DannyS1951

7 hours ago, G Rex said:

Thailand has many squirrel species

http://www.norththailandbirding.com/pages/galleries/mammals_c/th/th_squirrels_01.html

One of our dogs goes crazy whenever we have one near our house.

 

The tree shrew is normally found in Southern Thailand - so it may be unusual to see one in Thailand, though yours may have been an ‘escapee’ as these guys are sometimes kept as pets by Thais.

Thanks G Rex. I had read that about them being in the south. It could be a feral population as the weekend market used to sell all sorts of wild animals.

7 hours ago, toofarnorth said:

Yes , a Tree Shrew , we have them in the big trees over the road , they chatter like squirrels and they too run along the power cables. A couple of years ago one of our cats caught one and brought it too us , rats are the usual catch but not this time.

Yes that's the ones. Thanks.

Am I the only one who misidentified the squirrels that visit my Bangkok garden? I'm sure in past years we had real squirrels visiting us but their behavior had changed over the last couple of years. They still run along the power lines and jump into the trees, but they seem to spend far more time on the ground. They have bushy tails but are not as colorful as in the past. Worse is they raid the bird nests in the garden. A couple of months ago we caught one by accident in an open rat trap left outside. One of those traps that just closes the entry door and doesn't kill. Anyway this little monster didn't have a squirrel's mouth and teeth. It had a set of sharp carnivorous teeth which made me wary of sticking a finger anywhere near them. (I know I should have taken a photo.) I think I have now identified them as tree shrews. They aren't rats as they have the longer hind legs like a squirrel and the bushy tail. Any mammal experts out there. It seems tree shrews are an early primate like animal in our evolutionary tree.

The search hopefully has ended. Many thanks to the Na Pho branch of the post office who told me the person had been seen a few days ago. He is very old and his eyesight is failing. I check in with him monthly from Bangkok by phone but his phone is now off. He is Pira Sudham, once a rather well known author writing in English. Lou I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you were trying to be helpful and not being a DH who finds he has to get a word in every thread. I didn't achieve much with Na Pho police station or the local district office, but was saved some worry by the local postman. Well done Thai Post.

I guess not.

Lou, do you live in Napo or know someone who does?

Lou if you live in that area I will send a message to you with what details I have. You will probably know who it is once you get a message. He had been calling me every month to find out what is going on in Bangkok. If you don't live in the area then it's not needed.

Does anyone live in or close to Napo township in the northern tip of Buriram province? If yes could you look in to see an old friend of mine whose mobile has gone silent. He is quite old and his eyesight is going. Thanks, Danny

Many thanks for all those who have answered both on the forum and by message. My visa is NON-O and dates to 1997. The reason for the extensions is now retirement although it was originally for Thai wife and I had a business and work permit. I was grandfathered into the social security as our company had all the staff in it. The social security department a few years ago insisted I retire and returned many years of contributions but encouraged me to rejoin as a retired person so I pay into it monthly.

Thanks to those that have told me the AIA insurance can be extended past 70 years. I will chase this up. The last two times I have extended my stay I took insurance documents from both the social security department and AIA to immigration but they were not wanted.

The Bangkok Post the other day informed us that retirement visa holders now require USD100K Covid insurance. Is this correct? My private (AIA) insurance runs out this year as I pass 70 years. I am grandfathered into the Thai social security system and pay them monthly. Would this make any difference? I should next month get my second shot of Astra vaccine. I have to extend for another year in December. Is anyone else here in a similar position?

I've had a couple of domains (URLs) with Thai related names for many years. Because of my age I figure I should sell them on. Before I put them up on eBay I thought I should see if anyone on Thai Visa has a desperate need for either to go on a website. They are as follows:

ThaiTastes.com (for food related website maybe)

ThaiMaps.com (for travel related website maybe)

Message me if you are interested in either.

Danny

On 1/24/2021 at 1:31 AM, SePl said:

any update ?

can Thai open an account now ?

 

Still no new registrations as of today, 19th March 2021.

Thanks for all the suggestions, but I misdirected everyone with my question. I have pinned it down now. I should of applied the Occan's razor principle which is to go with the most obvious answer first;-) If it looks like a grapefruit, it probably is. They do take many months to turn yellow, but have eaten a half of one for breakfast there is no doubt in my mind.

OK, last bit from me. The tree that these came from only has this oversize fruit. There are no normal size lemons on it, just these giants. I am trying to find out what sort of citrus fruit it is.

This is what I think of as a lemon.

From this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon

The larger of the two in my picture weighs in at 850 grams while the other is 750 grams. They are the size of a grapefruit but I don't think that is what they are.

They are a bit big and the wrong shape though.

Could anyone tell me what these are growing in the garden. I don't think they are pomelos. I was just told they were giant limes. A large lime shown in comparison. Thanks, Danny

If you give a bit of a frames support Allamanda could be the answer. Big yellow trumpet like flowers year round and it likes full sun. It can be untidy hence the frame support.

Thanks Cooked that's what I wanted to know. The plants are now over a metre high on a single stem and about two metres is as high as they can go where they are now.

The six plants are all growing well but as a single stem which I tie off to the support. I wonder if I should nip the growing tip to make it produce more side shoots.

I'm growing six plants from seed. They are the the red stemmed variety from local seeds. They are doing well and growing tall with trellis support. Here's the real question. Should I pinch out the growing tips to make them bushier?

Here I have a very large 1973 Australia and New Zealand Complete Book of Gardening, a 1985 Yates Garden Guide and the original Pimsai book. This new one is certainly going to be my go to book, including for plant ID. I think you are right, we need a gardening forum;-)

Wikipedia for above: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecoma_stans

I may have found it Googling. Could it be Tecoma Stans? Is there a mauve variety?