Anna the dog

[DrWilly]

Some things cannot be unseen

[Mendip]

Mendip avenue will have red stained walls both sides once the monsoon has had its way. I never put soil against a wall, always leave 6 inches and fill that with agregate

My wife has this annoying habit of giving me advice just after I've completed a task... but I'm glad that you're not like that Mike!


My list of jobs continues.

I planted a load of seeds from the giant noi na I picked up in Pak Chong last year, during our elephant shit hunt.

Pretty much all germinated and I've been waiting for a chance to transplant them.

I mixed our red top soil about 50/50 with potting compost, and got to work with the daughter 'helping'.



The daughter's job was to carry the re-potted noi na plants into the veggie area, but she saw a jumping spider on one pot, so she ended up little more than a spectator.



And to keep things on topic, Anna looks on appreciatively at seventeen newly transplanted custard apple plants. Once big enough not to be vulnerable to 'dog damage', I will plant a double row of custard apple plants in the space outside the veggies plot. I don't even much like them to be honest, but these things keep me occupied.




That was yesterday and this is today... when my task was to give the waterfall a trim. I really don't know why I do this shit, because I sort everything out, then go offshore for a month and come back and it's all overgrown and unkempt again, especially this time of year.



But you've gotta do it.



I cut back a lot of the reeds as well, but that job will be completed tomorrow.



I always prefer a neatly trimmed water feature.



Max looked on and nice to see that his small wound from the vet's procedure on Friday is healing up nicely.



Yogi unfortunately couldn't give a toss about my undergrowth trimming work... you can take the dog off the street...



I expect better of Coco, though...



The 'house side' dogs had their own issues going on...



Tem and the two black puppies seem to have taken up residence with the old lady over the lane. This will end badly for me, I just know it.

I'm still sure I could persuade the 'owner' to part with these two puppies if anyone wanted to give them a decent home? They really are gorgeous.

[hallelujah]

I always prefer a neatly trimmed water feature.



Max looked on and nice to see that his small wound from the vet's procedure on Friday is healing up nicely.

There was so much good stuff here that I actually sat here for a minute working out where to start taking the piss.

In the end I settled on this.

Do you get dressed in the dark?

[Mendip]

What can I say... I'm an early riser!

In fact that pic was taken a while after I'd finished the job and dumped my sweat-sodden work clothes in the laundry (for me to attend to tomorrow). During my cooling down swim I asked the daughter to bring me down a clean pair of underwear and T-shirt from the bedroom, and this is what she picked.

I forgot to mention a clean pair of shorts, so of course didn't get one, hence I've been wearing my Tyrannosaurus Rex boxers fall afternoon.

To be honest Hal, it doesn't really matter what you wear in Isaan.

[david44]

it doesn't really matter what you wear in Isaan.

tho a trimmed bush in pyjamas is always welcome, TOPS

Topiary
Often
Pleases
Sightseers

[Mendip]

Songkran week has been endless jobs for me, but I'm not complaining as it's nice to get a load of things crossed off the list before soon returning to Norway.

First an an easy one... with the wet season will come the ticks and the fleas. Bravecto is absolutely wonderful stuff and although expensive, since I started using it we haven't had a single tick of flea, to my knowledge. It also protects against heart worm. I used to inject the dogs with Ivermectin every six months but am much happier simply giving the dogs a Bravecto tablet every 3 or 4 months.

And some advice for the thrifty street dog pack owner... buy the biggest tabs (for dogs between 40kg and 56 kg), and simply cut them to size. You'll save a fortune.



The Bravecto people also make their tablets taste nice... why can't the penicillin or anti-inflammatory people do the same? It seems like common sense to me.

Four of our seven dogs ate their tablets like a treat, Anna and Coco needed force-feeding but not a problem with those two placid girls, and only Max was a problem. He could obviously smell the medicine, so I cut his tablet up small and hid the pieces in some rank-smelling pieces of meat I found in the wife's area of the fridge. That stuff would hide any smell known to man. Mission accomplished.

Next Tuesday the veterinary nurse is booked in to come and vaccinate the pack with their annual boosters. Another box soon to be ticked.


The dog-feeding man still arrives once a day to feed the black family, and seems more than happy to include Tem.

Two-tea Tem.



I spent the first half of the week on the pond, trimming back all the reeds and stuff.

To be honest, no fun in sweltering 35 degree heat and an airless 70 plus % humidity. But still better than leaving the house during Songkran!



I thinned out all the dead reeds and made tunnels from the overhanging ones to give the fish some shade. Although I say it meself, it looked pretty good at the end. I even embarrassed the gardener into pulling his finger out of his arse and helping out.



I also trimmed back all the reeds at the far side of the pond to reveal the shallow bay I made for fish to build their nests. Prior to my work (which took around five hours), that entire area was just a mass of dead reeds.



I had to test it all out... a nice pla nin which was just too small to make fillets so it went back. And look at how well behaved Anna is now... a couple of years ago she would have picked up that fish and run back to her chair with it to start munching.



And then I was into a big one.



I hooked a 2 to 3kg pla duuk which took a while to play out. I needed a landing net so called the daughter down from the house.



She took a few pictures for me, but then took so bladdy long to find the landing net I ran out of patience and tried to land it myself, 'sans net'.

Of course it wriggled off the hook and dropped back into the water. But, under the circumstances I'm counting this as a 'catch', and I'm also calling it 3kg.



Anna showed a remarkable lack of interest in my pla duuk exploits, and there was plenty of bad language when it fell off the hook to alert her.

She's much more relaxed these days and seems to understand that she'll be fed, regardless of my lack of fishing success.



Yogi of course is a sucker for a girl in a Songkran outfit.



As was I in times gone by, in a big way!

[DrWilly]

You do realize they have these special hooks now that stop the fish wriggling off?

[Mendip]

I never use barbed hooks at home, not with dogs and earlier on, children about. The difference between getting snagged by a barbless or barbed hook is simply pulling it out, or a hospital/vet visit to have it cut out.

I may lose a couple more fish, but not a significant amount. The trick is to not let rhe line go slack, although not so easy when trying to land a fish with no net.

In fact, many catch and release fisheries in the West insist on the use of barbless hooks.

[david44]

I may lose a couple more

Have you condsidered advice from a pro hooker?

[Mendip]

Three weeks old today!

Pigeon nests get a bit messy after a while, but easily cleaned once the chicks depart. Maybe in another three weeks?




Why are dogs so fascinated by snakes?

Coco went frantic to smell this little dead blind snake that I found in the garden. Sadly for her it made a snack for one of the chickens.



I have often wondered if the dogs join me on fishing trips for my wonderful personality, or my bait...



I guess that's pretty conclusive. Maybe I'm not so hansum after all?



It was raining last night so a new position for Anna.



Awwww...



Anna and Yogi... never far apart.

[david44]

His master's vice?

[Mendip]

So many vices, so little time.


It is hot today.



Time for my patented dog ice cubes to come out!

[Reg Dingle]

^ Time to get out the patented dog scum cleaner (or bleach as others know it) for those walls, skirts and tiles.

[Mendip]

Everyone's a critic!

This is the workshop/dog's area. I don't worry over much about the skirting boards and walls. The tiles are mopped once a week.

Next?

[Reg Dingle]

This is the workshop/dog's area.

So is your bedroom, your socialising table and the whole of the house, apart from the pigeon nest balcony, when the kommandante ventures "up country"

You seem to have the same Spring Cleaning ethic as the poster formerly known as Jeff

[Mendip]

your socialising table

A bit of an exaggeration, that!

[DrWilly]

Ok, your table.

[Mendip]

I'm gonna miss this...



Two tea, two bone Tem, they call him.

But at least he knows what a woman is.

[Mendip]

The last job to do before I go back to work.

The vet was due to arrive at 10am to give the dogs their annual boosters for parvo, distemper and rabies. Max had his at the vet's practice last week, so six dogs to vaccinate... five easy ones and one difficult.

So, ten minutes before the vet was due to arrive I took Yogi for a walk alone. From some angles and in certain light he almost looks pedigree.

A handsome chap.



During the walk I slipped a collar and muzzle on the unsuspecting Yogi. He can't usually wear a collar because his neck is thicker than his head and he always gets a really nasty rash... something I can sympathise with in this God-awful climate.

Once muzzled up, Yogi is completely emasculated and becomes as meek and mild as Coco.



Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, while wearing the muzzle I took advantage and clipped Yogi's dew claws.

Awwww...



The veterinary nurses arrived around 20 minutes late, but it was no problem to sit with Yogi awhile.

He was first up.



Next was Anna... all done so quickly that the photo was missed.

Then Coco...



Max had disappeared... not realising that he wasn't going to get the needle anyway.

Then Lola.



Tommy...



And last but not least, Maya. She is such a friendly dog that there was no need to catch her, I just opened the gate and she walked into the vaccination area to say hello.

And got the needle!



On a slightly different note, that Crocs with socks look has always done something for me!

Six dogs vaccinated in around 20 minutes. We use Bungtalua Animal Hospital in Korat who have never let us down in 18 years. These are the only vets in Korat I would let anywhere near my dogs.



The home visit cost an extra 200 Baht on top of the vaccination costs. A no brainer when you have seven dogs.

A slightly Shutree-esque picture of the two vet nurses departing.



But not before leaving our dogs a kanom each... poor Max had no needle and so was left no treat.

They obviously spotted Yogi's potential!

[BLD]

I wonder how much that would cost in Oz? And is it even possible?

[Mendip]

We're on Tiktok!

TikTok - Make Your Day

[aging one]

That is well cool...

[Joe 90]

Tik Tok is the future, everyman and his dog is on it!

[david44]

Monetize chickens, house dogs , gardeners, donate cargo shorts visit a tailor and do a home visit to the gal in crocs is my advice

[Joe 90]

that Crocs with socks look has always done something for me!

You've definitely gone native mate