Meat Eater Plants

So even some plants prefer meat? These carnivorous plants got me intrigued, I was expecting huge/gigantic flowers which I saw on science fiction films snapping humans , eating them alive. So I went inside this booth and found these cute plants. No, they weren't eating human, they were too small even to snap a tiny finger. They actually eat insects.

Snap Facts : Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. It has been widely assumed that the various sorts of pitfall trap evolved from rolled leaves, with selection pressure favouring more deeply cupped leaves over evolutionary time. _  click source

Now that dengue mosquitoes are rampant in Manila, I think they are going to be a good ally against those dangerous insects. Wait___ I hope these plants are not picky, do they eat dengue mosquitoes?




Found the booth in a trade fair during Kadayawan in Davao City.

T' boli and Mandaya Tribes

Apart from the pulchritudinous colors of flowers in Davao, the resplendent pigments of ethnic fabrics wore and weaved  by the members of different indigenous tribes had fascinated me during the Kadayawan 2010.












We watched a little of the stage show going on at the park and I didn't understand what was going on. But the colorful garments wore by the indigenous tribe participants were interesting.

Even their accessories  from head down to toes are quite eye candy.

We saw these rich colored fabrics on display for sale right beside the souvenir boutique of  Malipano Island.

There was a weaving center where you could watch tribeswomen weaving The old women are from the Mandaya Tribe.

The tribeswomen wore predominantly the color of red and dashes of other primary colors. Those fabrics were also made into bags and wallets. There were also accessories made by them which designs and hues mirrored the woven clothes.

We found another weaving center at the Pearl Farm Hotel/Resort in Davao where we booked our visit to Pearl Farm, Samal Island.

I noticed another distinctive design of the fabrics here. This was because the weaver came from a different tribe, the T'boli.

Some of the designs have evolved into sophisticated  end products designs. I suspected there were professional designers involved here cos they looked so modern and out of the ethnic tribal box.




I saw other ethnic groups having exhibits and cultural shows. The tribe in the photo above I found at Apo Hotel. Indeed, Davao is a melting pot of ethnic tribes where different cultures and colors contribute more interesting characters of the beautiful province.

Mickey Mouse Fruit

Have you seen mickey mouse fruit? I first saw them in my cuzin's kitchen  in her house in Davao City. Thought they were some kind of rubber toys which babies squeeze and produce some weird sounds. I did actually try to squeeze one and waited for the familiar sound _nada!.

Then on our breakfast table the next morning, a tray of these mickey mouse fruits was used as a table ornament. Thus got our attention and asked what were they? Were they edible?

They are actually ornamental fruits or so as what we were told. Kindah got the looks of Mickey Mouse with ears standing, in 4D.

We saw them on shrubs in Eden Nature Park and were being used all over the city as decorations for hotels, restaurants, resorts and other public display areas. Nice and bright !

Kublai Ponce Millan @ Davao City

Wandering around Davao City, days before the highlights of Kadayawan Festival was fairly interesting. I noticed a lot of nature, art and cultural exhibits were on going around the city. Different venues (hotels, malls, parks, museums) featured various artists. I even met some of them personally. The province is gifted with bountiful nature, no doubt it produces numerous artists of different medium.

One Davao's phenomenal artist from Cotabato, well known Kublai Ponce Millan , monopolizes the art scene in this side of the Philippines. The most accessible thu' could be found at the center of Davao City, in the People's Park.

I'm talking about some of his sculpture works. I gathered that he is a multi artist and that he excelled in every media he set his talent into.

What tickled me thu' was that my cousin's town house in Davao City where we stayed the whole time in Davao had it's own Kublai creations with an s. Not one but two!




In the dining room, a beautiful Kublai's oil painting cheered up the dining scene of the house.

A Kublai stone sculpture nestles at the lanai

Beautiful.beautiful !!!! It just saddened me when Cuzin told us that she's planning to sell the house. She has other houses and this one is hardly being used if not for some of the guests she entertained in the city. The thing is_ the Kublai's go with the house. haaaay !