Landscape Scenes in the Mind

Landscape Scenes in the Mind

Dr Abe V Rotor  

Ricefields and Stream in pastel (9" x 12") by Chris Ann Rotor, 11 (circa 1995)

Where are the birds in the sky, and birds that meet the day,

The gentle folks in their chores, children lilting in their play?

They are all there in imagery that many people cannot see,

But to a child artist the scene is complete, pure and free.

 Monsoon has arrived in acrylic (9" x 20") AVR 2020

A flock of white birds came flying over gathering clouds,

Rivulets into stream playing the music of a dozen harps; 

Torrential rains followed down the hills into avalanche;

It is Nature's call disguised as beautiful in the arts. ~ 

Nature's Sweet Lies

                     

Nature's Sweet Lies
Dr Abe V Rotor

Deceit and conceit in a duo,
Makes one believe or doesn't know
To accept things or analyze
Nature's own sweet and gentle lies.


A pair of locust in camouflage and mimicry 

The locust in summer is brown,
A lonely creature yet a clown;
Full in monsoon of hues of green,
Grotesque and mean I've ever seen.

The moth wears dust to hide its frame,
At dusk wakes up and play the game
Of feigning dead, devoid of spark;
Its enemies think it's all bark.

Where comes the trigger, that I know,
Hormones by signal freely flow,
Masking colors, painting a view,
To match a perfect scenario.

Deceit and conceit in a duo,
Makes one believe or doesn't know
To accept things or analyze
Nature's own sweet and gentle lies.~

KALAYAAN 2020 Reading: Remembering the Philippines' Foremost Biologists: Dr Deogracias V Villadolid and Dr Eduardo A Quisumbing

In honor of my two foremost professors whose works changed the way we live today
Dr Abe V Rotor

Father of Philippine Fisheries Education 

Dr Villadolid introduced tilapia (Tilapia nilotica and T mozambica) in the Philippines in 1950 when he was Director of the Bureau of Fisheries. He also initiated fisheries education in the country. For this reason, he is known as the Father of Fisheries Education in the Philippines.

“One of the country’s outstanding biologists, Dr. Deogracias V. Villadolid devoted the last years of his life to the advancement of research in fisheries in the Philippines and in the Indo-Pacific area. He contributed a great deal to the sustained study and interest in the biology of fishes, especially cultivation and conservation as well as to the promotion of the fishery industry.” - Dr. Juan Salcedo, Jr., then Chairman of the National Research Council of the Philippines.

Foremost Philippine zoologist and botanist (Dr Deogracias V Villadolid and Dr Eduardo A Quisumbing)

Filipino botanist, Eduardo Quisumbing was a noted expert in the medicinal plants of the Philippines. He was author of more than 129 scientific articles. many on orchids. Eduardo Quisumbing served as the Director of the National Museum of the Philippines, where he rebuilt the Herbarium. The plant "Saccolabium quisumbingii" is named in honor of Eduardo Quisumbing. His book, Medicinal Plants of the Philippines is still the most important reference in botany, pharmacology and related subjects. 

Like Dr Villadolid, Dr Quisumbing, was my professor and critic in graduate research. It is a rare opportunity and honor to have been under these great Filipino scientists which enriched my preparation in my career as public servant and university professor. It is above all, for their humility, compassion, and dedication to service, other than their genius that they are and will always be remembered.    

Tambal or Brisbane Lily - Floral Beauty and Folkloric Remedy

Tambal  or Brisbane Lily  

- Floral Beauty and Folkloric Remedy  

Photos by Dr Abe V Rotor 

I found this unique plant in an unexpected place in our backyard in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur, beside a leaning mango tree, where there is little sunshine, and the surrounding is shaded and cool.  The plant simply emerged just after a shower in May. There it stood dainty and proud, with immaculate white compound flowers perched on a sturdy stalk. Though the plant is short lived, it made our summer memorable to my family and our friends. 

 

 

Eurycles amboinensis (L.) Lindl or Proiphys amboinensis L Herb; Family Amaryllidaceae. It is native to countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and the  Philippines. It is called Brisbane Lily in Australia. This species occurs naturally in colonies in light shaded areas of the rainforest, and on open and coastal areas.  

Folkloric Uses of Tambal 

- Ethnic use of the leaves reduce swelling and chewing the bulbs is said to 

  relieve the  effects of poisonous fish.*
- Small doses of raw bulbs ingested to induce vomiting.
- Leaves used externally as anti-rheumatic topical.
- Subanens in Zamboanga del Sur apply poultice of leaves and roots on inflammation.
- In the Bicol area, fire-warmed lightly-oiled young leaves are applied to abdomen for stomach aches, to the forehead for headaches, and to the chest for colds and chest congestion. Also applied over sprains and fractures.
- Bulb chewed to relived oppression and giddiness resulting from eating poisonous fish or crustaceans.
- In Indonesian Pre-Christian era, plant has recorded use for the treatment of small pox: A plaster or compress was made from leaves and placed on wounds to draw pus.
In Malaysia, the plant used to prevent spirits from haunting houses.

References: Philippine Medicinal Plants (Internet);  

*Philippine Ornamental Plants - Mona Liza Steiner,1952

Old Walls of Faith

Old Walls of Faith 

In loving memory of Msgr Benjamin F Advincula, parish priest of Santa Monica (Roxas City) Capiz.*

Dr Abe V Rotor

Silence in these walls is deafening,

     You can hear your breathing;

But if peace reigns in the Being,

     You won't really hear a thing. 

                  

     Crowned windows with garland,

           and sealed by time,

     while faith ruled over the land

           once in its prime.   

                      

                      Stand tall, oh tower, and taller still,

      the faithful gazes forevermore,

for heaven by wealth cannot fill

     the vacuum of the poor. 

Don't sleep, and never doze;

     have presence, 

for faith behind walls may lose

     its essence.   

*Author was invited resource person in a diocesan conference. circa 2010.
Acknowledgment: Rev Msgr Vicente F Kilata, Rev Fr Vic Bendico, Fr Anthony Bautista, Fr Mark Granflor, Fr Nonoy Abalajon, Fr Noel Abalajon, Fr Robert Alba, Bro Ray Bofill et al

Morning at the University of Santo Tomas Manila Botanical Garden - An On-the-Spot Painting

"It is misty, it is foggy, here at the

garden, or it must be smog in the city air..."

Painting and poem by Abe V Rotor

 

                      It is misty, it is foggy, here at the garden,

     or it must be smog in the city air;
and the early rays pierce through like spears,
     yet this is the best place for a lair.

But the artist must be provoked, challenged;
     for peace can't make a masterpiece;
only a troubled soul rises where others fall,
     where ease and good life often miss.

This lair is where the action is, the battlefield,
     where pure and polluted air meet,
where a garden in a concrete jungle reigns,
     where nature's trail ends in a street.

Art, where is art, when the message is unclear,
     colors, colors, what color is blind faith?
what color is rage, what color is change?
     colors be humble - black is your fate. ~ 

A spray of red and orange in the tree top,

     either it is autumn's onset,
or the season had just passed us in slumber,
     yet too early to hibernate.

Catch the sun, borrow its colors and shine
     that you may be filled with grace divine;
for your life is short and your flowers ephemeral, 
     that make you a mythical vine. 

              

 There is no such thing as emptiness, for memories linger;

     the bench is warm, whispers hang in the glen;
spirits roam, the past comes around in them to haunt,
     to scare a bit to remember them, now and then.