Balinghasai Farms

Rain marks the arrival of many good things; everything seemed to grow faster during this season and the creek never seem to run out of nutrient-rich and freshly oxygenated running water - particularly good for its common inhabitants. Despite the unruly weeds and knee-high grasses, which also seemed to take advantage of the rain, a walk by our muddy creek every now and then to gather the favorite “Susong-palipit” has become an anticipated affair. The rainy months are also the time when the Putat trees (Barringtonia acutangula) showcase their short-lived but magnificent blooms so its not unusual to pluck the hapless snails out of the shallow creek that has been littered with freshly aborted Putat inflorescence. In the past years, the creek has been very generous in providing us with delicious dinner, this year though the snails appear to arrive disturbingly late.

Snail-gathering became an efficient method to interest the kids about the mundane life in the farm, especially the older ones. I never had a hard time inviting my nephew Brix if I say we will collect snails for dinner, otherwise I will have to bribe him. Sometimes if we get lucky, we will also see juvenile Asian box turtles on clearer waters but mudfish fry are common. There are a number of fruiting Tibig (Ficus nota) and Bangkal (Nauclea orientalis) trees that run along our winding creek; the fallen fruits provide wild fodder for the turtles.

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