Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Time of the Year for the Leaves to Fall-Testarossa Winery

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Time of the Year for the Leaves to Fall-Testarossa Winery

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours raking the leaves from my front and backyard. This reminds me that Fall is here again and at midnight is time to set your clock one hour back for the Daylight Saving Hours Program. This also reminds that tonight Macrine's niece is getting maried in Los Gatos, California. The wedding ceremony will be at the Testarosa Winery which was formerly a Novitiate and Convent. We are leaving in a couple of hours for a 3 hours drive to Cupertino. We are staying overnight at the Cypress Inn in Cupertino, not too far from the wedding venue.

Macrine's sister, the mother of the bride, came all the way from the Philippines to attend this wedding. The wedding is just a civil ceremony. A Catholic Wedding has been scheduled for this Bride in Marinduque next year, the last week of January, so the marriage will be legal in the eyes of the Catholic Church. Note that the Cupertino and Los Gatos areas of the Southern San Francisco Peninsula are where the the rich and computer yuppies reside. The average price of homes (3 BR, 2 bath) in these two towns including Palo Alto, some parts of Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Saratoga is over 1 million dollars currently. So tomorrow, I am looking forward to do some sightseeing or "slumming" in these rich neighborhoods if you compare it to our area where the average price of homes ( 3BR, 2 Bath) is only half a million dollars.

Testarossa Winery Dining and Reeption Room

Also, today as I look at my backyard window( see photo above), the beauty of the maple trees in with its yellow, orange and light red leaves falling, reminds me of the song Autumn Leaves.

There are several interpretations of this song by several musicians, but this video is one of my favorites. Moreover, the autumn scenery in the video is just mesmerizing. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons here in Northern California.

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Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree