tuwing tag-araw ng aking kabataan...

the rice crops sown during the rainy season is now ready for harvest, and this signals the start of "tag-araw". what unfolds during the rainy season is equally exciting with what transpires during the summer season. aside from the reaping of rice crops, there is also the hunt for "kurukya", the bathing at the creeks and the religious activities of the barrio.

they call it "gi-ik", process wherein the rice hays with the rice grains will pass through a thresher machine to separate the hays to the rice grains. and what excites me during this process is when the thresher machine blows out the hays into the air forming a projectile and eventually one by one falling to the ground forming a mountain of hays, it becomes even more exciting when the "gi-ik" is finish, my playmates would rush to the mountain of hays and trying our very best to reach the top of the hay first. some would joggle, some would free fall from the top and roll over the hays. and after, one by one would be sweating and start to itch from head to foot because of the hay dusts. after a while, may darating na kalabaw, hila ang kariton and this would signal that playtime is enough because the farmer would take the hays and bring somewhere to stack and stock the hays for the cows and carabaos future diet. para may makain ang mga hayop sa oras ng lalong tag-init, mga panahong walang magapas na damo kaya ginikan ang ipakakain sa kanila.

kung tag-ulan ay pamimingwit ng palaka ang aking libangan, summer comes, we look and find for antlions, doodlebug and some call it sand dragon, sa tagalog "kurukya". its just easy to spot for a kurukya, you looked for a fine soil and sand mixture in your backyard, or sometimes it is abundant in between the roots of big trees like camachile and sampaloc. kapag nakakita ka ng mga hukay sa lupa na ang korte ay funnel (embudo) yun na yun. then you get a strand of hair and an ant. if the frogs love worms, the kurukya love ants. if you dropped the hair strand with the ant on the end it will definitely get notice by the antlion, may huli ka na. and if you do not have the time to make the "pa-in", just use your mouth, aim your mouth to the hole and keep blowing, until the antlion appears and within your catch. antlions cannot be eaten, its not edible like the frogs, we just collect them and watch their movement in our own palms, and take note, iisa lang ang usad nila, laging paatras. if our trip for antlions are finish, we would release them again and the next antlion catching day is set....

in our barrio there are two nearby creeks, sometimes fish are abundant and sometimes it is not even filled with rain water, it dries easily. but many times it has enough water to accommodate children like me for a quick bathe together with the carabaos.

of the most essential scenes during my childhood in summer are my religious activities and involvements. there is the station of the cross during lenten season, ipamimigay ang lahat ng 14 stations of the cross sa mga bahay-bahay in the morning and we will collect it during the afternoon and sometimes the morning of the next day. we have our own parts to read during the prayer and if i remember the response right, "dahil sa kanyang paghihirap at pagkamatay sa krus tinamo mo ang aming kaligtasan". at the time i was still a child, the very reason i am joining is simply because of the "pameryenda" of the household, pero hindi laging sagana, minsan butata kahit tubig na malamig wala... hahahaha. if i look back now on the motive i smile to myself, ganun pala ako kababaw. but i became sociable, i became prayerful, i have learned how to mingle and i have practice my reading skills, kasi naman paulit-ulit mo babasahin yung mga dasal...

truly a worth remembering scenes and memories and still a lot there....