My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: Search results for fruit trees in my orchard

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Saturday, August 29, 2026

My Most Welcome and Prized Purchased for the Month

My newly purchased and transplanted Calamamsi Tree, already bearing fruits and blooms in my patio. This is one of my most welcomed and prized purchase for this month.

The other day, Ditas and I went to Sloat Garden Center in Pleasant Hill( see attached photo above) to purchase Calamansi or Calamondin tree.

I have always wanted this citrus tree because it reminds me of my childhood and teenage years in the Philippines. Here's what is the internet for your information if you are not familiar with this small citrus tree.

Calamansi (Citrus × microcarpa) is the iconic, tiny green-and-orange citrus fruit deeply embedded in Philippine daily life and cuisine. Tasting like a sharp, floral cross between a lime, a mandarin, and a lemon, it serves as the ultimate sour seasoning, beverage base, and culinary staple across the islands.

Culinary Uses

A Beautiful Addition to My Patio Plants here at THD

Squeezed fresh over savory dishes like pancit and grilled meats to cut through rich, salty flavors.

Mixed with soy sauce or fish sauce to create ubiquitous dipping sauces.

Stirred with water and sugar to make a refreshing, lemonade-like iced juice.

Used as a natural meat tenderizer or incorporated into jams, marmalades, and desserts

Watch this short video to learn about the history and cultural significance of calamansi in Filipino culture:

What Exactly Is Calamansi? The Tiny but Mighty Citrus at ...

YouTube · History of Simple Things

Cultivation and Health

Grown on small evergreen trees that bear fruit multiple times throughout the year.

Widely planted in home backyards and containers throughout the Philippines.

Packed with vitamin C, making it a popular home remedy for sore throats and a general immunity booster.

For complete Details visit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calamansi

Finally, Here are recommended Small Trees for Pots that would thrive well in your patio here in Walnut Creek/

In Walnut Creek’s hot summer and mild Mediterranean climate, genetic dwarf peaches (like 'Bonanza' or 'Pix Zee'), dwarf citrus (like Meyer lemon), and compact fig varieties (like 'Petite Negra') thrive outdoors in large 15- to 20-gallon pots.

Recommended Small Fruit Trees for Pots

Genetic Dwarf Peaches: Varieties like 'Bonanza' or 'Pix Zee' stay naturally under 4 to 5 feet tall, require no heavy dwarfing rootstocks, and produce full-sized, sweet peaches in the summer sun.

Dwarf Citrus (Meyer Lemon or Calamondin Orange): Wonderfully adapted to the East Bay, they provide glossy evergreen leaves, fragrant blossoms, and fresh fruit right on your patio.

Dwarf Fig ('Petite Negra' or 'Chicago Hardy'): Figs actually prefer having their roots slightly confined in containers, love the heat, and fruit heavily without needing cross-pollination.

Dwarf Pomegranate ('Nana' or 'State Fair'): Exceptionally compact, highly ornamental, and handles the local heat waves with ease while yielding snackable fruit.

Container Care Tips for Walnut Creek

Pot Size: Use a large container (at least 15 to 20 gallons) with excellent drainage holes.

Sunlight: Place the pot where it gets at least 6 to 8 hours of direct outdoor sun daily, though containers may appreciate brief afternoon shade during extreme July/August heat spikes.

Watering: Potted trees dry out much faster than ground plantings; check the soil daily in summer and water deeply when the top inch feels dry.

Local Sourcing: You can check availability or pick up specialized container fruit trees nearby at regional nurseries like Orchard Nursery in Lafayette or Sloat Garden Center in Pleasant Hill.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

My Barrel Cacti Collection

I have 18 barrel cacti collection (see photo above). My Plan for 2025 is to give one of these to friends and relatives that have or will touched my life here at THD. I plan on keeping only 6 in my collection. So I have 12 to give away in the next 12 months. I hope if I offer to give you one, you will not refuse.

I have already given two cacti plants to my two relatives last week. They visited me and brought with them one of my favorite Filipino Dish- Kare-Kare. I have still a few to give away in the next 12 months.

https://www.manilaspoon.com/best-kare-kare/

Speaking of my Cacti Collection- This reminded me of my other plant collection in my younger years in the Philippines. I have a collection of Succulents/Cacti, Hibiscus, Bougainvillas and Orchids in my Gardens at Chateau Du Mer, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines. Here are my postings on these collections for your reading pleasure.

My Cacti Collection https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/2322822668769076508/6015068816183097177?hl=en

My Hibiscus Collection

https://theintellectualmigrants.blogspot.com/2014/10/my-hibiscus-collection-in-gardens-of.html

My Orchids Collection

https://theintellectualmigrants.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-orchids-collection-in-chateau-du-mer.html

My Bougainvillea Collection

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2011/07/bougainvillas-in-gardens-of-chateau-de.html

Meanwhile, I have also a posting on the Fruit Trees in My Orchard at Chateau Du Mer:

In my website . http://chateaudumer.blogspot.com

I described in detail the orchids, bougainvillas, bird of paradise, hibiscus and tropical shrubs that highlighted the 5 acres of landscape property of the Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center in Amoingon, Boac, Marinduque, Philippines. Besides the ornamentals, evergreens and blooming shrubs, I also planted mango, papaya, guava, rambutan, avocado , santol, duhat, cashew, jackfruit, tamarind and lanzones fruit trees. I also planted several varieties of citrus trees, pomelo, lucban, kalamansi, native oranges and lemon trees.

https://theintellectualmigrants.blogspot.com/2016/02/flowers-and-fruit-trees-in-my-garden.html

Meanwhile, here's my quote of the Day!

Lastly, Did you That?

Jacopo Cardillo, known as Jago, is a famous contemporary sculptor from Anagni (Italy).

His reinterpretation of the Pietà, originally exhibited in the Church of the Artists in Rome, depicts a father holding the body of his son, evoking themes of love and loss. This marble sculpture took months to make.  Some have called him the new Michelangelo for the skill and emotional power of his work

About Me

David B. Katague is an online memoirist and cultural essayist whose writing has appeared on HubPages and Blogger since 2007. His work reflects a sustained interest in Filipino heritage, family history, senior living, art, community life, and the cultural meaning found in everyday experience. Through memoir, reflection, and essay, he explores the personal and historical dimensions of identity, memory, and belonging. His writing seeks to preserve lived experience while offering thoughtful commentary on the traditions, values, and social realities that shape individual and collective life. As a Filipino-American writer, he brings a distinctive cultural perspective to his work, drawing on personal experience and careful observation to create writing that is both reflective and engaging. His online essays and memoir pieces continue to document a lifelong commitment to storytelling, cultural understanding, and the written record of experience.

Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Saturday, August 29, 2026

My Most Welcome and Prized Purchased for the Month

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

My Barrel Cacti Collection

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