so today we thought we would have a look,
I had at first thought it was going to be a farm making shell craft ornaments, but I was wrong, this was much more interesting, the farm was growing food - shellfish to eat, Babylonia areolata to be precise, a type of saltwater under sea snail, think in the UK of winkles or whelks,
we were meet by Rocky, who spoke extremely good English and with great pride showed us around the faculty,
in the first aquarium there were egg cases on display, the eggs, about 1,000 of them in each, the pods are anchored to the substrate by a bag of sand that is at the other end of the egg capsule,
the sign above shows the egg pod and the attached sand, Rocky did tell us that signage will soon be available in English as well,
the next stage is better shown as this picture, the larvae become free swimming, using a pair of wings,
difficult to see but this mist is in fact thousands of them having their first swim,
next on to plankton growing, this is the staple food of the oceans, from this almost all sea life depends, it also looks like we could be farming it for human consumption as well, it is grown under controlled conditions for the next stage in the snails growth,
in this case two types of plankton are grown, Chaetoceros and Tetraselmis,
then on to the next stage where the larvae are feed on brine shrimp,
the shrimps themselves are hatched from eggs, they are also available as a product called 'Sea Monkeys', according to the blurb they are a special type of brine shrimp you can hatch yourself at home,
the next stage the larvae have become fully formed if small shellfish,
these are about 4-5 mm,
after 8 months they are of a reasonable size,
looking like just what you would see in the seafood restaurants,
at 12 months ready for the market,
just the right size,
I know what Diana is thinking, yummy! 
these are the brood stock, about 6 years old,
we pose for the camera,
the site is spaciously laid out over 2 rai, (3,200 square meters), 
with lots of tables and chairs to have a refreshing drink,
next we moved on to the rearing pools,
the larvae and shellfish in the aquariums was just for display, this is where the real work begins, once the youngsters are of a safe size to move they are moved on to one of the other two facility's along the coast, but this time one the sites is over 100 rai! this is a huge operation, selling the product not only locally and Nationally, but they trade Internationally as well,
Rocky was the perfect host, He mentioned that later produce would be for sale fresh, or it can be cooked for you here with all of the sauces that compliment the food, no prises for guessing that we will be calling back in a few weeks once this side of the operation is under way to try some,
here is a map if you want to pay a visit, the easiest way is go past the Ambassador on your right then look for the roadside sign make a 'U' turn then take the Na-Jontien 22 on the left, turn left after 200 meters, another 200 meters the farm will be on your right,
for both Diana and myself it was a most interesting way to spend our time, also it was a real eye opener as to how big this business really is, so next time you go to a seafood restaurant and see some of the shellfish in the brochures pictures chances are they were breed and grown here,
then home feet up for another couple of Landscape Mysteries, first The Riddle of the Yorkshire Tracks, Aubrey discovers that at the beginning of the 17th Century, long before the industrial revolution, the now deserted coastline south of Whitby was dominated by Britain’s first chemical industry, he discovers how in the 16th Century dyeing textiles permanently with vivid colours depended on the use of alum, but supplies from overseas became expensive and uncertain, a search in Britain - including places such as Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight - eventually ended in Yorkshire where the shales proved to be a rich source, but what seems to be a natural landscape is far from it, even today the quarries which went 25 miles along the coast and 25 miles inland can still be seen, next The Terraces of Avalon and the court of King Arther, did he and Guinevere, (Golden Hair) and his court really exist? it seems the legend was a concoction by the monks at Glastonbury Abbey, and a geophysical survey of one of the terraces finds no trace of building, the medieval monks at Glastonbury were equally adept at managing the physical and mythical landscape, the original purpose of the terraces may have been forgotten – but the myths concocted back in the 13th Century continue to swirl around the tor, now for the sad part this was the last one in the series, both Diana and myself have enjoyed these so much,
also the last in the series of Police Squad, Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh), a comedian goes off the road and Police Squad! suspects foul play, Frank takes his place as stand-up comedian at the same club and soon discovers a sinister drug ring,
we finished the evening with Poirot, Appointment with Death, Syria, 1937: Hercule Poirot is one of several people present at an archaeological dig to find the skull of St John the Baptist, led by the exuberant Lord Boynton and his loyal son Leonard, the enterprise has been financed by Boynton's rich, rude and overbearing American wife, she bullies her three adopted children, Carol, Jinny and Raymond, as well as the family's nanny, so you can see this is not going to end well for some one, then for us off to bed.
next we moved on to the rearing pools,
the larvae and shellfish in the aquariums was just for display, this is where the real work begins, once the youngsters are of a safe size to move they are moved on to one of the other two facility's along the coast, but this time one the sites is over 100 rai! this is a huge operation, selling the product not only locally and Nationally, but they trade Internationally as well,
Rocky was the perfect host, He mentioned that later produce would be for sale fresh, or it can be cooked for you here with all of the sauces that compliment the food, no prises for guessing that we will be calling back in a few weeks once this side of the operation is under way to try some,
here is a map if you want to pay a visit, the easiest way is go past the Ambassador on your right then look for the roadside sign make a 'U' turn then take the Na-Jontien 22 on the left, turn left after 200 meters, another 200 meters the farm will be on your right,
for both Diana and myself it was a most interesting way to spend our time, also it was a real eye opener as to how big this business really is, so next time you go to a seafood restaurant and see some of the shellfish in the brochures pictures chances are they were breed and grown here,
then home feet up for another couple of Landscape Mysteries, first The Riddle of the Yorkshire Tracks, Aubrey discovers that at the beginning of the 17th Century, long before the industrial revolution, the now deserted coastline south of Whitby was dominated by Britain’s first chemical industry, he discovers how in the 16th Century dyeing textiles permanently with vivid colours depended on the use of alum, but supplies from overseas became expensive and uncertain, a search in Britain - including places such as Alum Bay on the Isle of Wight - eventually ended in Yorkshire where the shales proved to be a rich source, but what seems to be a natural landscape is far from it, even today the quarries which went 25 miles along the coast and 25 miles inland can still be seen, next The Terraces of Avalon and the court of King Arther, did he and Guinevere, (Golden Hair) and his court really exist? it seems the legend was a concoction by the monks at Glastonbury Abbey, and a geophysical survey of one of the terraces finds no trace of building, the medieval monks at Glastonbury were equally adept at managing the physical and mythical landscape, the original purpose of the terraces may have been forgotten – but the myths concocted back in the 13th Century continue to swirl around the tor, now for the sad part this was the last one in the series, both Diana and myself have enjoyed these so much,
also the last in the series of Police Squad, Testimony of Evil (Dead Men Don't Laugh), a comedian goes off the road and Police Squad! suspects foul play, Frank takes his place as stand-up comedian at the same club and soon discovers a sinister drug ring,
we finished the evening with Poirot, Appointment with Death, Syria, 1937: Hercule Poirot is one of several people present at an archaeological dig to find the skull of St John the Baptist, led by the exuberant Lord Boynton and his loyal son Leonard, the enterprise has been financed by Boynton's rich, rude and overbearing American wife, she bullies her three adopted children, Carol, Jinny and Raymond, as well as the family's nanny, so you can see this is not going to end well for some one, then for us off to bed.
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