Fishing day

We have two small fishing lakes; ponds to us but Clare says that gives totally the wrong idea. So we have a larger small fishing lake and a smaller small fishing lake. 

Neither has been fished for months. 

So today there was some fishing with long nets. Marlon, aided by Jaimie, fished the larger lake in the morning. We collected and counted fish and Marjorie processed enough for lunch. 

We are 9 for lunch. In addition to those mentioned, Jasmine and Honey stayed last night, Mary-Chris came with her father, and Lyn returned from her day off. 

The fish you see are sea going shrimp scad (also known as the slender yellowtail kingfish) and how they got in our lake is a mystery. I suppose it was when the river flooded. Anyway they were the first 3 fish out of the net and were received with some enthusiasm. "300 pesos a kilo" I was told, when 120 pesos is more usual for lesser fish. 

What we were hoping for were tilapia and the first lake yielded over 50. There were also several similar but more bony fish and 2 mudfish. 

Our small freezer won't take anything like that quantity but the fishermen will have some as will our near relatives. 

This afternoon will include sorting out the fish and preparing them as well as some net maintenance ready for next time. 

Terry 

terrywestoby@gmail.com

The picture is heic format. If you need to, you can convert it to jpg at https://heictojpg.com/ 

End of day total 85 tilapia from the 2 ponds. 

Beach junk

We went for a walk along the beach this morning. There had been a storm and the beach was strewn with rubbish like bottles (both plastic and glass), shoes that looked new, bamboo and wood, even children's toys. And rolling in the surf, loads of coconuts. 

Some coconuts were washed up high on the beach, others were still being rolled by the waves. The one in the photo was close to where we swim and it was particularly big. 

When we looked closer, it was already sprouting so, heavy as it was, we carried it home and one day we will plant it. 

For now though it has been washed in fresh water, placed in the shade and over the next days it will be doused with water. The shoot should grow tall and when it does it can be planted. 

But it's a long term project. It can talke 20 years before it produces coconuts of its own. 

Terence Westoby

terrywestoby@gmail.com

A Walk in the Mountains

We needed some wood for the church building under construction. And Esto is cutting mahogany for us. But we need some today.

So off we went to call on Esto. First stop, his wife to find out where he was. But the house was empty.

Now Esto's village is small and almost everyone is related. Next door to their home, a niece explained that the whole family were in the woods. And she promptly set off to show us the way.

The way led out of the village and through Agustina's place. We skirted 2 fields and then turned sharp left onto a tiny track leading gently up hill. This was just a foothill of the mountains but it's as near as I have ever been.

After climbing for a while we came across the family (they have 2 small boys). You see the location with a home made hut. There are lots of easy-to-climb mango trees and the third photo is of 4 boys, 3 in the tree and one leaving it.

Esto selected several planks that were already cut and carried them down for us. His small son did the same with the mangos we bought.

The larger wood will be cut from trees on the next hill; and a water buffalo will pull them to where more modern delivery vehicles can collect it.

The location in the hills was a unique experience for me, away from any mechanical noises, with shade and a warm breeze; it meant that we stayed just a little longer than we otherwise might.

Earthquake

I have experienced my second earthquake today. You can see the red pin showing where it was, 4.9 strength and 72km down of course. We are about 20km away where the blue dot is under "San Felipe". It lasted 20 seconds, getting strongest in the middle of that time, and was a noticeable shaking. There was a knocking sound too, but no obvious damage, nothing fallen off the shelves or anything like that.

The power stayed on and the Karaoke singer down the road didn't falter.

Terry

Change in our lives

The apple mangos are getting ripe, and there are lots of them. It reminds me that Clare visited a while ago. As I look around the garden, I realise there have been a lot of changes since then.

During this dry season we have started to repair the garden walls. Already the back of the pond/lake walls have been filled which makes the garden look much nicer. The end wall is half up now.

We will be planting later once the sand infill is settled.

The house and roof have been painted.

There is a small building going up in a spare space so that we can welcome children for bible studies, and we will be upgrading the garage spaces.

As you can see in the picture, we now have a car. In Filipino "4-wheels". Luxury transport is now available! It is covered to protect it from the cement you can see in the background.

Come and visit and you can see it for real.

Lighting up

When we were in England we saw a lampshade that we liked at a friend's house. They had bought it from a Swedish shop and we went to find one for ourselves.

The shop near us had only little shades, but we could order a large one and so a box was delivered with our shade in kit form.

We sent it off by sea to the Philippines.

The box arrived a few weeks back now, and today I got round to removing the old ceiling fan. That done, the new light installation was straightforward.

So here it is. It has transformed the room. Rather like a hotel or disco! But also restful and warm. It adjusts from fully closed to open and the photos are with it half way.

We like it so much we are talking about getting the small version for our bedroom.

Lunch from our back garden

Teaching day tomorrow so today we are catching lunch. Here is one that has just been netted.

The fishing activity generated some interest in our relatives across the road who came to watch. All went away with a selection of fish.

I am not sure yet how many we caught, but over 40 is very likely. Mostly tilapia which we wanted, several catfish and some that even the Filipinos asked "what's that?" The small ones were thrown back for next time. 

Right now they are being 'prepared' in the garden, all except the 5 we barbecued earlier.

Terry