It was with baited breath that we took down the old garden wall which consisted of latticed bamboo strips to erect a replacement more substantial and in keeping with the surrounding country-side. The end product is superb! It’s a wall painted with our own defined fawn hew topped by teak rescued from the river during the last rainy season.

As with the fences we were having to replace the fence more than once every year because the climate and animals. It was quite a major task and many thanks to Phet and crew for all of your hard work in getting the wall finished in time for us to plant on the outside before the rainy season. Thanks a lot to everybody involved!

Those who know the farm are aware that the dirt track separates the main farm area from the cow shed and pig pens. Several years ago we purchased The New Land, adjacent to the cow sheds but separated by the river. The New Land valley stretches into the hills and jungle. With no bridge we have been unable to take a bike or truck across the river to round up the cows or provide land maintenance…until now! At long last we have built our ford which, discreetly located, provides road access to The New Land. 

We constructed it from dark brown concrete and it blends seamlessly into the surrounding river banks and land. It also makes for a small waterfall ( and probably something like Niagra during the wet season!) and provides a pleasant spot to relax in cool surroundings (especially in the hot season…watch this space because we are thinking about putting a sala on the far bank!)). It has taken us three years because the ford could only be made when the river was at its' lowest level, which was about one month ago and every year up to now we’ve been caught out by early rains! Now the entire farm is accessible by truck and I just think of how many kilometers walking this is going to save!

The wooden floors in the farm house were so badly scratched by the dogs and especially by Maggie the pig that we sanded them all down and refurbished them. They look wonderful now…but to protect them from further animal invasions we have made two, heavy swing-hinge gates at the foot of the stairs to stop them in their tracks. Sam, our beach dog, is thin enough to creep in through the side posts to steal snacks from the kitchen so he has regular pedicures thus leaving the floors shiny and unscathed!