owl sees all

Owl Log -23-07-23 - Sunday afternoon Been raining a bit this last week. Should be more water in the rice locks than there is. BeeApp thinks the buddha farm is letting the water run through the pipes. He has been blocking them up, but somehow they become unblocked. So bought a sack of cement this morning. He is gonna cement them shut. Have two permanent overflows; one into pond one and t'other under the road into the palm farm. He reckons that's enough. do too. Went to Phibun Rak market last Thursday afternoon. I like this market, but it has changed from what I remember it a few years back. Got there too early really. Vendors still setting up. Next time about 5ish. The main aim; to get Mildred 100 pink catfish. Unfortunately the lady wasn't there. Very good for veg and fruit. Not so much in the way of clothing and tools; as it used to be. Bought a pair of specs. Rated minus 1. Very nice for just 100 baht. There is a big buddha just across the road from the market. I ventured in and took a few pics. Next Owl Log for those. I was tempted!! But with my special diet on the go, I declined. Mildred finished early on Tuesday. Picked her up from school and we had a little adventure like we used to. On the road out north from Ban Dung there is a place that time forgot. We paid a visit. Couldn't have done it if the Mrs had been with us. The guy from next door came over to greet us. We asked how much for the roo. A bit expensive at 1000 baht. But we had a look around. The owner had gone off to be a monk somewhere. That was three years ago. There was a big insect cage. And also some iguanas hiding among the foliage. A very nice place for a once in a while visit. Kangaroo-less we headed back to town. Are they filling in the salt ponds. At least some of them. Have a new concrete plant close by. Something is going on! Mildred's school block is racing ahead. Will be ready for next year? Found my favourite man in Ban Dung. Gave him 100 baht for his efforts. A bit of a calamity at a farm on the way to the village. A tractor had got itself stuck in the mud. Guy came to the rescue with his trusty steed. Unfortunately the mud took his one prisoner too. Not to worry. another was there in the blink of an eye. Soon there were three stuck. The call went out for one more. It was almost dark when I came past. Yesterday I stopped the pick-up to do a pic or two. A buffalo wanted to say 'hi'. Knocked a corner tile off the wall while sorting out the settee. No problem. Have to be a master of the trivial here. There is always something to be fixed or secured. Saw a beautifully painted bus in Ban Dung. Mildred reckons it is covered in stickers and not painted. Have a closer look next time. But eye-catching all the same. Our village wat is nearing completion. Just a bit of entrance walkway to be done. And a touch more painting. The word on the street is that the Buddha wants people to donate their fish. I could give one or two of our big mekongs I guess. There was a thread, on AN, in the week about the milk shortage in Thailand. In Big C on Friday they seemed to have a fair bit on the shelves. But it got me thinking about the poor cows.. To keep the cow producing milk their calf is taken away at birth, and that keeps mum producing indefinitely. Some cows cry and some get suicidal. The calf probably goes off to some research lab. What could I do to help rectify this? I don't drink milk. But I do eat cheese. So in support of the poor cow, the 2kg block of Cheddar, that I'm half way through at the mo', will be my last. Got to have principles in life! Have 17 of Mildred's paintings/drawings on the wall of the gallery now. That part is full up. There is another area, probably OK for another 8 or so. Then Mrs Owl will have to take down her buddha stuff. Need some luck there! Mildred's latest bit of art. Called 50/50. About a girl that can't make up her mind what she wants to be. A farmer or a glamourpuss. www.mildredart.com Cricket will be underway in the 4th test, last day, in Manchester later. Don't normally mind who wins of late. But after seeing that the Ozzies were morally bankrupt of fair-play at Lords; I'm going with England (and Wales). Is that Lewis Hamilton the biggest moaner in the history of moaners? Hope his engine conks out. What an opener to the footy season. No! Not that community shield nonsense. But on Friday evening promoted Owls host relegated Saints. What a start!! Another good match-up is Sunderland v Ipswich later. Three local teams to Dagenham Dock, all have away matches in the first qualifying round of the FA cup; Ilford, Romford and Barking. I used to play footy on Barking's ground in Mayesbrook Park, back in the day, before being developed as it is today. They played for years at Vicarage Field in Barking Town. Fantastic final awaits in the darts in Blackpool. And David Popovici goes in the 200m and 100m in Japan in the week. lots to look forward to. And the golf! Tension in the Thai parliament. all will be sorted out this week. This is not proper 'wet season' rain. Most of it falls at night. Traditionally is should start at 13-00 and continue through to dark. Climate change is here. Very poor nut harvest to come. Drove through the farm in the week and only saw a handful of trees bearing any fruit. Leccy was a new high this time. 2,450 baht. A jump up of 400 baht on last month. Not doing anything different, or using anything new. Strange! Only one thing left to say; bye y'all. Leave you with lovely Isaan skies. vid sky 01.mp4

Injustice Thai style.

Not just the round ball game HP. I just love swimming. And darts. And snooker. And chess Not so keen on rugby, or women's footy and cricket. And definitely don't like seeing ladies box. But I do like ladies athletics and swimming. And beach volleyball; don't we all!!. Two daughters toured Canada with an English swim squad. One was with England youth and t'other England south. One was also u/23 world triathlon champion. Took the title in NYC. She now teaches sport science at Uni. Three points of contact!! In Thailand? You are 'avin' a laff. A local farang, who I knew, got his wife to steady the bottom of the ladder wile he trimmed a tree with a bow-saw. She went off for some somtam, and left the poor sod on the rickety thing. Unfortunately he is passed now.

You done well with that PW. If I have any dosh left at the end of October, I'll do the same.

You are hinting that I shouldn't climb up on the roofs via the ladder?! You are probably right there PW. 'Have to be careful'; said the actress to the bishop.

Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia Cockerels 2 - Irons 3 Nearly 50,000 in the ground.

Recently I sent away for a 48 pack of cat food. Each tin was the standard 400gms. Total cost, including delivery and tip, just over 1,300 baht. Same tins are in Big C marked up at 3 for 105 baht. Works out at 1680. Big C's own brand is 39 baht a tin. That would be; 1872 baht. When I first was in Isaan, cat food in Tescos was 16 baht a can. In fact I bought some out-of-date 'Whiskers' for 12 baht a can from a shop in town. And while we are talking food. 18% protein fish pellet was 245 baht a 20kg sack 13 years ago. Now is is around 400 baht. Some of the rise in cost, must be due to general inflation. But some of these companies are making a killing on pet food for sure. I have designed an automatic fish feeder. Perfect for commercial fisheries. Pics available; just PM me.

Must say that the water flow and quality in the village is better than when I arrived 15 years ago. We did get a 'no-water' spell for a couple of hours yesterday, but that was a rarity nowadays. We use water in the kitchen and bathroom. And water the outside plants. This year to wash the dogs. Also odd reasons; like washing out the back of the pick-up. But that's only 1% of the total water consumption. Certainly don't drink it!! Water bill last month was 110 baht. A bargain!! Mildred has finished for the day. I'm off to pick her up soon. Will meet her at the back gate at 14-00.

Still quite difficult! But on the upside. I am getting my cuppa without having to whistle for it.

Well, that explains everything. This equality stuff is nonsense. Soon they will having Prime Ministers, Queens and Military leaders. Girls!! Get back into the kitchen where you are best suited. Leave the heavy lifting to us guys.

Her mum said she was only 17 then. So she would be about 70.

I met a nice girl in 1968 in Romford. Should have stayed with her. Met a very nice girl in The Gambia in the week before Princess Di died. Turned out she was from Leeds. Could see Elland Road stadium from her bedroom window. Negril in Jamaica was nice. Got offered a very well paid job in Costa Rica once. I declined the offer. Wish now I'd taken it.

Recently bought a fan from a dealer on Lazada. Including delivery and tip to delivery man; 600 baht. Exactly the same one in BIC C; 899 baht. But they did have a bigger range of colours.

I think the Mamasan has a point Bob. What is all this equality about? Men go to war and ladies tend to the wounded. Ladies cook the grub; guys change the pick-up engine oil. Girls play with Barbie; boys play with trains. A while back, it was the man who whacked the lady over the head, and dragged her to the cave. Let's enjoy the ladies for what they are. And if we can find a nice, honest, truthful one; then we have hit a so-called jack-pot. Well, at least 'til the dosh runs out.

Dear me! '''SIMPLEST concepts?"' It all seems so convoluted to me. And yet it is so simple. If a human can give birth; she is a woman. Can't argue with that. But!! I do accept that a human can be a man, and a woman, at the same time. There is a special name for these people. These are not the people we are talking about though.

Just watched a short vid on YT. In the discussion a guy asked a trans "Can only women give birth?" The answer was "No." When asked to explain, she/he said that a woman who trans to a man can have a baby. "He is not a man then, but a woman." Came the reply. "No!" she/he replied "You are wrong, he is a man." Can't argue with that!

Indeed! What is progress? Great inventions down the years give us progress; or do they? Clubs. Spears. The wheel. Ability to create fire. Bow and arrow/crossbow. Glass. Sewerage systems. Water and leccy infrastructure (reservoirs and power stations). The hand gun. Motor car. Aircraft. Submarines. Atom bomb. Television. Computers Mobile phones. Lots of others. They possibly make our lives more convenient, but do they make us happier? We appear to have cast aside nature for a superior life. The ability to live as our ancestors did has been lost. My mate once said the worst thing ever in progress, was the day starting handles were no longer necessary on cars. We all laughed at that, but some of these leccy car owners keep a small generator in the back (or front), just in case. We are at the mercy of progress.

Let the water run down to BKK. It's doomed anyway. Will be uninhabitable in just a few decades. And if Miss Greta is correct; maybe by 2040. I recall the big flood during Yinluck's reign. One of the reasons used to out her. The only hope for BKK is a causeway from Pattaya to Hua Hin. Drain it - of cause making sure those Chinese subs are not in that part - and when the sea rises, BKK will be safe.

Thanks DJ! Gradually putting her work on the wall. Have mounted 15 paintings so far, but have run out of board for the present. Three more not in the pic. Don't like these ones. The way they are mounted; not the art. Pic taken just now at 19-30. Dingy, so not good quality. Plenty of rain in South Korea. Serious flooding. I knew an Indian lady at Uni, who told me in her part of India (before moving to England), every house in the village had a small boat, or a raft, tied up at the back of the house.. The rafts were bamboo platforms with 20 litre plastic drums underneath. Flooded that often in their parts. Not that the houses got swamped as they were built a couple of metre up on posts. But the water would hang about for days and the crafts got them about.

Owl Log - 16-07-2023 - Sunday afternoon Another week of reflection. What will happen to the Squanderosa? The longer it takes me to make a decision, the worse it will be. But life has to go on and the rice planting got underway on Wednesday. Firstly the tractor put the discs on and plowed away. Next job was to flood the paddies to get the tractor back in with the rotivator attached. Got a couple of the pumps out of the water-tank store. Couldn't get the 3 incher to go. Tried the smaller one. Success! Second pull. That's after a year in the store. But using the smaller one, it was gonna take an eternity. So it was decided to get the big one fixed. BeeApp took the pump to the shop, and half hour later it was good to go. Just 100 baht. He pumped overnight so no pics from me on this stage. Pond went down about half metre. Then the tractor got involved early and the ladies started their planting. All done by 4 in the afternoon. If we don't get rain there will be another pumping. From pond two next time. See how we go in about 10 days time. While we were sorting out the pumps, BeeApp spotted our old chain-saw. I hadn't used it for a few years. Gave it to him. All told it cost 5,500 baht to plant the rice. That includes the tractor, the ladies, the rice, fuel and 500 baht extra I gave to the main man BeeApp. Might have to pump more water. Who knows what the rain-gods have in store for us? At harvest, I expect another out lay of 3/4k, so about 9/10 k all in. Now, will we ever get the money back? Need 40 sacks to break even. No problem?!?! Isaan optimism! Pond 5 is best part covered with lilies. Only a few pla nin in there to enjoy the plants. Not yet been able to get the pink/white pla dook. Mildred is off school on Thursday, and that is market day at Phibun Rak. A small town about 17k from us. They have a fish stall. Get about 50 or so; if we can! I was mooching about in the second bedroom; that is mostly full of Nan's old stuff and junk/toot. I found some old paintings from way back. I think they must have been done in late 2019. Daughter Melsy was visiting at that time, and if I can recall, she wanted to take a couple of her smaller paintings back to England. Mildred got together a selection. Must have forgot these three. I think the sky pic is just great. Moon not the shape that we know. Mildred would have been 9/10 years old then. Put some rice in the pick-up. A bit of a calamity. I saw the hole, but didn't notice the hold had come off. Mrs Owl not best pleased. Came back from the farm in the week to find a very busy soi. The kids like it because it is trash free. Finally got round to fixing the busted seetee. Had a job getting the springs back in place. But a bit of rope and string sorted it. Then it was time to sew up. One side done. Reminded me of my time in Special Fores in West Africa. Had to sew up wounds using cactus spikes and camel hair. All done. A fine bit of craftsmanship. Mildred gave it a test when she came home from school. Everything good so far. The Mrs had a little moan. Said I should have used black twine. If I can be bothered, I'll get out a black marker pen. I'd better be bothered if I want me cuppa Rosie. Get Mildred to do it for me. Declan Rice has finally gone to Arsenal. 105 million squids. Did The Irons need the dosh? Or did Rice fancy going to a bigger club? Traitor comes to mind. And as for WHU. Boo!! Footy starts up in three weeks. The Championship looks very exciting to me. Is there a another Luton Town ready to move on up? And speaking of Luton. At least their first home match has been postponed. Think they could be playing their first five games away. Novak later today at Wimbledon. I'm rooting for him. Only two days for Mildred at school this week. A revising week for her. And she is revising;; allegedly!!!! Some rain last night. Not nearly enough. but still welcome. Fallon Sherrock got a nine-darter in a match last month. Not well publicised. Should have been up there with women's great sporting achievements IMO. And while we are talking women. A Thai lady scored a 147. And it was filmed. These are the things that should be celebrated; not the winner of some Dutch beauty contest Cricket starts up again on Thursday. And the swimming on the 23rd of this month. Still keeping with my diet. And the bathroom yoga is starting to yield results. The US sending cluster bombs o Ukraine. When I was in Laos a few years back, a guy told me that some are still exploding occasionally. About 50 years after they were dropped. Not good that. Only one thing left to say; bye y'all. And take care out there.

Thanks for that CL. If I feel more peaceful during the next few years, I'll change it to something more upbeat. Now I know how to do it.

I don't even know if she was a Peacock supporter. Never asked her. For some reason or t'other I had more pressing things on my mind when i was with her. Straight back; like Burnley. Just three weeks before the off. Gonna be some big crowds in the championship next season.

Can't cram too much tech into my brain for the mo' Every time you post on the thread Andy, I'm reminded of that lass from Leeds. Maybe that's where I went wrong!

Got it. Thanks HP. A bitter and twisted - but still alive (at the mo') - Owl has arrived.

Thanks HP. Step me thought it, if you would. How can I access 'signature'?