Tonji and Sylvia's Wildlife Refuge

Adopt, Don’t Shop!

“Call my friend, he’s going to give you a horse!”

Yes!! Those are the words you want to hear from your celebrity veterinarian friend who has his own TV show. I sent Doc Nielsen Donato a message asking if he knew of any healthy and friendly horse for sale or adoption. At that point, I was getting desperate and was considering just buying a horse so Takoy would have a companion. I had sent messages looking for a horse to adopt to all the other people I knew who had some kind of connection with horses when I thought of asking Doc Nielsen. Less than two weeks after I sent a message to Doc Nielsen, I adopted TWO beautiful horses! Woo hoo, way to go Doc Nielsen!!

Boo Boo is a 4-year old female Thoroughbred. She is blind in one eye.

Boo Boo greeting Takoy for the first time

Tara is a 10-year old female Thoroughbred. She very curious and bossy.

We kept Tara and Boo Boo inside the paddock at first to get them used to their new surroundings. After one week, they seemed ok and we tried letting them out for a few hours in the morning. Unlike Takoy who stays on the paths, these two made their own paths through the swathes of long grass! We were worried that they might suddenly spook and bolt or try to run away.

In the afternoon, I decided to let them out again. I swung the paddock gate open, and then EARTHQUAKE! There was a 5.7 magnitude earthquake! The ground was shaking and the roof of their house was rattling! Tara and Boo Boo ran back into the paddock! What a relief to see them running back inside instead of running away!

Inspecting the grass that was cut down for the compost pile.

I am so happy with how things worked out! We were able to help a fellow horse-owner, Takoy has two beautiful companions, the three of them can run around in a little herd, Tara and Boo Boo have a new lease on life, and I adopted and didn’t shop!

Anonang

Cordia dichotoma

Common Name: Anonang

Family: Boraginaeceae

Origin: native to the Philippines, also found in India, Indo-China, Malesia

Reference: Philippine Native Trees 101

This tree has been growing behind the cottage without us noticing it! In Philippine Native Trees 101, it sys that the leaves are “pounded, put in a kerchief soaked in lukewarm water” and placed on the forehead to relieve fevers.

It’s the one on the left

The book also mentions that the juice of the fruit and leaves were used as paste. The fruit I opened was tasteless. Definitely very sticky!

It is a small to medium-sized tree that grows up to 25m. It needs full sun and is not shade tolerant.

Fruit Fly

Bactrocera philippinensis

These guys are very small. This was my first time to see them. They are cute, for flies! They look like bees. Unfortunately, they can damage fruits. They were swarming on the the basil plants that are growing wild around the veranda.

Ardisia squamulosa

Common Name:

Family: Primulaceae

Origin: native to the Philippines

This small tree came from Cel Tungol. We planted it in 2012 at a very open planting area with no other trees nearby. The site is supposed to be a bridge between the the areas with trees. The trees at this site needed watering for the first couple of summers. Later on we stopped planting in open areas and started planting inside existing tree lines.