Diary of a farang in Isaan

[Assurancetourix]

While looking for a photo on my HD, I came across those I took at The Black House, a little north of Chiang Rai;
in this large property there is a cage in which an owl lives; I took a picture of it and I offer you these two Owl pictures;
if you want them in original size, I will send them to you in PM

 

 

[owl sees all]

1 hour ago, Assurancetourix said:

While looking for a photo on my HD, I came across those I took at The Black House, a little north of Chiang Rai;
in this large property there is a cage in which an owl lives; I took a picture of it and I offer you these two Owl pictures;
if you want them in original size, I will send them to you in PM

 

 

I'll take you up on that offer AT. Absolutely stunning!

 

I have a collection of pics that I did not take myself. Owls are in that collection as are koi carp. I'll add then into the album. Also I love the pics of the cosmos. Makes one realise just how or important we are (and lucky) or insignificant we could be.

 

I like those quirky pics too. You may have seen my favourite, where the moon is photographed as a yacht is passing.

[Odysseus123]

Great photos Asterix*!

 

I showed then to my avian mate George and this was his reaction..

 

 

[owl sees all]

My favourite Isaan pic.

 

 

Unfortunately I lost the originals, but still have this small one.

 

Taken about five years ago just off the Phen to Non Han road in Udon province.

 

Where is the steelfixer's union shopsteward?

[Assurancetourix]

Cekoikifon ?

 

and in english : what are they doing or making ? 

A bridge ?

[owl sees all]

44 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

Cekoikifon ?

 

and in english : what are they doing or making ? 

A bridge ?

The river ran under the road but after a severe downpour the road was no more. Two ladies and two guys were working on one side of a culvert. About six weeks later the road reopened. But what's not obvious from the pic', is that the river is really racing through. If the temporary mud wall had gone?

[owl sees all]

Owl Log - 13-04-2020

 

Busy last couple of days.

 

Big, big wind yesterday at about five in the afternoon. No rain, just a very strong wind. It was all over in under 30 minutes however. We were at the farm. Mrs Owl and Mildred were in the pick-up while the wind was at it's strongest. Turned really cold for a while.

 

 

Some damage. Lost a lot of mangoes; just a week before harvest too.

 

 

 

Made a mess of one of my fish cages.

 

 

Also lifted some metal roof panels on the storage building. Lucky not to lose some sections. Once one goes, and the wind gets under them, they could all go.

 

0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0

 

Today was a nice day for work. I got stuck into the flapping roof and Mrs Owl and her helper (Boyz's mum) started on euca planting along the road.

 

 

Had to use the extension ladder.

 

 

Good to see Boyz (her name) keeping her eye on the ladder.

 

 

Nearly finished. Just the edge left.

 

Meanwhile at number two farm.

 

 

 

Do watch what you are doing dear!

 

 

I learnt something today about euca planting. I'm informed that It's best to put in a supporting stake for the young trees. When I finished the roof I had the job of cutting the stakes, Roughly 60cm long and as fat as a finger; and pointed. Used cable ties for the fixing. I thought, if the whole of number three farm gets the same treatment, that's a lot of plastic that has to be removed later.  Suddenly the 4 Baht trees, which are much sturdier and don't get staked, don't seem so expensive, If I've got to make 12,000 stakes I'd better get started very soon.

 

I could make quite a few hundred each day. Bamboo is not a problem, especially now, as a couple of dozen 8 metre lenghts, have just been blown into number eight pond. The fixing is a problem for me. If the farm was all Thai they would just tie up with plastic and let it deteriorate with nature. I'll have a think and get onto the farming section for some advice. Maybe there is a environment friendly cord or something. Bamboo string!?

 

0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0.O.0

 

Milly has her own tree at the end of number seven pond. It's a red cherry. Delighted to see cherries. The Americans grow a lot of cherry trees, and some are giants. I wonder if this particular tree grows big. Seems small (not as high as me), but at least it's giving fruit.

 

 

I like it that children have their own stuff at the farm. Milly has her fish and the cherry tree. Keeps her away from the telephone, but also impresses upon her how beautiful nature is.

 

Only got one mango from the batch I did a while back. I'll pot it tomorrow. And one of the new avacadoes has a root growing. Still have a couple of shells in the kitchen to sort out yet. Pics later.

 

Our new cat has settled in nicely. A good eater. Very playful, but torments Charkie who is 10 years old.

 

Damage all over with the wind yesterday. Lucky escape for us!

 

More to come

 

Bye y'all.

 

 

 

 

[HighPriority]

Owl, please buy yourself a small cherry picker ! (Tax deductible ?)

youre looking a tad precarious on that damned ladder again !

 

Apparently it was so cold last night that mum didn’t have a shower !

Edited April 13, 2020 by HighPriority

[thaibeachlovers]

10 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Had to use the extension ladder.

I don't see any rope around you in case the ladder falls, which it could.

At least throw a rope over the roof and secure it on the other side to attach yourself to.

I have a ladder permanently up a tree that is as high, and I have a proper climber's ascender to use on a rope tied above the ladder so if I fall off I won't die, or worse become paralysed.

[owl sees all]

18 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I don't see any rope around you in case the ladder falls, which it could.

At least throw a rope over the roof and secure it on the other side to attach yourself to.

I have a ladder permanently up a tree that is as high, and I have a proper climber's ascender to use on a rope tied above the ladder so if I fall off I won't die, or worse become paralysed.

You are making a lot of sense AT.

 

I'll definitely keep your words in mind if I have to go up that high again.

[Assurancetourix]

20 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

You are making a lot of sense AT.

 

I'll definitely keep your words in mind if I have to go up that high again.

 

As for me, I feel dizzy on the third bar of a ladder;
all these high things are done by my stepson.
Ladders made in Thailand look beautiful but in fact are dangerous;

no study is made when at their stability, the base is always too small when the "security" is at its maximum admissible;
wheelbarrows .. same problem, the front wheel is never offset enough and if you load without paying attention where you put your shovel, you end up with the wheelbarrow almost vertically because the center of gravity has never been studied properly.
A whole bunch of tools "made in Thailand" which are in fact dangerous to use.
So you have to buy German or American tools that cost an arm and a half kidney if you want to work properly

[owl sees all]

13 minutes ago, Assurancetourix said:

 

As for me, I feel dizzy on the third bar of a ladder;
all these high things are done by my stepson.
Ladders made in Thailand look beautiful but in fact are dangerous;

no study is made when at their stability, the base is always too small when the "security" is at its maximum admissible;
wheelbarrows .. same problem, the front wheel is never offset enough and if you load without paying attention where you put your shovel, you end up with the wheelbarrow almost vertically because the center of gravity has never been studied properly.
A whole bunch of tools "made in Thailand" which are in fact dangerous to use.
So you have to buy German or American tools that cost an arm and a half kidney if you want to work properly

You are forever thinking about safety AT. That is no bad thing here. Can easily get lured into a less than safe mode. I've noticed that ladders do not seem so robust as in the west. In fact, I saw one last week, used for telegraph work, made from bamboo, and it was about eight metres long.

 

The wheelbarrows here get some getting used to. I've had a couple tip over.

[owl sees all]

4 hours ago, HighPriority said:

Owl, please buy yourself a small cherry picker ! (Tax deductible ?)

youre looking a tad precarious on that damned ladder again !

 

Apparently it was so cold last night that mum didn’t have a shower !

The cherry pickers that I've seen in the states were not at all small. The one I'm thinking of has two bat-like arms that clamp around the tree and give it a vibrate.

 

Yesterday at the farm it went from about 30c at 5 o'clock to below 20c at 5-30; but gradually got warmer during the following hour. No hailstones though, unlike the town Nong Bua Lampu, near Udon. 

 

Fortunately our water pressure is OK at the mo', so no problem with the bathroom water heater.

[EVENKEEL]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

You are forever thinking about safety AT. That is no bad thing here. Can easily get lured into a less than safe mode. I've noticed that ladders do not seem so robust as in the west. In fact, I saw one last week, used for telegraph work, made from bamboo, and it was about eight metres long.

 

The wheelbarrows here get some getting used to. I've had a couple tip over.

I bought one of those bamboo ones when I painted my house, 600bht. Awful ladder, never again. Price will no longer be a factor for me.

[Assurancetourix]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

You are forever thinking about safety AT.

Occupational hazard ;
for many years I was a trainer in road safety
(not a driving school instructor, it's totally different) and I was also IDSR at the Prefecture de Police de Paris.
IDSR: Inspector Departemental de Securite Routiere, has nothing to do with the police even if we were working on police procedures relating to fatal accidents in Paris the previous year.

 

When I was a trucker, apart from the first four years where I had a lead shoe, I always respected the Highway Code and I realized very quickly that even when going very far, behind the iron curtain in East Germany or Poland and even in Ukraine, you could do this job safely and without ever getting fined; my wallet always said thank you and my different bosses who were always skeptical when I started working for them discovered that it was possible;
and the icing on the cake, less GO consumption, never accidents or administrative downtime ...
a win-win

[Assurancetourix]

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

I bought one of those bamboo ones when I painted my house, 600bht. Awful ladder, never again. Price will no longer be a factor for me.

Do not forget either that some very high scaffolds are entirely made of bamboo and during great storms never fall on the ground because they bend, twist but do not break.
As for the people who use these bamboo ladders they very often weigh half of our weights ..ca must help

[HighPriority]

10 hours ago, owl sees all said:

The cherry pickers that I've seen in the states were not at all small. The one I'm thinking of has two bat-like arms that clamp around the tree and give it a vibrate.

 

Yesterday at the farm it went from about 30c at 5 o'clock to below 20c at 5-30; but gradually got warmer during the following hour. No hailstones though, unlike the town Nong Bua Lampu, near Udon. 

 

Fortunately our water pressure is OK at the mo', so no problem with the bathroom water heater.

My daughter in law sent a video of yesterday’s rain storm, my wife says that she hasn’t seen such fierce rain since she was her daughters age (15)

im sure the farm will appreciate the rain. 
 

A cherry picker like you describe might be helpful only if it clamps around you Owl ????

I was thinking more a Elevated Work Platform.

[owl sees all]

I have been reading about Thais being out of work and penniless having to sell their possessions for food. Very sad.

 

Yesterday we had a lady helper at the farm. Started at 2-30 and finished at 5-30. Gave her 200 Baht and her little daughter 20. Today, there have been four people come to us for work. Goes to show what is going on in Isaan.

 

The tractor driver (ironically driving our old one) is doing work, for our neighboring farms, with the promise that he will be paid when the rice is harvested, That's six months time! The banks will not lend money at this time.

 

Makes the rain even more important. If the rice crop fails again this year, things will be worse than desperate.

Edited April 14, 2020 by owl sees all

[Andrew Dwyer]

10 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I bought one of those bamboo ones when I painted my house, 600bht. Awful ladder, never again. Price will no longer be a factor for me.

Yup, i bought a bamboo ladder for working on the house, on advice of the bil I bought some steel wire and looped it round each side rail and under the rungs in case it wanted to come apart.

Only problem is the rungs are too far apart  making it awkward to climb up and down.

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, owl sees all said:

The one I'm thinking of has two bat-like arms that clamp around the tree and give it a vibrate.

LOL. I think the "cherry picker" he is referring to is one of those platforms that lifts someone up high to work on something, not something that actually picks fruit.

Bit expensive just for an infrequent event, but one may be able to be rented locally.

IMO just being tied on securely is good enough, so long as someone is around in case you end up hanging.

[bluesofa]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

LOL. I think the "cherry picker" he is referring to is one of those platforms that lifts someone up high to work on something, not something that actually picks fruit.

Bit expensive just for an infrequent event, but one may be able to be rented locally.

IMO just being tied on securely is good enough, so long as someone is around in case you end up hanging.

'in case you end up hanging.'  It's not KKK country is it?

[owl sees all]

28 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

'in case you end up hanging.'  It's not KKK country is it?

So that's where the phrase 'cherry picking' comes from.

 

Millie's cherry tree is about the same height as me (2metres), so I'll not need no cherry picker for some time to come.

[owl sees all]

11 hours ago, HighPriority said:

My daughter in law sent a video of yesterday’s rain storm, my wife says that she hasn’t seen such fierce rain since she was her daughters age (15).

Any chance of putting the vid' up HP. Would be a good addition to 'The diary'.

 

Mrs Owl has just returned from Buddha. She reckons there were more people there than she has seen in a  long time; some younger people too (under 30). Interestingly, not one person had a mask on, although a couple had them round their necks.

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Any chance of putting the vid' up HP. Would be a good addition to 'The diary'.

 

Mrs Owl has just returned from Buddha. She reckons there were more people there than she has seen in a  long time; some younger people too (under 30). Interestingly, not one person had a mask on, although a couple had them round their necks.

Don't know about Nong Khai, but I've just noticed that us in Udon could be buying beer beer in a couple of days according to this, as we have been so compliant and the Covid threat is retreating:

 

"Udon Thani Governor Nirat Pongsithithaworn announced on Tuesday (April 14) that lockdown measures and other restrictions on daily life may be eased on Friday (April 17) if the province reaches the milestone of 14 consecutive days with no new infections."

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1159606-udon-thani-set-to-ease-lockdown-after-infections-subside/

<end of cynical mode>

[owl sees all]

The cherry machine that I was thinking of is a serious bit of kit.

 

Machine starts up on two minutes.

 

 

I think I'll get Milly one for her birthday.

[Assurancetourix]

1 hour ago, owl sees all said:

I think I'll get Milly one for her birthday.

I fear that Ms. Owl does not agree;
on the other hand buy her 1 or 2 baht of gold .......

[sotonowl]

10 hours ago, owl sees all said:

The cherry machine that I was thinking of is a serious bit of kit.

 

Machine starts up on two minutes.

 

 

I think I'll get Milly one for her birthday.

That is pretty impressive, do they use the same on olive trees I wonder. I think the person who originally suggested a cherry picker really meant a MEWP (Mobile elevated work platform which some people call a cherry picker). As for tying yourself off with a rope, I'd suggest you're probably better off risking the fall from the ladder. To tie yourself off properly you need a fit for purpose fall arrest harness with built in shock absorber. This needs anchoring above head height and attached to an anchor point which should be either tested to or calculated to be able to withstand an applied load of 1 ton. Then you have the fall arrest shock trauma to consider, depending on a persons fitness whoever comes to your rescue has a limited time to effect a rescue prior to death. This being the case, fall arrest is a waste of time unless you have a rescue plan in place should you fall.

I believe there are inflatable bags which would be better for people like yourself who maybe work at height a lot. Not sure if this is allowed but the link provides a picture of what I mean.

https://thxuk.com/product-range/handling-lifting/fall-arrest-safety-equipment/soft-landing-bags/

When managing risk there's certain things to take into consideration. Risk = Possibility X consequence. Now the possibility of a fall from height if you're up a ladder once a year would be pretty low, but the consequence would be very high. If you use ladders all the time then the chances are there'll be a fall sooner or later so do yourself and us a favour be acquiring some inflatable bags.

Sorry about all that but I had a spare 15 minutes to fill.

[owl sees all]

37 minutes ago, sotonowl said:

That is pretty impressive, do they use the same on olive trees I wonder. I think the person who originally suggested a cherry picker really meant a MEWP (Mobile elevated work platform which some people call a cherry picker).

They do use a vibrator/shaker machine down the west country (Somerset way) when they harvest the cider apples. These machines come into their own when there is a small window for getting in the fruit.

 

I used to like cherry cola. In fact it was my favourite drink straight from the fridge; no ice! Not seen it for years, let alone tasted it. Is it still about?

 

All this stuff about ladders. Just have to be careful, and come down (rather than just hang on) if you are overcome with dizziness.

Edited April 15, 2020 by owl sees all

[sotonowl]

2 hours ago, owl sees all said:

They do use a vibrator/shaker machine down the west country (Somerset way) when they harvest the cider apples. These machines come into their own when there is a small window for getting in the fruit.

 

I used to like cherry cola. In fact it was my favourite drink straight from the fridge; no ice! Not seen it for years, let alone tasted it. Is it still about?

 

All this stuff about ladders. Just have to be careful, and come down (rather than just hang on) if you are overcome with dizziness.

Not sure about Cherry Cola, not a drink a look for, always been a Dandelion and Burdock man myself.

[HighPriority]

21 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Any chance of putting the vid' up HP. Would be a good addition to 'The diary'.

 

When I asked my wife for the video she looked at me like I was PeahBah and denied all knowledge... ????

Maybe I am going crazy...?

Maybe as my wife says “PeahBah know PeahBah” ????

So, it seems a retraction is in order.