My parents would always make sure to bring me and my siblings to their respective farms whenever we get a chance to spend some long vacations at the province. I will never forget my very first farm trip experience – my first ride on top of a carabao, when we ate our lunch placed in banana leaves, the thrill I felt walking in the rice field, how I was amazed by the way the locals pick their fruits, my first taste of a sugar cane…and I was so young back then! These memories that retained in my young mind inspire me to know more about how life in a farm is. Yes, it always excites me to see new sites but what I love the most about travelling is visiting the familiar places that bring back some good old memories – like a
Farm!
 |
| rice field |
 |
| on the way to the farm |
Last month, my relatives took me and my brother out to check on the family’s farm. Most of the locals like in any other provinces own or at least manage a piece of farm lot. We visited a number of farms in 2 separate days. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Aunt Susan’s wide cornfield. At that very moment, I couldn’t help but daydream about my favorite food on earth – MAIS! Seeing the produce of it makes me want to harvest them all and bring everything to Manila with me. (As of today, they have already harvested sacks of this golden corn. Hopefully someday, I’ll get to try harvest those mais myself…one day…)
 |
| corn |
 |
| the cornfield - before |
 |
| the cornfield - After |
 |
| harvest time! |
We stopped over by a small store where I saw a group of already old locals about to ride a single motorcycle (made me remember
Lake Sebu’s habal-habal).
 |
| habal habal with elders as passengers |
To protect me against the heat of that Friday morning sun, I dabbled on some generous amount of sunscreen, bought along my sunglasses and wore a decent set of comfortable clothes. Alas, I have missed out to bring an extra shirt and a bottle of mineral water. The scorching heat of the sun was so upsetting, nonetheless we chose to be “sunny” about it and just enjoy the rest of the day.
 |
| walking along rice field under the strong heat of the sun |
The farmhouses we visited expectedly possesses that charming country appeal – the cogon roofs surrounded by animal farms like ducks, pigs and chickens. On the sides, I saw groups of children playing the
Pinoy sipa, while other kids play with their “handmade” car toys. But what really caught my attention was that one brave little child playing around with the goat! Oh well, seem like a fun day for these kids.
 |
| nipa huts |
 |
| farm animals |
Now smiling and looking right infront of dad’s farm, I remember him telling us how he himself planted those fruit bearing trees. Aside from the
palay, dad also planted pongkan, lemon, mango, calamansi and banana trees. He was so happy when I showed him pictures of his already grown trees. I told him that there were number of birds’ nests inside the trees and how surprised I was to see the newly birth baby birds inside of it (watch the video below to see them too!)
Mom, dad, my aunts and uncles would always tell us stories of their many unforgettable memories while still living and working in the farm. How both of our lolos’ love the farm’s simple living, that my lolo Amin was a sharpshooter on birds, the many kilometers they have to walk just to reach the farm, the way dad and his siblings would play and climb trees, how they would stow away from the farm work to play – shared memories of never-ending farm stories.
Daytrip at the Farm Video
The experience has once again creatively drawn a picturesque image on my memory - the expanse of vivid greens against softer hued fields, hills, trees and rocks, the simple yet captivating charm of the Farm.
