Without gutters

Ordinarily, homeowners take advantage of summer to have the months' accumulated debris and dry leaves removed, rain gutters repaired and holes sealed, all set for the monsoon. But when your unconventional homeowner/builder insists on no gutters to catch the tear-shaped drops, you know he had this in mind when tikbalang weather occurs (according to Philippine mythology, when rain falls and startlingly bright sun shines at the same time, tikbalangs are being wed)--all family members, friends, friends of friends, the passersby get to experience this. Keep the front door open, Alejandro, so we can watch till the last of the peter-patter-down-no-gutters stops. Then hear in your mind "Soon It's Gonna Rain," replayed from The Fantasticks.

On closer inspection the raindrops on sleeves of green look almost as solid as pearls when frozen in a picture. Think Dickinson: "I died for Beauty, but was scarce." Photos of a Sunday in Antipolo by Babeth Lolarga