Here's a few snap shots of the menagerie taking a break during the heat of the day.

Starting with Soda, the miniature pincher who has been my wife's companion for 14 years. That's quite old for a dog of this small size. She likes to park underneath the computer desk and gets the occasional foot massage to make sure she's still with us.



Next there's Val, a 2 year old Thai mix. We found Val one evening while riding the motorcycle to dinner. She was only about 3 months old and was sitting in the middle of the main highway in the dark barking. This road is a death trap for dogs of all ages, and it would not have been long before she would have been the next victim. My wife suggested taking her to the parent's farm as one of their dogs had just passed on. We spent the next 45 minutes chasing her around a cane truck trailer as she was reluctant to be nabbed. By that time about 15 Thai locals were involved and she was finally scooped up by a young man with a bath towel. Val acquired her name since she was found on Valentine's day. As it turned out, back at the farm they didn't want a female dog, so she ended up with us. Val is what the Thai people would refer to as "ba", quite crazy and high strung. If she manages to get out of the yard, it takes us a lot of chasing and coaxing to get her back. She went missing for 5 weeks one time after we had brought her to the farm for a change of scenery. It was a big mistake to let her off the rope. She was found roaming a nearby field and was still in good shape and happy to see us.



Now here's Bonnie, a 7 month old Soi dog that has taken to us and spends time in the yard with the other pets. She's very easy going and gets along well with all. Unfortunately, Bonnie's brother, whom she used to spend all her time with, got too adventurous and was flattened by a truck on that same highway that Val was found on about 50 meters down the Soi just one week ago. So I think she appreciates the company of Val now in her brother's place.



This brings us to Becky, an American short hair cat we have had for about 4 years. Becky decided to wake up from her nap for a little grooming. She is very easy going, and as long as the dogs are not trying to play rough, she's quite OK being around them.



Lastly, there is poor Irving, who I'm afraid is on a permanent nap break. I found Irving one evening on our bathroom wall. I was amazed at the size of this mosquito and hadn't seen anything like him before. I quickly grabbed an empty peanut butter jar from the kitchen and managed to scoop him up before he flew away. He sounded like a small airplane buzzing when he tried to take flight. I attempted to keep Irving alive for as long as possible, putting succulent leaves in the jar in the hope that he might draw fluids. He put up a good fight and lived for about a week in captivity. I still have not been able to identify what type of mosquito this is. I suspect it is male judging by the large size of the antennae. If anybody has any info that would help identify this insect, please share. That's a one baht coin to give an idea of the size.



Missing from the photo set is a tokay gecko I've named Gertie, who inhabits the kitchen of our house. I've assumed it's a female because of her size, which I think is smaller than a male. We usually hear Gertie several times a week, and I occasionally see her parked around the ceiling beams at night. I know where she sleeps in a notch in the wall and sometimes see her poking her head out as she gets ready for the evening rounds. On a couple of occasions I have found large insects in the kitchen area and I've tossed those up to the crevice where Gertie hides, and much to my amusement she's jumped out and snapped them up.