Alarm Clocks & Parades

So, what if your alarm clock IS a parade?  When the parade first passed the house at 5AM this morning, it was a bit too dark for a picture. Short parade, but what it lacked in numbers it made up in volume!

I was thrilled to see that they continued till just before 6AM. Since we are on a pretty main street, we heard it a few times. Why the early morning wake up call? It is Fiesta Weekend here in Ladislawa Garden Village. I am missing my 25th year Reunion at Messiah College this weekend, so I am up for a celebration. This fit the bill! Since I was up, I saw a FB post from my friend Pam. She encouraged me to get over to the clubhouse to participate in the Fun Run.

After the run, I caught up with the exuberant noise making culprits... actually, I quite like the drumming! Love this picture, they are so full of life!

What a fun celebratory atmosphere! Thanksgiving for fellowship, food & fun!

So, all before 8AM, I have my exercise in & enjoyed a hearty breakfast.

So much to be thankful for. Starting the day with a spring in my step! It is something wonderful to be awake and alive. Wanna hear what I woke up to? Click here.

ENJOY! Saying goes...it is more fun in the Philippines!

Fall??

It is October the 14th. Yesterday I was snorkeling in the pristine waters off of Tulikud Island, Philippines. 

Hmmmm? Something is just not quite right. Oh yeah, the weather is supposed to be changing as are the colors of the leaves. FALL....the closest I get to Fall here is the red tips on the leaves of the three bushes in front of our home, walks on the path with Freckie that always have leaves to crunch & some pumpkin spice Chai tea that my awesome friend Mars gifted me. 

It is weird. There are so many things I love here, but I must be a creature of habit? I am really feeling it this year. 8 years (wait, a couple of years ago, I traveled home alone to enjoy fall with Mom & Dad, a sweet surprise) of living abroad and not being in Pennsylvania for the Fall... It is one of my favorite times of the year, crisp air, gorgeous foliage, fresh apples, bonfires & the moon on a chilly night.

credits: Faith Matthews. Joe Pond, VT

This is not a complaint or a "woe is me" post, just some reflections. Just realizing why I might feel a bit off these last few days maybe even weeks? Actually today, the sky is not typical. It could pass as a fall sky? This picture was taken at 1;30 PM. We usually have beautiful blue skies with the most amazing clouds evah! But today, I will take this cloudy gray sky & pretend that it is Fall.

I think my feelings are more intense as I have two boys in university talking about all of the changes they are experiencing. Funny, but they are missing bits of living abroad. They are cold. Ha ha. I guess all of our experiences really make us who we are. We are Pennsylvanians born & raised with a bit of NJ, some Niger & a whole lotta Philippines.  I am sure this time next year I will be longing for kinilaw, flip flops, mangoes & the white sand of Tulikud Island!

I must sound confused? Fall or no Fall....something inside me is saying it should be here but that is not the reality. Atleast Pennsylvania Fall. Not sure what that means, but today and right now I guess it means extra pumpkin spice Chai, early walks with the hope to catch a cool breeze, time with my sweet Freckie 

& maybe crank the air con and put on my favorite green sweat shirt for a bit? Also, I LOVE seeing posts on Instagram & FB of all my Fall-loving friends are enjoying. I have no problem enjoying Fall vicariously through you! Thanks, in advance!! Well, tomorrow it will be back to eternal summer...flip flops, shorts, beautiful blue skies with fluffy clouds & wonderful ripe fresh tropical fruit. It is my reality. Fall is truly wonderful, but I do have to say that I am quite happy being here in the Philippines right now sipping my pumpkin spice Chai. 

Bird Watching

Ahhh, this morning, I struck out bright and early to head on my 1st Bird Watch with the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines-Davao. It was wonderful to be in the forest and the group collectively spotted 40 different species....4 being raptors: Brahminy Kite, Philippine Serpent Eagle, Chinese Goshawk & a few people even had the treat of seeing a Peregrine Falcon! 

Philippine Serpent Eagle

There were a few types of King Fisher (one of my favorites, I was able to photograph one and only observed the collared kingfisher through the scope), plenty of sunbirds,  flower peckers, drongo cuckoos, beeaters...you get the idea. I will not list them all and I am not sure I could even identify them?? Makes me want to study! Of course, I enjoy the very colorful birds and I was not disappointed. 

Brown Breasted King fisher

One of the varieties of Sunbirds we saw, sorry can't remember the specific type.

Olive Backed Sunbird

My only regret of the day was not having a super high tech lens to take extra close ups to study now. Other surprises were a Sailfin Lizard, a skink and plenty of Flying Foxes! 

Sailfin lizard

Check out the Sailfin lizard's tail. 

skink

Flying Fox

I was refreshed by the beauty around me and the excellence of the people leading, such a wealth of knowledge!  My brain is on overload, they were able to identify so many birds. The groups leader, Pete Simpson is kind and well equipped. It was fun to watch his excitement as well. He brought along scopes, recorded bird calls and his group was well coordinated with binoculars to share.  I saw some of the BIGGEST camera lenses ever!!  If you live in Davao, this is an enriching activity, well worth the time.  Oh, did I mention the lilies?? Maybe they are worth their own blog?? Stunning....

I think that birds are some quite wonderful!  But, I have to admit, I love finding and photographing other treasures as well. Like this guy.....

• He looked feathered...check out his feet!

Smiles for Miles

Just a week ago we kicked off our week-long Cleft Camp here at Tebow CURE Hospital. 

A team (2 surgeons, 2 anesthesiologists, a nurse and 2 photographers) from the organization Free to Smile volunteered their time to spend a week here in the Philippines repairing cleft lips & palates! 

That they did!! 30 surgeries...24 boys & 6 girls! It was truly a week of transformation! Our staff worked so hard and it was quite a great week. I just love cleft repairs as they are so dramatic and heal quickly! 

For video updates, you can go to our FB page Tebow CURE Hospital or check them out on you tube.

Of course, I enjoyed blowing lots of bubbles and snapping some candid shots. 

Here is the album that I created. ENJOY! 

Smiles are something very wonderful & I am thrilled for all the families that we got to meet this week!