Weekly Photo Challenge: Changing Seasons / Philippine Lemon Flower in Bloom

We have this plant for almost five years now, but the global climate change must have worked on it since it only started having flowers, well, even with only less than a dozen of them these past few months.  I was ecstatic. So, I grabbed my cam to shoot the flower bud; and how it looks like in full bloom.

Calamansi Flower Bud

Calamansi Flower in Full Bloom

I thought that it would be a good idea to show you what happens after the blooming stage. Luckily, I found this one for you to see how cute and how big [small rather] baby calamansi is. I took the photo just this morning, Dec 8.

With scientific name Citrus microcarpa, “Kalamansi/Calamansi” is how we call this fruit in Filipino language; in English, “Philippine Lemon.” This is a favorite juice drink in the country, and can be used to give flavor to many popular dishes like pansit [noodles], chicken and pork barbeques, lugaw or congees, etc. It has medicinal qualities and guaranteed to be good for those with cough and colds; and proven best with honey. [For more scientific info, click, http://www.stuartxchange.com/Kalamansi.html

Two of the only five calamansi fruits that managed to survive from caterpillars and butterflies. Of the five, I made juice drink out of the three; used the fourth one to flavor my noodles; left the one below for me to enjoy looking at while watering it everyday. It is still there and looking too ripe now [becoming yellow] that it may not give that tangent, sour and refreshing lemon taste. Haha! Now waiting for those flowers to turn into fruits…

It’s December. It is suppose to be cold in Manila but we do not feel it. It actually seems to be like summertime still [March to May]. An important feast to celebrate here is nearing: Christmas. Sadly, typhoon Pablo which battered Southern Philippines last week caused landslides attributed to illegal cutting of forest trees. Today, nearly 500 people had been confirmed dead. All coconut trees, banana plantations, and all crops gone. Many are still missing and thousands homeless. The landscape changed into images of swept towns and villages. Mindanao Region has never been as badly devastated as these recent years.

Changing seasons???

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/weekly-photo-challenge-changing-seasons/