 We have been humbled to be given a new Spirit House for Thung Dong! A Spirit House is a ‘shrine’ and takes the form of a small dwelling like structure and protects the spirit of the land which in our case is Thung Dong Farm. They are mainly found in South East Asia and even The Philippines and Vietnam and are not necessarily attached to Buddhism. However, it is not a simple matter of just replacing one Spirit House for another! We have to encourage the spirit to ‘move’ houses with special treats as can been seen in the snap. Then it is not good Karma to just dispose of the old house; we will take it to a resting place to be amongst so many other ‘houses’ placed there by similarly minded folk together with a small ceremony. You will often see these ‘resting places’ in the north of Thailand at the side of a road near the top of a hill. We hope that the spirits will like their new home and will welcome our guests on their next visit to our farm!
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 We think that it was Dang’s mother’s birthday a few day back and that she reached the grand old age of 20! As there are approximately four and a half cow years in every human year that will make her about 90 years old!! …which is a ripe old age considering that most cows never get to see their 5th birthday. Bless her! She’s part of our family and has taken to sleeping in the garage after having her evening meal and during the day she ‘free-ranges’ around the farm and earns her keep from eating the grass and keeping it trimmed! Her favourite food though is fresh corn-on-the-cob which she enjoys sooo much even though she has a few teeth missing! Happy birthday ol’ girl!  Eddie is a rescued Duck! He thinks he’s a Malard but we haven’t told him yet! He is very big for a duck and seems happier to hang-out with the geese who are more his size rather than all the other ducks that we have on the farm. Eddie is very sweet and very tame but he probably believes he deserves preferential treatment and so is always first in line at feeding time, that is until we pluck-up the courage to tell him that he isn’t really a Malard after all!
 Another year, another birthday!
Living my dream on my farm surrounded by my animals, lush green jungle, the mountains and intoxicating fresh air! Life has been, and is, so good and for that I am truly thankful!...but it will be complete when we are able to welcome you, our guests, back to stay with us and share in our piece of heavenly nature in northen Thailand! My birthday wish is that I want you to please stay safe and that we will be able to greet you to farm stay with us again soon but hopefully before my next birthday!! Many blessings always from Ae.  It’s that time of the year when we have to trim the trees around the farm especially those close to the buildings; it's a bit precarious but so far, so good! Although the trees look a little sad at the moment we have the September rains ahead which will give them new vigour, new leaves and they will be as beautiful as ever in no time at all!
 The full August ‘Sturgeon Moon’ rises in the east over the mountains at the farm. It is also known as the ‘green corn moon’ and the ‘grain moon’ according to the Old Farmers Almanac! It is the second full moon in the season of Leo and brings fresh ways to engage with our friends!
....so let’s hope so we can welcome you back to stay with us on the farm again soon!
Our dear friend K. Carmen and our Izzie are the closest of friends so much so that just before Carmen left us she wrote a sweet ode to Izzie.
It resembles our girl Izzie to a tee! Thank you so much K. Carmen for this beautiful poetry! Izzie Your soft fur a light camel color that resembles the tenuous light of the morning sun. You are big like me and walk very slow. You limp from your back left leg & like to curl in warm spaces. You are quiet & keep to yourself while the other dogs are playing all over the place you quietly watch them & leave your loving tail hugging and pet me looks for when we are alone. You seem to say, I know what love is You look at me with those kind eyes Those kind friendly eyes. Welcoming me the moment I arrived My loyal companion In an enclosed beautiful stay-farm in the jungle of Northern Thailand Izzie a Labrador of a certain age Rescued by her owner as she was closed to be abandoned by the vicissitudes of international travel and a short love affair. You have a home now My loyal companion. Side by side you stay with me. You like the way I caress you and I like your sweet peaceful company. Everyday you stay with me till I leave & come back again Maybe. Just maybe Like you I will find a home again. Dear Khun Carmen, who is a regular guest at Thung Dong, took these sweet snaps of our girls during her most recent stay with us.
Firstly there’s Izzie who could be mistaken for a carpet!.. then Lucy in the middle snap who always has to rest her head on something when sleeping and finally our 'mischievous' Molly who took cover under the bed during a thunderstorm! The boys, Sam and Louis, are not such softies and prefer to sleep outside but our 'Farm Girls' enjoy their creature comforts too much for that!  These stunning stems grow in the garden all year round but during the rainy season seem to be more vibrant than ever. The every day name is 'Torch Ginger' but to those in the know their scientific name is officially 'Etlingera Elatior'.
They are from the Zingiberaceae family which is a species of herbaceous perennial plant! All a bit complicated really so, like me, it's probably better to just sit back, relax and admire these magnificent blooms!  Such a serene shot I had to share it with you! This was taken with my mobile just after one of the first rain showers of the season. The farm is so green and lush and with the rays of sun it just enhances the tranquility so much so that I left the job that I was working on and just sat for while and took in the scene!
 It's not every day we get to see a full rainbow but sometimes at this time of the year we do witness this spectacular apparition. It usually heralds the start of the rainy season. It's wonderful to behold but not so clever if you want to find the pot of gold at the end of it!!
  Happy 1st Birthday to our Lucy!
Lucy turned one year old today and here are snaps on that day a year ago and another that I took today. She is the cutest dog we could ever wish for; mild natured and very affectionate. Her twin sister, Bonnie, lives on a farm a few kilometers away and they meet from time to time. Let’s admit though that Lucy is not as pretty as her sister (we have never let Lucy look in a mirror!) but her sweet personality more than makes-up for that! I love Lucy! Happy Birthday girl!  There are so many eggs being laid on the farm these days that we have had to recruit some of our faithful chickens to hatch duck eggs! Here’s a snap Gizelda, the proud mother of 7 ducklings! (6 Rice Ducks and one Malard, she must have been surprised!) and more yet to hatch. It is also that time of the year (actually about one month early due to unseasonable rains!) that Guinea Fowl lay so at this moment we have 8 chicken hens free-range hatching and an incubator full of eggs! What a surprise it’ll be when they all hatch!!
 Taking a dip is the perfect way to keep cool in the midday sun! Here's (from left to right) Brian, C and Nohn taking a refreshing swim in the upper lake whilst Noah (out of frame) prefers a wallow in his mud bath. Life is a buffalo if you live on Thung Dong Farm!
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