 A few days ago I was driving in the rain to the village of Huay Kaew to have some lunch and I saw a cardboard box at the side of the road on the edge of a rice paddy. I thought that this was rather strange so I pulled over to see what it was.
There, sitting in the open end of the box sheltering from the rain, I found a baby kitten; I say baby because she must have only been not more than one week old! I looked around for her mother and maybe some other members of her family but she was all alone and very disheveled. She is so pretty having three colours just like Molly our Beagle! Of course I picked her up and returned to the farm, dried her and gave her some milk and a snack, she was very hungry! She is so cute and I will keep her on the farm and I have called her Cleo! Here is a snap I took of her; she now looks so much better than when I found her and I know she feels safe and comfy! The dogs have been very good and Oscar the cat has taken a keen interest! Next week I will take her to the vet for a full check-up and to plan her vaccinations for when she gets a little older but for now Cleo is the newest member of our family and she can look forward to a life of ease, safety and comfort with us here on Thung Dong Farm!
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 It was Louis's 3rd birthday on the 12th Februaryso we had a small party for him!
He also had a big shampoo and wash for the occasion and although the cake was meant to be shared with us and the other dogs (and Oscar the cat!) there was no chance of that once Louis got his nose into it, a couple of gulps and it was gone! Happy Birthday Louis, our Beagle Pup!
Welcome to your world on Thung Dong Farm ‘Naak’ – our baby pink buffalo born this morning! He is so very cute and just right for a cuddle!...but for now he can snuggle down on fresh hay with his Mom in the buffalo house to keep warm on these chilly nights. Nature, and life on the farm, is so wonderful!
The Garden Room was our first room that we opened for our guests almost 14 years ago. It is very comfortable and rather secluded and has a wonderful outlook across the upper pasture. Guests are invited to dine with wonderful views and a nice warm fire in the winter!
 Season's Greetings to all of our family of friends across the world!
It has been another difficult year for so many of us but you are often in our thoughts during these uncertain times and we send you many blessings for a happier year ahead! The peace and tranquillity of Thung Dong remains uninterrupted and please know that you will always receive a very warm welcome whenever you are able to visit us here in northern Thailand! Please take care of yourselves and stay safe and we can all weather this storm together and return to the sunshine in the months to come! With special blessings and prayers / คำอธิษฐาน for the New Year. From each and everyone of us on.... Thung Dong Farm - Thailand. – 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!   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! |
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