42 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Fantastic work FFF.

How does it work? Does it cut legs off?

If it does he'll be hopping mad about it. Left with nowt to stand on.

19 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

If it does he'll be hopping mad about it. Left with nowt to stand on.

Funnily enough I had to drive a neighbour to the local clinic who was helping the nephew cut up the MIL's Tamarind tree, nicked his foot with the chainsaw and required about 8 stitches.He died about 6 weeks later from alcoholic poisoning.That was just a couple of months ago. 

7 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Funnily enough I had to drive a neighbour to the local clinic who was helping the nephew cut up the MIL's Tamarind tree, nicked his foot with the chainsaw and required about 8 stitches.He died about 6 weeks later from alcoholic poisoning.That was just a couple of months ago. 

'alcoholic poisoning'  Have I understood that correctly?

Is that how he came to nick his foot, by the sound of it due to his almost permanent inebriation?

30 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

'alcoholic poisoning'  Have I understood that correctly?

Is that how he came to nick his foot, by the sound of it due to his almost permanent inebriation?

Permanent inebriation is a more apt description of his ailment and likely a contributing factor in his chainsaw accident,though I do dislike the word accident as it nulls people's responsibility of their choices and decisions.

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

If it does he'll be hopping mad about it. Left with nowt to stand on.

I would be well and truly stumped!

3 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Been busy trying to finish my Chainsaw mill thingy with height adjustable legs to plumb the blade. 

 

First turn these things into adjustable thingies

 

 

Then add a few bearings and a goose neck from a bicycle and bingo.Complete with anti kickback mechanism.

 

 

Then plumb up the blade.

 

 

If only you could get a ladder involved in there somehow... I’m sure Owl would be all over it !! 
????????????

23 minutes ago, HighPriority said:

If only you could get a ladder involved in there somehow... I’m sure Owl would be all over it !! 
????????????

I've seen ladders used in Alaskan chainsaw mills on numerous occasions.555

2 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

I've seen ladders used in Alaskan chainsaw mills on numerous occasions.555

That C-19 protection mask is the nuts.

On 11/18/2019 at 12:17 PM, owl sees all said:

Just came in from paying respects to a deceased lady; just 4 huts away. She died yesterday aged 97. The household was very generous with the food and drink as per usual. Served all sorts of dishes. I was happy with the pla nin. Although one of the larger ones looked familiar.  Didn't participate with the alcohol as I've got to drive to Nong Khai later. Wife is still there though; scurrying about.

 

I've been considering giving some of my Mekong catfish to the local temple. They have grown well; in fact very well. The biggest two are over 1.4 metres long and all over one metre. I have 19, and they dominate the other fish at feeding time. If I could get some muscle on the job, for the catching, I reckon I could donate 9. 

 

I did have some feeding posts, that just needed old fruit and veg' to get maggots for free. I'm thinking of putting in a few to cut down on the cost of feed. When I do eventually stock with fingerlings, I'll put the automated feeding stations in all ponds.

 

The big mekongs are in pond #5 (from the left).

 

 

The lady next to us didn't plant rice this year. She planted rosella. I knew it as sorrel in the Caribbean. Very nice drink. She is harvesting at the moment and is getting 100 baht a kilo for dry. Interesting!

Great post. Thanks. Fascinating life. We own alot of land in Isaan, and plan to move there in the near future. My wife's family is absolutely delightful, helpful, hard working, self reliant, and honest. A real honor to be part of their clan. 

 

I pay tribute to your neighbor, and applaud her creativity. I don't hear many good things about growing rice, and would never engage in that kind of sustenance crop growing. So many more progressive crops out there. Did she take some time to convert the soil, or was she able to switch right away? 

 

I find alot of the folks in Issan to be lovely people. It is another planet, but it is a very nice planet! 

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Great post. Thanks. Fascinating life. We own alot of land in Isaan, and plan to move there in the near future. My wife's family is absolutely delightful, helpful, hard working, self reliant, and honest. A real honor to be part of their clan. 

 

I pay tribute to your neighbor, and applaud her creativity. I don't hear many good things about growing rice, and would never engage in that kind of sustenance crop growing. So many more progressive crops out there. Did she take some time to convert the soil, or was she able to switch right away? 

 

I find alot of the folks in Issan to be lovely people. It is another planet, but it is a very nice planet! 

Whereabouts are you moving to? Just being a nosey <deleted> so no need to answer if you don't want to. I will be moving up to Kalsin (actually 85 kms from the provincial capital) in just over 2 years when I retire, unless my employer asks me to stay. But in any case no later than the end of 2024. After having lived in Bangkok for 38 years I am certainly nervous about the move. We have only bought land to build a house on so I won't be going full Old MacDonald like The Owl or FFF. Will get back into fishing and cycling, but I need more to keep me occupied. 

 

Good thing is that the wife's family are really nice and hardworking and we can all communicate. While I don't speak the Issarn dialect I do understand it so just answer in Thai.   

Speaking of old McDonald,Here a moo there a moo everywhere a moo moo.Somehow the cows have now become my responsibility so it starts with cow muesli made from rice polishings (bran?),some sliced dried cassava some blood and bone looking stuff and some other stuff and water.The water comes from the kitchen and usually has kitchen scrapes.

 

 

Then some grass that has to be cut every couple of days.

 

 

 

18 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Speaking of old McDonald,Here a moo there a moo everywhere a moo moo.Somehow the cows have now become my responsibility so it starts with cow muesli made from rice polishings (bran?),some sliced dried cassava some blood and bone looking stuff and some other stuff and water.The water comes from the kitchen and usually has kitchen scrapes.

 

 

Then some grass that has to be cut every couple of days.

 

 

 

They look as though they could with some fattening up. Give them some sugar cane FFF.

31 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

They look as though they could with some fattening up. Give them some sugar cane FFF.

They look like their owners and they are eating machines built for speed,they get heaps of cane in the cutting season but doesn't make any diff.I see a neighbour's cows go past our place everyday shaped like your blue water tanks they're a different breed as well as having a dedicated carer I haven't seen a cow that well built and I've seen lots of cows when I worked on the Gas pipeline from Adelaide to Port Campbell through the middle of dairy country copping daily zaps from electric fences.Now our Big Momma cow has a sore leg which is my fault as usual I noticed it yesterday and thought she might have just slept on it but she's still limping this morning so I told Mrs FFF and got in trouble for not telling her earlier so just waiting for the vet to have a look.

43 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

They look like their owners and they are eating machines built for speed,they get heaps of cane in the cutting season but doesn't make any diff.I see a neighbour's cows go past our place everyday shaped like your blue water tanks they're a different breed as well as having a dedicated carer I haven't seen a cow that well built and I've seen lots of cows when I worked on the Gas pipeline from Adelaide to Port Campbell through the middle of dairy country copping daily zaps from electric fences.Now our Big Momma cow has a sore leg which is my fault as usual I noticed it yesterday and thought she might have just slept on it but she's still limping this morning so I told Mrs FFF and got in trouble for not telling her earlier so just waiting for the vet to have a look.

There is a farm near me who grow sugar just to feed the animals. They have a shredding machine and cut a few sticks every day. Their cows look sturdy.

 

I bought two buffaloes some years back. Sold them at a small loss 12 months later. Also had piggies; black ones. They were cute, but the male 'Tookey' didn't like farangs. Never had any cows, or looked after any, although cows do like me.

 

24 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

There is a farm near me who grow sugar just to feed the animals. They have a shredding machine and cut a few sticks every day. Their cows look sturdy.

 

I bought two buffaloes some years back. Sold them at a small loss 12 months later. Also had piggies; black ones. They were cute, but the male 'Tookey' didn't like farangs. Never had any cows, or looked after any, although cows do like me.

 

Being born in the year of the cow I too seem to have some Bovine affinity and Baby Red the daughter of Big Momma is for ever chasing me to try and lick me to death.I once tried shoving Big Momma to get her to move off her string so I could tie her to a post and got a hefty kick to the thigh for my efforts and the MIL has a nasty dent in her forehead as a result of being kicked buy one of her cows.We did pigs previously as well and the damn things form emotional connections and become family members and selling them caused Mrs FFF considerable emotional distress they also didn't seem to like falangs and the only emotion from me was happiness when they were gone.

19 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Being born in the year of the cow I too seem to have some Bovine affinity and Baby Red the daughter of Big Momma is for ever chasing me to try and lick me to death.I once tried shoving Big Momma to get her to move off her string so I could tie her to a post and got a hefty kick to the thigh for my efforts and the MIL has a nasty dent in her forehead as a result of being kicked buy one of her cows.We did pigs previously as well and the damn things form emotional connections and become family members and selling them caused Mrs FFF considerable emotional distress they also didn't seem to like falangs and the only emotion from me was happiness when they were gone.

You are right about the pigs forming emotional connections. We had two in the village. The lady pig (can't recall her name) would lay at the MinL's feet.

 

We built a home for them at the farm and they lived there for a while.

2 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

They look like their owners and they are eating machines built for speed,they get heaps of cane in the cutting season but doesn't make any diff.I see a neighbour's cows go past our place everyday shaped like your blue water tanks they're a different breed as well as having a dedicated carer I haven't seen a cow that well built and I've seen lots of cows when I worked on the Gas pipeline from Adelaide to Port Campbell through the middle of dairy country copping daily zaps from electric fences.Now our Big Momma cow has a sore leg which is my fault as usual I noticed it yesterday and thought she might have just slept on it but she's still limping this morning so I told Mrs FFF and got in trouble for not telling her earlier so just waiting for the vet to have a look.

My ex wife's buffalo had a problem with each of it's legs at one time or another. Cost a bit to fix. When there was the same problem a fifth time I got suspicious. 

 

Owl Log - 30-09-2020 - Wednesday morning

 

I'm not against anyone collecting animals for food, or even for a commercial venture. But! I don't like this Thai thing where they buy, or catch, creatures and just let them die. Had words with Mrs Owl over this.

 

The villagers see her as a soft touch, and bring all sorts to her. Of course she buys everything, and then lets the purchases deteriorate. In the case of snails, frogs and crabs, it's worse, because they die.

 

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Leccy went off suddenly last night. Went outside to investigate. Just us. Everyone else OK. Seemed like the meter connection again. I pusher the 'in' wire to the box and was met with a firework display. But, it did the trick, and the meter wheel started spinning.

 

This very problem was reported to the the local PEA just three weeks ago. I've sorted it for now. Just asked the Mrs to call the authority to report the problem. We will see if they come. Will we see if they even got called.

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Fixed the broken window. First thing was to clean out the bits of glass and old mastic. What to do with the bits of glass? Next I cut out the white polyboard for the inside.

 

 

Then put into the grooves a pieces of thicker polyboard.

 

 

Then it was time to fix the polywindow on the inside. A blob/smear of mastic held everything in place.

 

 

And the same on the outside.

 

 

The window was fixed. The joke was set. Would Mrs Owl notice that it was a white window on the inside, but black on the outside?

 

Final thing was to dispose of the glass. Broke it up into smaller bits and sealed it in a Pringles' tube. Didn't bother to write 'beware glass' on the tube. Maybe I should have? Too late now.

 

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Found an interesting field Monday. Mildred has called it the 'Scarecrow farm'. I'm pleased she even knows the word 'scarecrow'.

 

 

 

Could it be to scare birds. Deter Peelaws. Send a stark message to their neighbors. Can't see anything special growing. It's a mystery.

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Guy is a very innovative chap. If it looks like it will hold a bit of soil; he'll use it.

 

 

If I can't find my hat; I know where to look for it.

 

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Fishing on Saturday and Sunday. I outfished Mildred on the first day, but she slaughtered me on the second. Twenty seven fish caught in total. The new floats worked a treat. A bigger fish broke the line on Saturday. Took the float along with it. Looking out for a green strawfloat in number one pond attached to a 'Blemmyae'. Not seen it as yet.

 

Bad news. My favoutite chair has let me down. Had it for a year or so. Gonna get out the duck tape. Perhaps drill a couple of holes and sew it. Can't afford a new one at the mo'.

 

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

Finished the euca sorting. Finished up with 8 half-bags of soil. A couple of sacks of dry plastic bags also; to be burnt in a couple of months time.

 

 

 

Everything was fine. We were working together really well. Then the Mrs was told that I had odd coloured shoes on. Milly was the quisling. Yes! the one taking the pics. Not only that; shirt inside out - again. I'm thinking that M gets a kick out of my suffering. How can I be taken anywhere nice. Simply must do better.

 

 

What will happen when she notices the two-coloured window?

 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

 

The Buddha farmer had opened the pipe running under the road. Not only that, but he had put a blue net in place to catch any animals; fish, crabs. frogs, shrimps etc that might get caught in the flow and finish up trapped. Blocked it up again. The rain might have finished so don't want to lose any water in the paddy.

 

Gut a phone number from a government worker about buying a couple of the exercise machines left abandoned on the outskirts of Ban Dung. Mrs Owl phoned then once but there was no answer. I'v asked her to keep phoning. Very difficult to get some ladies to speak, if they think is an authoritative person.

 

 

That's the one I particularly like. If he will take 500 baht, then it's a deal.

 

Take care out there.

 

Bye y'all.

 

 

23 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Owl Log - 30-09-2020 - Wednesday morning

 

{snipped}

Leccy went off suddenly last night. Went outside to investigate. Just us. Everyone else OK. Seemed like the meter connection again. I pusher the 'in' wire to the box and was met with a firework display. But, it did the trick, and the meter wheel started spinning.

 

This very problem was reported to the the local PEA just three weeks ago. I've sorted it for now. Just asked the Mrs to call the authority to report the problem. We will see if they come. Will we see if they even got called.

 

You can check yourself, don't worry Mrs Owl about it.
The phone number for the PEA call centre is 1129. You'll hear an announcement saying 'press 9 for English'

Their English is quite good.

 

The very first time you call you just need your electric bill to tell them your customer number. It's one at the top, they'll tell you where to look.

Then you can ask them to check your meter connection.

Because it's their call centre, they TELL the local office to do it, believe me it works. Phoning the local office is very often useless.

If it was me calling, I'd also tell them it had been reported three weeks earlier and nothing had been done.

 

The very first time my wife called 1129 (I was working away) she told them the power had been out for two days, and complained to the call centre that after calling the local PEA office three times, the boss phoned her and told her to stop pestering them.

Within half an hour she had a grovelling phone call from the same local boss apologising to her. The power was restored within two hours. Honestly.

 

Every time I call about a power outage, they check on their system and tell me in twenty seconds if they're aware of it, and if so about how long before the power will be restored.

On the occasions they're not aware, they get someone onto it PDQ. They really do

 

Subsequent calls - as long as you use the same mobile phone again - they will recognise it and confirm your name to you, along with your address.

 

I can't praise them highly enough. Don't waste time with the hopeless local office. Plus 1129 speak OK English.

 

P.S. They don't pay me commission for praising their service, but they should do!

 

3 hours ago, owl sees all said:

 

That's the one I particularly like. If he will take 500 baht, then it's a deal.

Yes that broken chair would be a steal at 500 Bt!

4 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

Yes that broken chair would be a steal at 500 Bt!

All those machines need attention. Should get them for free to anyone who wants to get them up and running.

 

That chair is not what I'm after FFF. It was the machine behind.

4 hours ago, owl sees all said:

All those machines need attention. Should get them for free to anyone who wants to get them up and running.

 

That chair is not what I'm after FFF. It was the machine behind.

I know that you're not after the chair,I was trying to be funny,but I would grab the chair and cut it up to repair your favourite chair and use some contact adhesive and some sanding for added adhesion you might be able to get some matching contours and maybe something to fill any gaps to stop any nasty pinching.

I made 2 of these chairs a few months ago from some of the dead Teak trees from the plantation

and seeing your favourite chair has given me an idea of making some smaller versions as those smaller chairs are quite popular for working closer to the ground.I also made a clamp thingy to hold the smaller diameter timber to make straight cuts and it works a treat.You can tell from the photos that I'm not a big fan of the clean work area is a safe work area!

We've had a few good showers in the last five days and we are getting another one as I write this post,sorry to rub it in.

1 minute ago, FarFlungFalang said:

I know that you're not after the chair,I was trying to be funny,but I would grab the chair and cut it up to repair your favourite chair and use some contact adhesive and some sanding for added adhesion you might be able to get some matching contours and maybe something to fill any gaps to stop any nasty pinching.

I made 2 of these chairs a few months ago from some of the dead Teak trees from the plantation

and seeing your favourite chair has given me an idea of making some smaller versions as those smaller chairs are quite popular for working closer to the ground.I also made a clamp thingy to hold the smaller diameter timber to make straight cuts and it works a treat.You can tell from the photos that I'm not a big fan of the clean work area is a safe work area!

We've had a few good showers in the last five days and we are getting another one as I write this post,sorry to rub it in.

Fantastic!

 

I've got my own ideas on fixing my chair FFF. Gonna start tomorrow. Pics next log.

 

Just about to start bottling up my reishi that I made today. Added some cinnamon into the brew. Should be interesting.

21 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

Fantastic!

 

I've got my own ideas on fixing my chair FFF. Gonna start tomorrow. Pics next log.

 

Just about to start bottling up my reishi that I made today. Added some cinnamon into the brew. Should be interesting.

We used to have cinnamon and sugar on toast when we were kids a bit like cinnamon donuts tastes great.Also my brother is a beekeeper and said that honey and cinnamon has some wonderful health benefits.

11 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

We used to have cinnamon and sugar on toast when we were kids a bit like cinnamon donuts tastes great.Also my brother is a beekeeper and said that honey and cinnamon has some wonderful health benefits.

Last time in England I stayed with my ex's (sadly deceased) mother (my ex M in L). Virtually every morning I had honey and cinnamon on fruit bread, with a big mug of tea.

 

The rest of the day I had to eat Jamaican food. Always lot of spinach and peas.

10 hours ago, owl sees all said:

Milly was the quisling.

I haven't heard that expression in many years; thanks for the laugh!

On 9/30/2020 at 11:43 AM, owl sees all said:

Bad news. My favoutite chair has let me down. Had it for a year or so. Gonna get out the duck tape. Perhaps drill a couple of holes and sew it. Can't afford a new one at the mo'.

 

 

 

Dear Owl, please be very careful when sitting on a plastic chair ...

 

This one wasn't even cracked, but no less painful.

7 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Dear Owl, please be very careful when sitting on a plastic chair ...

 

This one wasn't even cracked, but no less painful.

I find chairs are pretty safe if they are used for what they are intended. My bad experiences with chairs have usually occurred when I've been standing on them or been using them to lift up power lines. With Mrs Owl, the chairs are sometimes broken after they hit me on the back.

 

That pic' looks awful CL. What happened?

 

All the plastic chairs in our home have had their legs tied together (pics next Owl Log) and are safe.

3 hours ago, owl sees all said:

I find chairs are pretty safe if they are used for what they are intended. My bad experiences with chairs have usually occurred when I've been standing on them or been using them to lift up power lines. With Mrs Owl, the chairs are sometimes broken after they hit me on the back.

 

That pic' looks awful CL. What happened?

 

All the plastic chairs in our home have had their legs tied together (pics next Owl Log) and are safe.

Heard of a case where a bloke went swimming and because of the cold water his nuts temporarily shriveled. Then when back on land he sat on a slatted chair and his nuts fell between the gap in two slats only to enlarge as they warmed up resulting in a similar situation. 

Owl Log - 02-10-2020 - Friday morning

 

Big Buddha day today. Mrs Owl just got back (09-30) with her empty basket. Got back from taking Mildred to the bus at 07-15. So that's the best part of two hours waiting for my cup of Rosy.

 

Made a batch of reishi yesterday. Put a couple of sticks of cinnamon in it. Mistake! Not its usual taste at all, as you might expect. Cause the cinnamon overwhelms all the other delicious ingredients.

 

 

I don't measure out any ingredients. Just go by experience. This brew was:

 

Three peeled limes.

Eight little onions.

Slithers of ginger.

Couple of cinnamon sticks.

Pack of reishi.

 

I put aside two lumps of ginger for growing. Gonna plant them at the farm in grow bags.

 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

The outdoor cooking stove let me down. The bit with the holes broke, so I had to improvise. Which is essential in Isaan as often things never work as they should. Break for no apparent reason. Simply fall apart. Or go walkies.

 

 

 

Can't keep buying new. Have to fix things.

 

 

Ready to rock and roll.

 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

The chair that split itself was the focus of my attention on Wednesday.

 

 

I had the plan to sew (word used loosely) together. But first job was to drill some holes.

 

 

That'll do nicely.

 

Then pull the two sides back into place with cable ties.

 

 

I tried another fixing medium, but it didn't have the flexibility I needed.

 

Soft plastic came to hand. Not that I wanted to be comfortable, but for Mrs Owl. Although she has her own chair at the farm.

 

 

That wall needs Mrs Owl's attention. I'll check to see if her brushes are still OK.

 

 

Trimmed up the underside; for a professional job.

 

 

Then it was testing time.

 

 

No prob's.

 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

I noticed a few years back that those chairs with slim legs, slip on the tiles, and splay outwards. It happened to me in 2016, when Mrs Owl suddenly jumped on me; for no apparent reason. The legs went north, south, east and west. Chair kaput. Fortunately I wasn't hurt.

 

So next two chairs I bought were wired - with string - corner to corner.

 

 

 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

The D in L had problems with her car battery. Wouldn't start the car and wouldn't take a charge. I had a look.

 

 

Thought I'd check the cells. I couldn't suss out how to get the cover off.

 

 

There must be a release thingy there somewhere.

 

 

Anyway. Got the top off eventually and the water level - at least in the first chamber - seemed OK.

 

She said she is going to buy a new battery today.

 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

Not seen the really big snail in pond one recently, but lots of others that are a very decent size. Their growth is due to the kitchen organic waste the get most days.

 

 

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

The Leccy has stayed on since I whacked the input wire the other night. Fellow poster Bluesofa set me straight on what to do. I might call today. Get them round to fix the meter wires permanently. Or, should I wait for the next black-out? I will call today.

 

Paid for Milly's bus yesterday. Handed over 500 baht. Didn't get any change. The other kids all go to Ban Dung and they pay 500 baht each. M only gets taken in the mornings. I pick her up in the afternoons. I'm wondering if they know.

 

Pleased with the pink fishing chair. That particular chair was 100 baht, so with the materials and a bit of electrickery I think I've saved about 10/12 baht. 

 

Charkie is definitely sick. My mate Fritz can round yesterday and suggested 'worming' pills. He said that that belly trouble could be the cause of her suffering.

 

Take care out there

 

Bye y'all