Saturday, September 20, 2008

Out and About on the Compound

The corner we came around - last week - The Kids and I - during out morning walk where the sprinklers were on full blast... The water that shoots out of the sprinklers is "reclaimed." I have no issue at all with recycling the water - I just don't want to shower in it...

The soccer field from which one of the "little guys" working sprinted across to shut the valves off to the sprinklers so the Kids and I wouldn't get soaked if we walked through the grass...

The valve shut off box...

Are these poison boxes the reason so many birds die, here? They eat the flies that have ingested the poison - I got pretty close to this one to take the pictures - and the smell is beyond nasty. Actually, along with the poison that is put in these boxes, there was either a dead fish tail or a dead bird tail. I'm not quite tall enough to see what was in the white containers - but there was some sort of liquid - with what looked like a fish tail sticking out of it - I tried to hold the camera up to get a shot of it - but that didn't quite work out for me..

If it isn't the poisonous flies that the birds are eating that kills them - what it is - why was this little bird - a young bird - not full grown - just sitting in the grass like this - it moved its head when I walked up to it to get this picture, but it didn't fly away. And, no, I did nothing about it. Survival of the fittest in the "wild." Yes, I am an animal lover - all animals and living things - but I am not prepared to take care of a bird... It was there when The Kids and I walked by - and I was surprised that it was still there an hour and a half later when I went to take pictures of the "reclaimed water" sign and the poison boxes...

Look closely at this picture - or click on it to enlarge it to full size. One of the many, many "little guys" dressed in his coveralls that work on our compound keeping it clean and green...

4 comments:

  1. Hi from Canada! I'm a HUGE fan of your blog - found it quite by accident a couple of months ago and now enjoy every morning with my coffee!

    Anyway, why are there poison boxes - do you know? Are they just randomly scattered? What a bizarre country!

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  2. What a GREAT compliment, Laura!!! Appreciate it very much. Glad you are enjoying my site, here. [I write in the morning with my coffee - that first cup is always the best one, isn't it!?!]

    The poison boxes are to kill the flies - basic black house flies. But smaller than the ones in the States - or most of them are. And they are much, much slower, as well. Really, they are. Perhaps because they're drugged up with poison, I don't really know, but you can easily get them with a fly swatter on the first try. And there are a lot of them. Yes - the poison boxes are spread out randomly throughout the entire compound. Not all of them are up high - some are in boxes on the ground, covered with cages so domestic animals and children cannot get into them. The poison boxes would be illegal or outlawed in the States, but then, the pesticides they use here to kill plant insects were outlawed in the States years ago.

    Bizarre? Umm. Yeah, it is. It certainly has its quirks, that is for sure.

    Again, glad you're enjoying your visits. Will look forward to your comments!

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  3. Thanks for explaining it! Looks like Saudi has pest management well under control :o) Poor stoned bird is likely still sitting there!

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  4. Pest control has it managed... I had to have pest control come again yesterday to spray the mealy bugs which I cannot seem to kill - and they sprayed solution so strong, I'm afraid my plants are now dead. Although the guy that sprayed promised me they weren't - I've never seen plants shrivel up like that... without dying.

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