rosa.  It rained "abo" strips (ash).  We left Makati alongside EDSA, after years of trying to stop the burning of leaves and grass at the seminary near us.  Not even reporting them to the MMDA headquarters across their lot stopped it. To be fair, there seemed to be a period when it stopped right after my call to the chairman.  After a brief spell, the "pagsisiga", an illegal activity, really, went on during weekends and holidays.  We endured black dust from EDSA buses settling stubbornly on all our appliances, furniture, and heaven forbid, in our respiratory systems.  Then we moved here, and everyone who learned about it understood, it's for the "air".  There is space and air here because of unoccupied fields of cogon...which are burnt.

     Oh dear. I started my blog on that negative note anyway. This is how I really hoped to begin:
Narras in bloom!

underneath the narra tree...see the fuzzy leaves? It's windy.

If only the scent could be posted...!

     The scent is rich, perfumey but just so, not overpowering in a headache-y way. There is no way I can describe it any further except to say it reminds me of the scents of jasmine or honeysuckle. Oh but this narra, it's potent after all ha. Smelling it makes me feel...pretty? See? It's affecting my brain already.  People outside should be happy today, not the happy that is drug-induced though, haha. 

    Last March, when they bloomed one day, I learned narras bloom a day after a rainshower in February or March.It hasn't really rained, but it's been overcast and cold here. The flowers last only one or two days and then they are yellow little dots on the ground, flying together toward the sidewalks' edges.  Tokyo has its cherry blossoms in bloom right now, and these are our own temporary flowers. Not outstandingly pretty, they make up for yesterday's smoke and ashfall. Alright, I must not complain too much about my air now.  I've been thinking of what our Japanese brethren are going through. 

     My milflores also currently in bloom is for very a good Japanese friend in Tokyo who remains optimistic despite the empty grocery shelves she has been facing each night after work. You have a home with us, my sister.