It was finally a beautiful day after almost a week of constant rain. I was sweeping in our backyard when something landed on my head. I hope it's not bird poop or a very huge and hairy insect, and when I removed it from my head to examine it, I was relieved that it wasn't something I'd stated previously. But what was this particular thing exactly?
What's up, Hivers! It's me, makiyumee and I am back again with another blog! How's your school or job going? If anything goes wrong, please don't give up, okay? Fighting! Also, I hope you are all doing fine during this rainy season. Anyways, enough with the greetings haha! Let's go back to my blog now.
Okay, let us officially start from the very beginning. It was a Tuesday morning, and my mother had just awakened me up. We still don't have classes that day because our school often starts classes in the second or third week of August. After finishing my morning practices, I grabbed the broom and went ahead to our backyard, where there was a massive heap of mess waiting for me.
Determined to get everything back in order, I picked up my broom and headed outside into the cool morning air. The aroma of rain remained mixing with the earthy smell of damp soil. I began at one corner, gradually sweeping the leaves into neat pyramids. Each stroke of the broom seemed like a small win over the chaos that nature had unleashed.
Despite my initial tiredness, I discovered some calm in the process. The backyard, which had been chaotic and wild, eventually returned to its usual, ordered form. By the time I was done, the sun had risen higher, putting a pleasant warmth over my work. I stood back, enjoying the process of transformation, filled with a deep sense of contentment and satisfaction because I had finally finished the first part of my backyard cleaning.
I was sweeping on one corner of our backyard, trying to tidy things around after the heavy rains washed a lot of leaves and branches towards are backyard. I was busy sweeping when something fell on my head. I took off the thing that dropped on my head and when I looked at it, it was a very small purple bud. It was so light that when the gentle breeze of the morning blew, it flew away from my palm.
When I looked down at the ground, I noticed that there were now a lot of purple buds below and it wasn't even there before. I crouched down and took out another when before placing it on my palm. I observed the bud once more and when I looked at it closely, I realized that it was a very small purple flower.
As I looked closer, I observed its wonderful details—the soft, sensuous petals, the slight gradient of purple shades, and the delicate way it unfolded. It wasn't just a bud; it was a tiny, fully formed purple flower, with each petal intricately made as if it had been created by a master craftsman. The transformation from bud to flower appeared almost amazing, and I was captivated by its little yet significantly beauty. This surprise finding filled me with awe, making me appreciate the hidden treasures that sometimes go overlooked.
There were only a few petals on the flower, but they fell on me in groups. There was also this fragile-looking filaments coming out from its center which I thought that maybe it was the flower's reproductive system. I asked my mother what the flower's name was, and she told me that it was the flower of our Molave or Tugas Tree.
Vitex Parviflora or Molave, people in Visayas call it Tugas and these trees are growing everywhere in our home. I know these trees are everywhere in the Philippines too. My mother sometimes revealed the knowledge passed down from her grandparents about the Molave tree, known locally as Tugas. According to her, this remarkable tree was admired not just for its strength, but also for its countless advantages.
The bark of a Molave tree, when combined with the bark of the Acacia tree, might produce a powerful cure. This ancient combination was thought to eliminate poisons, whether eaten from poisoned food or from various sources.
The Molave's wood was another sought-after feature. It was recognized for its toughness and was frequently carved into solid furniture that could withstand the test of time, often passing down as heirlooms from generation to generation. Its durability made it ideal for building homes, tools, and even firewood that burned brilliantly and long, giving warmth and light during many dark nights.
There are some Molave trees growing near my grandfather's house and his garden, there were also some growing near our backyard and some even growing beside our Jamaican Cherry tree or the Mansinitos as what my mother calls it. They are literally everywhere. Aside from its herbal benefits, my father even used some of the trees' trunk as a place where his roosters can perch and rest during the night. It also gives us shade and makes the air around us fresh and cool.
Sometimes, on Sundays, my family and I would find ourselves sleeping and resting during our afternoon siesta under our Molave and Mansinitos trees. It's really peaceful sleeping under the shade of the trees and thinking about this made me realized how important trees are. They are not something that we should just cut here and there. Maybe, just maybe, if ever someone decides to cut trees, they should choose the old ones and then replace them with new ones.
I hope you had fun reading my blog for today, my dear Hivers. Do also you have Molave trees or Tugas at your respective homes? If you have then you better take care of them because they provide a lot of advantages that can be useful in the future. That would be all, see you all on my next blog everyone!
