Finding Solitude Inside the Food Forest

There is a fellowship more quiet even than solitude, and which, rightly understood, is solitude made perfect. — Robert Louis Stevenson

It will be my second year here back in my hometown.

Last year, it was wet, dark, and solemn. With the unfavorable weather devastation and the crippling coercion, it can't be blamed that the year just passed so silent.

Right now, it's on the third week of the back-to-back celebrations, and I can say, it is very loud and weakening. December had kicked off the mind-testing limits of what being merry is!

It's a signal to show off your best dance moves, be it with the classic folk music, the latest beats, or the mix of both. You can dance on-site or at your home, guaranteed you'll have the same music wherever you are in the village.

Philippines do celebrate Christmas starting September, but our village take it to a notch higher by fitting in multiple celebrations almost every day (or night) in December until the 1st of January. The ground-rumbling disco and the karaoke wars will want you book a trip anywhere but here.

If you're a foreigner accidentally booking a travel on peak days, just stay in a hotel or else you'll encounter the karaoke hell, and just unleash the beast within you.

This is the perfect time to hear your silent neighbor go amok over his or her past lover and that he or she is having a hard time moving on, but the next song will be about the chick he was checking out at the bar, flirtatious!

My mom opted for melatonin already. I was still busy complaining while having noise-induced migraines for the past few days. I usually feel okay being sleepless at night, but the ear-bursting celebrations has just bursted into the limit and I felt it was the right time to escape the madness and return to nature.

Maybe many will be enliven by the epic-level music, but sadly it will not work on me.

Well, I was happy seeing everyone being joyful and drunk, that's why I chose to leave and be detached temporarily. I went to the orchard and spend the remainder of the day there, just returning home when the sun started to set.

The sound was manageable there, the distant beats and shouting felt unusually pleasant. It was silenced by the gushing of the nearby river and the sound of the rumbling of the leaves. The peaceful and overgrown orchard felt like a safe haven, calming my mind and the senses.

I did not bring any garden tools or machete, I just find it weird for someone walking along the busy streets with a deadly weapon, LOL! So, with nothing at hand, I just resorted to the much-awaited manual weeding on the raised beds.

I did not know, pulling weeds was therapeutic!

Throughout the afternoon, I eventually tempered down. I did have a lot of realizations over the frustrations I have in life and I have resolved some bigger plans for the food forest that I am building. Well, it just involves sand, gravel, rocks, bamboo, and a grasscutter. It sure need a lot of hard work!

I strolled for a bit, just admiring the tree seedlings that have almost surpassed my height and the sprouts of the vegetables, herbs, and spices that I sowed earlier this month. There were also cuttings that started to bud and grow more leaves.

Having a permaculture garden will not guarantee you a good and beautiful harvest, but you're lucky if you do. I harvested some vegetables for dinner. I really recommend anyone to have a permaculture garden, because you can always have something to harvest that you'll know is nutrient-rich and is safe to share with your family.

I apologize first hand, but I was already feeling nauseous by the scent of meat that was served in our table. When I also visited the orchard, remnants of the mass-slaughtering of pigs stained and littered the nearby fountain.

This is culture and tradition, but I personally try my best to distance myself from from things that I don't support. We all have choices and I still have the same respect to my family and the community.

Anyway, I also climbed the Guyabano tree to pick a fruit stuck on a branch. Half of it was covered dust and web, probably some insect or arachnid have used it as roof to their home. I thought of harvesting young coconuts too, but I haven't brought any bigger bag, it might make me look silly on the busy streets, juggling on garden produce while others carry beers. I'm a shy person, okay?

Along the way home, I did see my batchmates visiting over their peers in our village. Some homes had large iron pots and bonfire on their yards, some hired local chefs, some had catering services do it for them. It was really festive day, or I say month!

The escape to the orchard at the far edge of the village proved helpful, I was feeling better even if the festive mood and the karaoke wars continued, but the noise did eventually die down by midnight.

If you ever have this moment, would you go tk the dance floor or book an island escape? HAHAHA!

Weather Forecast

^{NOAA: HIMAWARI-8 West Pacific Weather Satellite SOURCE}

2022-12-13 3PM
Mostly Cloudy
31°C / 89% H
W 5 km/h ENE
P 33% 1mm
UVi 4

Weather Forecast provided by Weather Atlas.

PINNED POSTS


	Clearing the Damage After the Storm Instead of falling into anxiety, I took time to make use of what the storm had given.
	Building Abundance with More Fruit Trees Amid the Economic Turmoil This year, I planned to initially plant 100 trees wherever possible until the year ends.
	Using Saltwater and Fire to Heal a Permaculture Garden Plant debris becomes natural mulch and organic matter.
	Harvesting Cucumbers After a Year of Labor As crops mature, harvest season began as well.
	Fermenting Fish Amino Acid for the Garden Crops It would be a sin to throw away such things, even the food scraps I turn it to compost now.

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About Me

@oniemaniego is a software developer, but outside work, he experiments in the kitchen, writes poetry and fiction, paints his heart out, or toils under the hot sun.


	Onie Maniego / Loy Bukid was born in rural Leyte. He often visits his family orchards during the summers and weekends, which greatly influenced his works.