Come to think of it we didn't hear from Ron19 for awhile here, he is busy harvesting and growing new rice as we speak. I'll ask him, I am curious.

No .it's nothing like that in fact it could not be further from what's been happening.It's a long story and I could go into a great amount of detail but instead will give you a much shorter version.To start my son in-law has been working the farm for us and hiring himself and the tractor out then got into drugs (ya bah) and then letting the farm go,not putting money aside for fuel,booking fuel up which ment he must of been using the money for drugs.So the finish of all this is that we have leased the farm out for two years and sold the tractor.Very sad after spending 3 million baht setting him up with a house ,machinery and extra land giving him a chance to make something of himself and then to have this happen.By the way,he is not a kid ,he is 45.

Must be frustrating Ron.

Very Much so.

Croc Farm

Come to think of it we didn't hear from Ron19 for awhile here, he is busy harvesting and growing new rice as we speak. I'll ask him, I am curious.

Sad, Ron. It is ok to share sad stories as well with us. There are good people here and listening is important. Perhaps some good will come out of you sharing this. I have seen it all when Ron showed me around his neighbourhood last month. I will never forget that morning walk with your 2 sweet dogs, Ron. That was very special.

Hang in there Ron!

IMG_8714.jpg

Meet Abhisit and Somchai

Sorry but the black dog is Abhisit and the white one is Suthep and by the way they are only tied up there for a couple of minutes so they cant chase the sons chickens around while I am watering some dragon fruit cuttings that are coming along well.

Sorry but the black dog is Abhisit and the white one is Suthep

Sorry Ron, i keep mixing the names up.

Ok, it's a rainy Sunday on the south coast of France, so I have dug out a couple more pics to keep me from getting bored...

Animal theme again as I don't do veggies

The monkey training college just outside Surat town, very well run place, staffed by passionate people

Star student...

Learning the basics, spinning a coconut..

Spinning a hanging coconut !!

Rope work, not a knot he couldn't undo

More hrs driving lessons than the humans..

Rescuing the floaters..

Bagging up..

All worth it in the end

Over qualified for entry ??

There you go... Worth a visit if you are ever passing.

No entrance fee but they do survive on donations so 100 baht makes them smile (genuinely)

@CC.... Great images of the Monkey training centre, CornishCarlos!

@Ron.... Sorry to hear of your problem there too, Ron.... It shows sometimes that people are better to work for what they have, then perhaps appreciate it more...

The family farm, I stay with in Songklha is two brothers trying to take over from Mama and papa, one is a hard worker the other a lazy sod, who drinks and does as little as possible... yet they are sharing 50% of the income.... I said to the older brother who works hard, that was not fair on him.... but he seems willing to accept the situation for now... anyway!

Anyway moving on... here is how they wash buffalo on Samui! .... just head down to the beach!

Heading home after a day's grazing....

samuijimmy re post #696 @Ron.... Sorry to hear of your problem there too, Ron.... It shows sometimes that people are better to work for what they have, then perhaps appreciate it more...

The family farm, I stay with in Songklha is two brothers trying to take over from Mama and papa, one is a hard worker the other a lazy sod, who drinks and does as little as possible... yet they are sharing 50% of the income.... I said to the older brother who works hard, that was not fair on him.... but he seems willing to accept the situation for now... anyway

Thank's for your thoughts and couldn't agee more with the above.

Some more buffaloes.

Checking on the corn.

Grandma's chile patch.

Some photos of my GFs new Rubber trees. She planted them 3 weeks back with money she earned and saved herself. It cost approx 30,000 baht to buy and plant the 450 seedlings and get the land ready and other incidentals. 30 seedlings were lost to the heat. Her friend planted 500 on his farm just 10ks away and he lost all 500. Whether that was the heat or a dispute with a neighbour it is unknown.

These two first photos are of the land cleared and ready and the seedlings planted

This is a healthy seedling

These Rubber trees are 7-8 years old and are next to the trees that have just been planted Her Father planted these.

Hi Bookman.

Great first photo post and thanks for sharing

I hope your g/f's seedlings grow well and become strong trees.

@Shaggy.... my chillies are just starting to flower after months of growing very slowly.... Hope some chillies start to appear soon, or going to chop em down!

So, here's mumma and baby calf ! (got to keep the pictures going here!!! )

@Shaggy.... my chillies are just starting to flower after months of growing very slowly.... Hope some chillies start to appear soon, or going to chop em down!

Do you want me to send Grandma over to sort your chiles out mate?

Farm Dogs

AKA Did-dug and Beckham

( miss them more than the ex wife)

Farm Dogs

AKA Did-dug and Beckham

( miss them more than the ex wife)

Excellent shot, Shaggy. You used the flash accordingly. I can learn from this .

Some nice looking Mutts there ...

Have a look at i-never-really-appreciated-dogs-until

.

A brother in-law supplementing the farm income with a bit of wood turning of verandah posts and those round I think you would call them a stool.

Very good craftsman.

More verandah posts which are the other ones before they were painted.

More verandah posts which are the other ones before they were painted.

Verandah Posts 2.jpg

Looks like a few Western building techniques mixed in with Thai style.

If that's your place, how old is it now and any termite issues?

.

I was impressed with all the wood design of the place. It looked very solid and nicely finished. Gives the whole place a lot of warm ambience as well. When i will build i will use a lot of wood as well.

Master charcoal burner here from the morning walk, there.

More verandah posts which are the other ones before they were painted.

Verandah Posts 2.jpg

That's going to look awesome when it's finished Ron.

Stained and varnished or just varnished?

Would love to see it when it's finished.

Peanut plant.

Got the shock of my life when I found out a few years ago peanuts grew in the ground.

More verandah posts which are the other ones before they were painted.

Verandah Posts 2.jpg

Looks like a few Western building techniques mixed in with Thai style.

If that's your place, how old is it now and any termite issues?

.

Yes it is our place and is just over four years old.We don't have any white ant problems as yet.Most probably because everything below upper level is concrete and has been treated by drilling around each post and the chemicals injected into the soil.

More verandah posts which are the other ones before they were painted.

Verandah Posts 2.jpg

That's going to look awesome when it's finished Ron.

Stained and varnished or just varnished?

Would love to see it when it's finished.

Just varnished using this one.and the colour is spanish mahogany.

@Shaggy.... my chillies are just starting to flower after months of growing very slowly.... Hope some chillies start to appear soon, or going to chop em down!

Do you want me to send Grandma over to sort your chiles out mate?

Nah ..... don't bother sending grandma down ! ..... One of my neighbour kids does a good job of helping, he actually spotted this first... he's curious as to how it differs from regular Thai chillies!

I think and hope it's a Habenaro (sp) but I / we planted both types in the same area... so I am going by the round shape of this one!

More verandah posts which are the other ones before they were painted.

Verandah Posts 2.jpg

That's going to look awesome when it's finished Ron.

Stained and varnished or just varnished?

Would love to see it when it's finished.

Just varnished using this one.and the colour is spanish mahogany.

woodstain.jpg

our house 1.jpg

our house 2.jpg

Our House.jpg

Just a warning on the woodstain/varnish,as with any clear type finish that is exposed to direct sunlight,the finish will not last many years and ours is showing signs of deterioration already.

 

More verandah posts which are the other ones before they were painted.

 

Verandah Posts 2.jpg

That's going to look awesome when it's finished Ron.

Stained and varnished or just varnished?

Would love to see it when it's finished.

Just varnished using this one.and the colour is spanish mahogany.

 

woodstain.jpg

 

our house 1.jpg

 

our house 2.jpg

 

Our House.jpg

Just a warning on the woodstain/varnish,as with any clear type finish that is exposed to direct sunlight,the finish will not last many years and ours is showing signs of deterioration already.

Hi Ron. Typically any exterior wood cladding needs repainting every 10 years. Anyhow, what area do you live in? I'm looking for a woodwork craftsman for similar work at our place. We are 1 hour from khonkaen.