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Diary of a farang in Isaan


owl sees all

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1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

 

Thanks Garry.

 

Could say we are right in the middle of the dry season. No rain for over two months now.

 

Finished the second bore today. That one is 44 metres deep. Water 8 metres down. The water table is obviously important, but also, the nature of the ground 15/20/30 metres down. The faster the water is pumped out the faster it has to be replenished in the bore. This is one of the reasons why solar pumps are so successful. Sort of 'Steady Eddie'. The AC units can draw up as much as 4 litres a second. If the ground is stony that is fine, but if the water has to slowly filter through, the unit can be pumping, waiting, pumping, waiting for the water. Can result in pump malfunction or bore cave-ins. Both have happened to me in the past. Last time was in farm 3; the one that had to be sold to pay off the Mrs' debts :sad::sad::sad:. OK!! Farm gone:sad::sad::sad:. but with the bit of dosh left I'll (hopefully) do 3 water systems.

 

As far as water replenishment in the bore goes; the drillers ran an air pump for 20 minutes and the table drop was negligible. The significance of that, is that in a 6 hour pumping day the water should easily stay high enough. And those air pumps do getting on for double a solar pump. Plan to put the solar pump at 30 metres. According to the pump data, that should achieve 90 litres a minute. But, if  - on the second well - I'm adventurous enough - I'll put the pump down at 20/25 metres. We will see.

 

newwater00.png.f0be4e599f7f006812aae34fbf8bc11a.pngnewwater000.png.8e908499755cffa2bb942226931529a9.png

 

Gonna pick up the posts tomorrow. Also some cement, sacks of sand and blocks. All to secure the posts in the ground.

 

90lts/minute = 1.5lt/sec.

My understanding is that that will always degrade over time.

Pumping at a rate of 1/3 bore capacity, 30lts/min, .5lts/sec is sustainable long term.

Sometimes, developing an underground cavity is beneficial but usually only when the bore is marginal to start with.

Pumping at .5lt/sec is going to give you 1800lts an hour, that’s a lot of water.

How do you irrigate Owl ? Drippers, sprinkler heads, open channels ?

Dont just drop in any old pump you can get your hands on, try to match it to your irrigation system.

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We are going to have a well drilled next year, just for the house and garden, as the local water supply is not that good and gets pretty smelly and dirty in April and May. No idea if it will work though as it appears that our house is built over bedrock that is not very deep. Sister in law had a well drilled a few years agao and they could only go down about 10 meters before hitting rock, so that bore ended in failure. We'll see how it goes. 

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2 hours ago, GarryP said:

We are going to have a well drilled next year, just for the house and garden, as the local water supply is not that good and gets pretty smelly and dirty in April and May. No idea if it will work though as it appears that our house is built over bedrock that is not very deep. Sister in law had a well drilled a few years agao and they could only go down about 10 meters before hitting rock, so that bore ended in failure. We'll see how it goes. 

After my recent success with my bore my neighbour decided to have (another) crack… 

He used my diviner and the same driller who he knew well.

Result… failure 😢

They hit the same bedrock that I have but without much water on top, so tried drilling through but gave up after 15m of rock, total depth 70m.

At the moment he’s trying to develop a cavern by pumping hard to drain the bore every day.

Ill probably run a line over to his fence for him. 

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8 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

After my recent success with my bore my neighbour decided to have (another) crack… 

He used my diviner and the same driller who he knew well.

Result… failure 😢

They hit the same bedrock that I have but without much water on top, so tried drilling through but gave up after 15m of rock, total depth 70m.

At the moment he’s trying to develop a cavern by pumping hard to drain the bore every day.

Ill probably run a line over to his fence for him. 

It does seem very much touch and go. Over the years my wife's family have had quite a few bore drilled, but with very different results, even though some of them were not far apart. My concern is the bedrock as we are in quite a hilly area. The only thing going for me seems to be that there is still water in the field behind my house despite the rice being harvested more than a month ago, so that would indicate good water retention or a high water table (I just assume that's good, but I don't know much about this subject). Fingers crossed.  

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9 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

That's a +1 from me.

 

But I can speak from experience - when all debts have been paid, it is very tempting, and easy, to take out a small loan for something you couldn't afford before. Then one thing leads to another ...

 

Sorry to be pessimistic.

 

 

Indeed! Debts all paid up with a bit left over for me to indulge in some theoretical water systems. Just like the old days.

 

Let's not be pessimistic CL. Remember this is a 'leap year'. Things can only get better.

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7 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Indeed! Debts all paid up with a bit left over for me to indulge in some theoretical water systems. Just like the old days.

 

Let's not be pessimistic CL. Remember this is a 'leap year'. Things can only get better.

😳

An extra day for things to go wrong… !!

😳

 

🤣🤣

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10 hours ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

HNY to you Owl, here’s hoping 2024 is kinder to you and past events do not prevent you, Mildred and even Mrs Owl from recreating the happy family times you once shared .

Thanks Andy.

 

Went to bed at 10 last evening. Was awakened, a couple of hours later, by some 'bang', 'bang', 'banging'. I thought; 'what is that'? Have the Russians, or the Izzies, arrived to take over the village? They have heard about the untold riches in these parts? Dogs came charging into the bedroom. Fortunately Mildred sat with them for 15 minutes until it went quiet again. Went back to sleep.

 

I'm usually a happy soul. Although circumstances can test us all. I'm not immune to a bit of trauma. But onwards and upwards for the coming year.

 

Hand is still swollen, but the bone seems to be healing nicely.

 

hhand.png.8b8833c96a9011c060e4b75552514cd5.png

 

So what does 2024 have in store? A drop of rain would be nice. But leccy is soon to be with us at the farm, so when the Mrs gets on the whack, I can go stay there in comfort for a while; until her mood changes. Mildred to continue in her own way. Beautiful art and happiness. I say to her; ''love your early years. Long time an adult.''

 

For me personally; enjoy the life here in Isaan. Keep looking at nature and it's wonders. Feed the fish. Stroke the cats. Walk the dogs and,,,, decided to let the snails go. They look so sad in the cage.

 

Must finish some written work. 'Seven steps to priesthood', has been at a standstill this year. And 'Orbital' is only half done. But most important; to keep 'Diary of a farang in Isaan' going for another 12 months.

 

Take care out there - peace, happiness and prosperity in 2024 to y'all.

 

 

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47 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

😳

An extra day for things to go wrong… !!

😳

 

🤣🤣

I hear you HP.

 

I've made my NY Resolutions, and they don't include things going wrong. In 2024, I will refuse to let anything annoy, upset or torture me.

 

This year is gonna be special.

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On 12/31/2023 at 7:20 AM, owl sees all said:

Owls got a surprise win away at Preston.

Yep, and another good win at home to Hull last night. A long way to go though.

 

Ref the rice and rat problem Owl. Shouldn't you clear the stuff from below the store? Don't the rats just use the water tank just like your missus is doing to climb up the structure? Also, have you tried the rat guards around the support posts like they do on ships cables? Having that water tank there you may as well build them a ramp.:sorry:

 

Happy New Year everyone.

 

 

Screenshot 2024-01-02 at 17.28.29.png

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On 11/18/2019 at 10:34 AM, owl sees all said:

I've been in Isaan for 12 years and I find it fascinating

I bet you wouldn't live anywhere else. 

 

I read so many stories from expats living in Isaan how boring their life is, yours sounds quite the opposite. 👍

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6 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I bet you wouldn't live anywhere else. 

 

I read so many stories from expats living in Isaan how boring their life is, yours sounds quite the opposite. 👍

I am now up in Isaan (northern Kalasin) after 40 years in Bangkok. It is very different but I love it for the most part. I think the key thing is to have something to keep you occupied, which Owl certainly has. Otherwise, life could spiral into boredom and depression. Post retirement, I have been kept on contract to the end of June, working 3 days a week online, but I am nervous about what I will do when I am fully retired. I like cycling and fishing but I can't depend on that seven days a week and I don't want to be online or watching TV most of the time. Contemplating buying a bit of land but other than that, anyone got any suggestions?  

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10 hours ago, sotonowl said:

Yep, and another good win at home to Hull last night. A long way to go though.

 

Ref the rice and rat problem Owl. Shouldn't you clear the stuff from below the store? Don't the rats just use the water tank just like your missus is doing to climb up the structure? Also, have you tried the rat guards around the support posts like they do on ships cables? Having that water tank there you may as well build them a ramp.:sorry:

 

Happy New Year everyone.

 

 

Screenshot 2024-01-02 at 17.28.29.png

 

Did consider putting a thin metal sheet around each post. But went with the mesh option. I reckon it's all sorted now.

 

 

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1 hour ago, GarryP said:

I am a country lad by birth so my biggest love of this place, I now call home (apart from my wife :smile:), is the countryside. I am very near the mountains (within cycling distance) and can see the tops of some from my front door. A couple of photos from one of my pushbike rides. First is actually in Udon but only 34 km from my house, and the second is in Sakhon Nakhon and 29 kms away. 

 

I also love wildlife, the birds, insects and reptiles (including snakes). Actually whenever I go fishing I spend more time looking at nature than I do my float. Probably why I'm not very good at fishing.

cycleview.jpg

Cycleview2.jpg

Great pics Garry.

 

You are quite close to a couple of huge mango farms.

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4 hours ago, GarryP said:

anyone got any suggestions?

I am not planning to move away from Sattahip for a while yet, but my wife has some land near Surin and we will probably move there at some stage.

I thought about bee keeping for a hobby/small pocket money. I haven't looked into it seriously yet, but it seems to be a worthwhile way to pass the time.

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13 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I am not planning to move away from Sattahip for a while yet, but my wife has some land near Surin and we will probably move there at some stage.

I thought about bee keeping for a hobby/small pocket money. I haven't looked into it seriously yet, but it seems to be a worthwhile way to pass the time.

That is an interesting idea. My dad's hobby was beekeeping until he could no longer lift the bee boxes full of honey laden frames. I think I'd go with the stingless bees though. 

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3 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

I am not planning to move away from Sattahip for a while yet, but my wife has some land near Surin and we will probably move there at some stage.

I thought about bee keeping for a hobby/small pocket money. I haven't looked into it seriously yet, but it seems to be a worthwhile way to pass the time.

Take a look at vanilla CL. Ideal for a rai of land.

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