I'm not sure if it's because I grew up in a place where one's livelihood depended entirely upon the earth, but I've always found it interesting, even necessary, to know what was going on beneath my feet. What is the earth, the stuff where I'm standing, made of and what forces over the long history of the Earth shaped it?

In the weeks ending March and beginning April, I had the opportunity to explore the geology of the Philippines. I learned that most of the over 7000 islands of the Philippines were created through tectonic collisions and geological pressures that are still working themselves out. With the exception of the westernmost island of Palawan and its neighbors, the Philippine islands are made of what was once seabed, marine limestone and coral pushed to the surface, and most importantly, fertile volcanic lava and ash. These islands make up the Philippine Mobile Belt. 

Ten million years ago during the Miocene era, pressures between the Eurasian Plate and Philippine Sea plates (and many, many plates within) resulted in volcanic activity which aided the formation of fertile islands, a process which continues today with 21 active volcanoes--five of which are on the most active and closely monitored list.  Along with Indonesia and Japan, the volcanoes of the the Philippines make the Pacific Ring of Fire--one of the most active volcanic and seismic regions in the world.  In early April we visited the two most active volcanoes in the Philippines: Mayon and Taal. 

Before Easter, Joseph and I were in Legazpi City in the Bicol region of southern Luzon, home of Mount Mayon. This majestic wonder looms large in the Albay province and its nearly perfect cone shape has made it world-famous. Mayon is stratovolcanic, which means when it erupts it spews both lava and gases mixed with volcanic fragments, crystals, ash, pumice, and glass shards. Its most recent major eruption was in 2006, and while we didn't see any lava flow while we were there, gasses were coming out of the top. Of course, the top was hard to spot as it has a significant impact on the weather patterns and is often shrouded with clouds. "He's being shy," the locals like to say.

The following week, three teacher friends were visiting for their spring break and we took a day trip outside of Manila to Taal Valcano. Though Taal is one of the lowest volcanos in the Philippines--only 300 meters above sea level, it's currently the second most active. It is also unique in that it is surrounded by a high ridge or caldera. The earth around the volcano's core has sunk. The volcano crater in the center, also has a lake with an island: an island in a lake on an island that sits in a bigger lake which is on the island of Luzon.

Volcanoes helped create the islands of the Philippines. Though they can be destructive to human life, the mineral-rich nutrients create fertile soil. As you can see from the photos of Mayon, in Spanish colonial times the volcanic rocks were used in buildings and human structures. Here in the Visayan island of Negros, Canlaon is a closely monitored active volcano to the north of us. But the the legacy of even inactive volcanoes is apparent. The tallest mountain to the west of Dumaguete is Talinis, part of the Cuernos de Negros, volcanic mountains that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology classify as "potentially active." The underground geothermal activity currently provides our electrical power.

This morning Joseph and I finally took a jeepney to Malatapay, a large regional market held every Wednesday in a town about 30 kilometers south of Dumaguete. We wandered the stalls that were selling everything from the usual vegetables and fish to machetes and farm tools. A couple vendors had counters heaped with mysteriously large dried brown leaves: tobacco, we were told. In the livestock section, we were stepping through cattle and carabao shit to check out the young bulls and heifers being auctioned. Pigs and goats were carted in the sidecar of (and on top of!) tricycles. At one point we came across a bunch of men standing around with roosters in their arms. Joseph made for the throng of men and called after me. A cockfight. 

Cockfighting, one rooster fighting another, is one of the biggest forms of entertainment in the Philippines and it's been this way  for centuries. Cities and towns have arenas where handlers and the requisite masses gather once or twice a week to see and bet on one rooster fighting another to the death. 

Roosters in most cockfights in the Philippines are equipped with extra razor-sharp blades strapped to their legs—an extra talon, which depending on how you look at it, either speeds or at least intensifies the match.

It’s not at all uncommon, even in urban areas, to see chickens in people’s yards. We wake to the noise of the neighborhood roosters. And in my daily wanderings in the past months, I’d noticed many roosters that were tethered by a rope and stake or kept under a wire cage in yards. Joseph pointed out these were the fighting roosters, the ropes or cages were required to keep the roosters from attacking and killing each other.

But we hadn’t been to the cockfights. And, honestly, I wasn’t really too insistent about going. Cockfighting is one Filipino activity that sort of pushes the boundaries of my cultural interests, so to speak. It’s always sounded rather gruesome to me. Just as, in the year 2015, we don't go to large public arenas to watch one lion kill another, I don't have a lot of interest in seeing one rooster kill another. And it's not even the killing itself that I find disturbing. I get that in nature animals kill other animals. I grew up on a farm and have no problem watching animals being killed and butchered for human consumption. But there's just something lurid about humans assembling to watch roosters fight until one kills the other. As a form of entertainment. 

This morning as Joseph was sidling into the circle of men to get a glimpse of the fighting roosters, I was hanging back, hesitant. Through the bars of men’s legs, I could see the handlers put down two roosters: beak to beak, a sudden flutter of feathers as they attacked each other. A knot was growing in my stomach.

Eventually, the handlers, having kept the leg ropes on the roosters, pulled the fighters back safely into their arms. This was only practice, a cockfight scrimmage. These roosters weren’t even suited up for game day with their extra razor talons.

In Manila a couple weeks ago, we were walking in the neighborhood where Joseph grew up. We came upon what we quickly realized had been a makeshift cockfight ring. We saw two men seated, one stitching the neck or wing of a bloody rooster. “He won!” the stitcher told me, smiling proudly over his wounded warrior. The loser, Joseph pointed out, was butchered and eaten like most of chicken-dom.

I'm still not sure if we'll make it to a cockfight—our time in the Philippines is running out. I know I should go, just to witness this most Filipino of Filipino activities. But since the spectacle thrives on its appeal to the masses, I though I may as well implicate you, my readers, if I do go. If chicken blood and one rooster killing another is what you want to see, I'll go (and tell you about it!) If the majority think I shouldn't go, I won't.

It's up to you: should I witness a cockfight before I leave the Philippines? The masses will decide.

Dear gardeners, botanists, and students of the natural world,

Help! I'm lost in the jungle of online plant identification. The internet is a useful but often confusing, or worse, inaccurate tool to figure out the names of plants. 

Please take a look at the following plant photos. All are from gardens in the Philippines--most here in Dumaguete or Camp Lookout--but, as the gardeners told me, it's possible the plant was originally growing along the road or on the side of a mountain.

If you know the plant or want to investigate online sources, please let me know the names, both scientific and common. The first three plants have been identified, but the rest need names. Some plants have guiding clues in the caption, but most don't. Feel free to post your answers in the comments section. 

Or just enjoy the pictures! Thanks.

A note to rookie plant identifiers about online sources:
As I learned from researching the previous post on tropical flowers, there's a lot of inaccurate plant and flower information on the internet. Usually the most trustworthy websites are those associated with established botanical gardens or arboretums (for example, the Missouri Botanical Garden) or university botany departments (the University of Hawaii). 

Sometimes plant collector or enthusiasts' organizations provide reputable and user-friendly online information. (In my flower research I discovered that the International Heliconia Society has excellent pictures and clear classifications of not only heliconias, but also the many species of the ginger family.) It pays, thought, to be skeptical of some of these amateur groups. (The passion flower collectors' sites, for example, were a little wacky. Passion flower?!) 

Commercial garden or plant suppliers are often very inconsistent in naming species, so try to avoid them. Finally, not surprisingly, Wikipedia doesn't always give complete botanical information on tropical plants, and worse, some of its information is incorrect. If your search starts there, be sure to verify it elsewhere.  Good luck and thanks again.