An Isaan Pond

[DrWilly]

“ I guess that half a bird is better than no bird at all.“ Dill might agree that you only need the bottom half of a girl.

[Mendip]

^^ Thanks Mike, I was leaning that way.

But it has a distinctly Greenish colour!

[malmomike77]

It's a tough one but i think i got it right, Nev/Shu will likely spoil my jubilation.

[Shutree]

It's a tough one but i think i got it right, Nev/Shu will likely spoil my jubilation.

TBH, I wouldn't know a Trogon if it jumped out and bit me. I had a look at pics of various bulbuls and ioras, none looks quite right. I suggest pm Nev.

[Buckaroo Banzai]

^ Hear hear, i too demand Mendip be tried for Ecocide

No trial pessary, I suggest we shoot on sight!!
Now I realize why we never see his face in pictures.
Veeery crafty Mendip,
but we are on to you , better not wear sandals 'cause those feet are a dead giveaway.

[David48atTD]

Mate, get rid of those fuckers quick smart.

Squash those pink eggs. The snails will take over the outer rim of your pond.

At our Farm, it's a constant battle with them.

Out of interest, what harm to the snails cause? I always thought they were a good thing and helped to keep the water clean? If I decide to rid the pond of the snails all I need to do is advise the wife of their existence and every snail catching method known to man will soon be employed. She seems to like boiled water snails dunked in some kind of chilli sauce concoction.

The snails, if eaten whole are poisonous.

I confirmed with SWMBO about them. Apparently they have a small poisonous bit (maybe around the tail) then, if removed are OK to eat.

The Farm Family won't touch them. There is a smaller snail which bread in the canal which they say is sweet as, but the ones you have in the pond are a firm no.

[Mendip]

^ Oh dear!

[BLD]

And that birds the lessor spotted issan emu. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news .

[Mendip]

No trial pessary, I suggest we shoot on sight!!

Well, Google has taught me two things today, what a 'Motorboating' is and what a 'Pessary' is. As Shutree says, you learn something every day... and I've learnt two things. I can have a day off tomorrow.


Meanwhile...

Rest assured these issues are now addressed. I just hope it doesn't rain.

Bladdy typical... start of February as well... where did this come from?

[malmomike77]

No trial pessary, I suggest we shoot on sight!!

and what a 'Pessary' is

I don't think that was BBs intended word but its one of his better typos, he must have the best predictive text algo on the planet.

[DrWilly]

[OhOh]

I surrounded the reservoir with cemented in rocks to allow the water to pour between the gaps between rocks to make it interesting. It really would be pretty well impossible to divert the flow.

Try looking at page 34 of the Moo Ban Building Regulations - Ecological Affect Application, you submitted to the Moo Ban prior to construction. "To Make It Interesting", would have a few caveats, I suspect.

You did submit an application and receive a certificate with colourful stamps from the Moo Ban office, I presume?

Bladdy typical... start of February as well... where did this come from?

The Great Durian God in the Sky.

[Shutree]

Bladdy typical... start of February as well... where did this come from?

Odd weather. Here in Nongbua we didn't see the several days of rain that Stumpy reported. Then last night at about 0230 there was a roar like Concorde landing outside and there was a full on Thai downpour. That lasted for maybe a minute and then it was gone. Blue skies again now.

[Stumpy]

Odd weather. Here in Nongbua we didn't see the several days of rain that Stumpy reported. Then last night at about 0230 there was a roar like Concorde landing outside and there was a full on Thai downpour. That lasted for maybe a minute and then it was gone. Blue skies again now.

Late yesterday it was blue skies and extremely tranquil as I worked around the compound. Then about 2pm a rogue wind storm blew through the area. Hot air full of all sorts of shit from the trees and lots of big leaves. It ripped a few panels of a neighbors tin roof off down the soi as I saw it take off and heard it crash. Then just like that...gone..40 minutes of 30 to 40 mph winds. Wife said a "Storm" was coming. Woke up this am....Bright blue skies with a few clouds oh yeah and not a drop of rain.

[David48atTD]

Meanwhile...

Bladdy typical... start of February as well... where did this come from?

While the weather is cool and the rain is not a 'storm', the rain drops can slightly increase your O² saturation levels.

But, as the weather warms up, hence the average water temp rises and thunder storms are prevalent, that's when you can start to have real issues.

Essentially there is a lot more oxygen in air than in water so the flow of oxygen is from the air into the water, the oxygen is being used up by all the life in the water and is replaced through the surface by diffusion.

Atmospheric pressure is like a weight pressing oxygen into the water through the surface when the pressure drops there is less weight so less oxygen is being forced into the water and the oxygen level decreases if the body of water's oxygen level was close to critical it could be enough to put it over the edge the fish and other animals begin to suffer and die if the O² saturation (oxygen level) is to low to support them even for a short period of time.

Then when it rains not only does the pressure increase effectively pushing more oxygen into the pond but all the splashes effectively doubles or trebles the surface area of the water allowing more oxygen in. Bit of help from here ... Federation of British Aquatic Societies

So, it's the time before the rain that is critical.

Also the few hours before the dawn when the pond surface is at it's stillest is critical. No wave action means little dissolving oxygen.

The Farm Father, who sleeps between his ponds has one of those wind charms at his Sala. When it's noisy, as in a decent breeze/wind, he sleeps well, but when it's quiet, he's up starting the oxygenators.

Notice the glassy pond conditions below.



That video looks like it was filmed in the 70's! ... thanks YouTube for the quality degradation.

[Bonecollector]

I couldn't find a dedicated Thailand fresh water fishing thread so I thought I would post my first effort at stringing a rod and tying a fisherman's knot.

I thought as I am by a river for a week, I may as well learn how to fish or at least string a rod etc everything only set me back 1250 so not too bad to learn a few life skills!

[Bonecollector]

Well cunty McCuntface my line already broke and my prized possession 250baht kids toy lookalike fly is now half way to Kanchanaburi, BUGGER. Where did I go wrong....am I supposed to be fishing fly fishing style with this type of line? I noticed after a few casts it had braided quite a bit. Am I even using the right lingo? God knows....

I will have to start the official 'TD Fishing Thread'.

[Mendip]

^ That looked like a lure, not a fly and the braided line isn't a fly line, or what you'd usually use for a leader when fly fishing.

Tbh if you were casting that thing 'fly fishing style' you're lucky you didn't get it emdedded in the back of your head!

[DrWilly]

^ That looked like a lure, not a fly and the braided line isn't a fly line, or what you'd usually use for a leader when fly fishing.

Tbh if you were casting that thing 'fly fishing style' you're lucky you didn't get it emdedded in the back of your head!

[Bonecollector]

^ That looked like a lure, not a fly and the braided line isn't a fly line, or what you'd usually use for a leader when fly fishing.

Tbh if you were casting that thing 'fly fishing style' you're lucky you didn't get it emdedded in the back of your head!

555555 indeed however my action appears to be pretty solid and I understand about holding the unlocked line until the right moment.

Thanks for correcting the jargon mate

Going to get more line and another lure today (Cheaper one this time) lets see what happens! At least I will get to practice my knotting.

[Mendip]

^ I would go for nylon monofilament line, not that braided stuff. Check on the internet for how to tie a half blood knot for the hook/lure, and make sure you lick it before pulling tight. I make any more fishing comments on your new fishing thread!.

[Mendip]

Yesterday there was quite a commotion down by the pond with the two parent birds (from the waterfall nest) sitting up in the trees and calling. I watched two greyish coloured fledglings eventually flutter out from the waterfall and join their parents up in the trees.

This was one of the parents... some kind of a bulbul I think... maybe the yellow-vented bulbul?



I checked the nest in the waterfall today and it was empty.



The waterfall trim could be resumed.



As when cutting my hair, I find it best to be pretty brutal with the waterfall. There's no point in pussy-footing around as it just means you have to do it all again two weeks later. Everything grows so fast in Thailand.



The reservoir at the top gets silted up so I cleared that out as well.



The water pours through the gaps in these painstakingly placed and cemented in rocks. I wanted to break up the flow of the water to make the waterfall more interesting to watch.



So all that was left was to prime and turn on the pump.



Lovely clear water gushed forth over the waterfall to splash on the rocks below.



The water is now circulating and being aerated.

Happy fish, happy bulbul family and happy me!

[malmomike77]

You are going to be getting a tanker or 5 in soon

[David48atTD]

^^ Great work Mendip ...

Really impressed.

What are the pump hours?

[Mendip]

It will probably be from first light... I'm usually walking around the garden soon after 6am, until late afternoon.

It's impossible to put on a timer because the pump needs priming every time it's turned on due to the large fall from the pump (inside the waterfall strubture) to the water intake at the bottom of the pond.