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Take a Kid Fishing Program with Carl Sgro

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:46:51 +0100

I remember a story I've read several years ago about a father and his son, who he used to bring with him on fishing trips, spending hours and hours engrossed in this pastime. They would do this whenever the father finds the time away from from his busy schedule at work, and you could see from the gleam in the boy's eyes that he would always look forward to these fishing trip moments.

The son eventually grew up, lived on his own and had his own family, but he would make it a point to visit his parents once in a while, always finding time to squeeze these visits into his very busy schedule. In one of these visits, the son invited his father to go fishing, just like how they used to do it when he was just a kid. And on this occasion, the father asked his son if he really loved fishing so much.

The son replied that he hated fishing.

Dumbfounded, the father asked why, and you could read from the tone of his voice that he was really surprised of his son's revelation, all the while he believed that his son loved fishing so much. The son said, that he really didn't liked "fishing" per se, but what he loved during those fishing moments was the opportunity to spend the whole day alone with his dad - whom he loved so dearly.

Wow! That story taught me the importance of spending quality time with our children. I believe that such moments is vital for their growth and development and to teach them how to become good people when they grow up - and a growing number of people have realized this and have started spending time with their kids. People like Carl Sgro, a technological expert in the field of designing and implementing Search Engine Marketing solutions for companies, who definitely has several work cut out for him but still finds the time of giving precious bonding moments with kids.

Together with the people in his community, Carl Sgro founded the "Take a Kid Fishing Program" that teaches young children how to fish and at the same time provides an avenue for parents to spend quality time with their children in a worthwhile activity. It is a very rewarding program that teaches children the rudiments of proper angling methods, etiquette and sportsmanship in an atmosphere that is fun for guides, parents and kids.

Teaching a child by example and through one-on-one sessions is still the most effective teaching methods that people like Carl Sgro have adapted to make a difference in children's lives - which they will cherish until they grow old and become adults.

FROM MY ORGANIC FARM

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 17:16:10 +0100

Planting Time - a variety of veggies

Ever since I was a child, farming has been close to my heart. I can't say that I have green thumb (more likely a green mind, maybe) as I'm not really that good in growing things, but my fascination for the craft can be manifested in the way I'm glued to the television set whenever a farm-related telecast is shown on Discovery Channel or whenever "Jamie At Home" (Jaime Oliver's show featuring his organic farm and homegrown goodies) is playing on the screen.

Anyway, my wife also had the knack of planting things and was really good at it. She knows a lot of herbs and plants that I didn't even know existed. Well, our place here in Paranaque had a vast open area where we can practice our growing skills in an urban farm setting. With seeds brought from garden shops or seedlings solicited from friends and neighbors, we tried our luck at urban farming. We planted okra, bokchoy, petchay, several varieties of kangkong, chili fingers, onions, cucumber, ampalaya, gabi, eggplant, and squash. The soil in our area was really not that good so we boosted it up with organic fertilizer courtesy of my army of chickens and rabbits also living in the same backyard.

Harvest Time!

After several weeks of battling it out with bugs trying to harvest the crop before we do, we finally saw the fruits (or veggies?) of our labor and harvested everything that is perfect for the picking (except maybe the okra which were all still too small for my liking but my wife harvested them all anyway - too eager to sample our own produce).

My Urban Farm Bokchoy with Luncheon Meat

No chemicals, no pesticides, and no artifical fertilizers - our organic crops were truly magnificent! Even the kids enjoyed the meals that we had, particularly the bokchoy cooked with luncheon meat (hehehe.... preserved meat... sort of anti-climactic here). Now, we're ready for another round of urban farming and this time we'll try out other varieties of fruits and veggies. So stay tuned!

Peter Allan Mariano
www.links2prosperity.org

The Language of Flowers

Tue, 05 May 2009 16:27:02 +0100

(azalea bonzai from 1800Flowers.com)

The fascination with flowers have captivated, and charmed people world wide. They represent a form of life that has endured evolution, and continues to flourish. With a diversity of colors, forms, scents, and uses, flowers have been revered by generations of admirers, and enthusiasts alike. Throughout history flowers have been the perfect form of expression, when words were hard to find. The language of flowers is a language of love, endearment, and respect. The true popularity of flowers lies in their ability to bring joy, and good cheer. A classic example is when they are used as Mother's Day gift ideas.

The first flowering plants found were tiny herb-like flower fossils dating back 120 million years. An innumerable number of images of preserved flowers and flower parts have been found in fossils located all over the world. According to scientists, there are over 270,000 species of flowers that have been documented and are living in the twenty-first century. Scientists continue to marvel over the amazing diversity of species, and the species that have not changed much during evolution. Many flowers co-evolved with their pollination animals.

The flower is the reproductive organ of a plant. It is the job of the flower to produce seeds through fertilization, and pollination. Pollination requires animals (bees, hummingbirds, etc.), wind, or water to transfer male pollen to the female ovule. After a flower is fertilized, it develops into a fruit containing seeds. These seeds are the next generation, and serve as the means by which species of plants are dispersed across a field. Cross breeding can occur, and this leads to the enormous diversities seen, particularly those used as gifts for mothers day.

The alluring nature of flowers has made them subjects of folklore, and poetry. Their medicinal use has been embraced by the east for centuries. A flower’s fragrance is its personality, a beautiful bouquet of scents that permeate even the worst form of pollution. Flowers have been associated with religious symbolism, the lily signifying purity for example. The diversity of shapes and colors makes them the perfect decoration, and the perfect Mothers day gifts. The likelihood of two people having the same color, shape arrangement is very remote. Edible flowers have been used in the culinary field for flavor and garnish for many years.

It is clear that flowers do have a very endearing language. A language that is universal, without borders. A language that contains no negativity, nor prejudice. An unconditional way of expressing a feeling so deep, that words could never convey the true meaning. Regardless of the situation, the sight of a flower will always solicit a smile, and a sense of warmth.

HAPPY MOTHER'S MONTH at HAN WOK BLUE WAVE

Fri, 01 May 2009 11:48:08 +0100

Mom should not cook on Mother's Day. Treat her to a fabulous Han Wok Chinese Cuisine dinner on her special day!

HAPPY MOTHER's DAY!!!

Every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday for the Month of May, we will be giving away a bottle of wine for every P2500 food purchase at Han Wok Blue Wave. A glass of wine for the mothers will be given for every food purchase of P1500.

For more info you can contact:

HAN WOK BLUE WAVE
http://www.wonggroup.com.ph/hanwokbluewave/
http://hanwokchinesecuisine.synthasite.com/
Blue Wave Commercial Complex
D.Macapagal Ave cor EDSA, Pasay City (just in front of Mall of Asia)

Telephone Numbers:
(632)830-0205 to 07
(632)556-6858 / (632)7103900
http://www.wonggroup.com.ph/hanwokbluewave/
http://hanwokchinesecuisine.synthasite.com/

My Free-Range Chickens

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:53:11 +0100

Towards the end of the year last year, I decided to try raising some free-range chickens in our backyard here in Paranaque. I've read that free-range chicken taste like Pinoy native chickens but are softer and meatier. Instead of herding them in tight coops, these chickens are raised in the open, preferrably with grass and lots of sunshine. They are raised without antibiotics and fed with organic feeds. This accounts for the taste and the quality of the meat, as compared to standard broilers that doesn't taste that much. Setting up a fairly sized enclosure in my backyard, with some covered areas in case of rains, I decided to try my luck in raising such awesome creatures.

(brooding free-range chicks)

I started with 50 chicks and placed them in a bamboo enclosure with lamps for brooding purposes. This was good for 21 days, feeding them with prescribed chicks boosters and probiotics in their drinks. At least four chicks died, probably from stress or they were not properly vaccinated. Anyway, the rest of them were finally released to their holding pens where they got their first taste of sunshine and grass. I continued feeding them with broiler starters on top of their grass diet. Later, when I began feeding them broiler finishers, I added coco feed to their diet and corn grits, supposedly to make them more plumpier. Once in a while we would chance upon ants nests in our mango trees in the backyard and would feed them to the chickens. A feeding frenzy would them ensue as they really love to eat ants and other insects. To add more protein to their diet, I sometimes feed them with small fish like anchovies (dilis) or small shrimp. They really love them!

(ready for harvest)

We harvested the chickens at 75 days, just in time for my two kids' birthday and the Christmas season. Each chicken was around 1.8 to 2.5 kg. We had so much chicken meat during those periods that we thought we'd be sprouting wings. But it was an enjoyable experience and most of our guests were quite surprised and amazed at how these chickens look like and how they taste.

(my children, Kenji and Iya. Birthdays on Nov 6 and Nov 16
so we decided to celebrate both in a combined birthday party)

(The birthday party and the backyard cookfest. We slaughtered and dressed half the chickens in our backyard. The rest were reserved for Christmas and New Year.)

(free-range chicken chili wings)

(roasted free-range chicken)

I retained one cock and two hens to see if they would breed. I've read that these are first generation chickens, meaning they are siblings, cousins, etc so they won't breed well or will have sickly chicks, etc. Well, it's worth a try. But I was truly amazed at how these critters grow. The rooster was probably 4 to 4.5 kilos now and is much bigger than a gamecock. The gamecock in the picture is a derby winner and the biggest in my stock, so these free-range chickens are really big. Even the hen is bigger than the gamecock!

(a fully-grown free-range rooster compared to a gamecock)

(The hen compared to the gamecock. See how the poor guy was intimidated?)

The next step is to get another batch of free-range chickens. This time I'll make sure that I will get genuine Solraya Sunshine Chickens as they are bred directly from authentic Sasso Chickens from France. The ones I got were not from Solraya, but still, the results I got was overwhelming.

Peter Allan Mariano
Links2Prosperity

Welcome to Pidroh's Farm

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:52:30 +0100

This blogsite documents my attempts in Urban Farming. My goal here is to learn and find out cost-effective ways to produce food products in an urban setting, with little space requirements and innovative tools to use. I hope every reader can learn from what I share here, and entice them to start their own urban farm.

Peter Allan Mariano
Links2Prosperity