Wildlife in Ara Damansara

Aparrt from hornbills which are nesting somewhere in our vicinity, watch out for giant monitor lizards which can be found climbing trees at the back of 1A/24F along the riverside.

No prizes for spotting it, well camouflaged by its colour that fits in so perfectly with its environment. My phone camera's zoom has its limitations else who have got a closer, sharper shot of the awesome creature. Oh dear... I hope it doesn't get to any hornbill eggs or nestlings.


Also macaques who appear homeless now that their habitat has been destroyed for development of human habitation. Sorry I couldn't photograph a little band of 3 monkeys who appeared to be thinking of what to do at the back of someone's house in Bayu. They sure were having a lot of fun bouncing around a curry leaf tree at the back of someone's house there.

A Warrior in my garden

Today is ecstatic Friday. The best Friday in months I'm sure, for today I found warriors in my garden.

The LADYBUG or LADYBIRD is an ally to have if you love your garden. Their main diet is aphids, the sap-sucking monsters that destroy all the hard work one puts in to cultivating a beautiful garden.

Aphids are tiny insects (1/32 to 1/8 of an inch) that have piercing/sucking mouth parts. They infest tender new foliage on both annual and permanent plants, usually in spring or early summer. Aphids ingest the fluids from tender leaf or stem tissue of the plant, robbing it of nutrients. Aphids also spread disease by moving from one plant to another. Even without resorting to chemical methods, they're not difficult to get rid of.

Because I only spray home-grown "chili-padi" enzyme solution on all my plants to keep the baddies away, the Ladybugs survive and complement the defense artillery around the garden. Is it possible they thrive on the "chili-padi" enzyme, who knows? Perhaps they find an affiliation in the red element of the enzyme. I'm hoping that this could be a Ladybug nest.


I know for a fact that almost all my plants are now thriving from this enzyme. The usual recipe for garbage enzyme applies. For example I used 600g red chili-padi + 200g brown sugar + 1 liter water. Roughly blend the chili-padi in the sugar solution. Shake it all up in a tight lid jar, and ferment in a cool dark place for 3 months.

This blend is so potent, be prepared to cough and splutter at the chili-padi fumes. Good stuff.

It started when my Kafir Lime tree just grew and grew, barren without glory. Ant-like locusts made the Kafir Lime tree their home. I retaliated by making up a batch of chili enzyme and spraying on a 10% solution. The ant-like locusts are still there, but they are now subdued and reduced in numbers. In fact, I couldn't find any on the Kafir tree today, only this little spider.


And just look at the fruits in abundance...



Apart from Thai Green Curry and some other local cooking, and the occasional "evil-eye purification" bath, I can't find much use for this gorgeously aromatic plant. So what does one do when showered with abundance? Invest it to create more abundance of course! So I harvested nearly 2kg of the fruits and made enzyme to be used for floor mopping and dish-washing.

I can't wait till April...

Rehabilitation of our little lake park

After completion of the main lake park, the littler but older lake park is taking its turn to be rehabilitated. Back-hoes are currently digging up the silted stream and lakes. The muddy mess smells bad like a stuck gut.







A good thing that hoarding is put up to block out the sights, sounds and smells to the bordering semi-dees.

2 steps forward then 1 step back

After all the hedge planting of "pecah beling" and the shrubs were progressing nicely, some spiteful grass-cutting crew came along and just cut them off. Although it could clearly be seen as a hedge-row, the crew promptly chopped off some of the healthiest bushes.


I am inclined to think they did so out of spite, as my helper informed me that she spurned them when they asked her to "keluar main" with them one day.


This week as I saw the grass-cutting crew returned for their monthly trim; I quickly instructed my helper to protect the re-growing tender shoots. Fortunately they were spared from massacre and growing healthily once more.

Thank You Sime Darby for my wish come true!!

Just yesterday I blogged about the looming tree planting binge that Sime Darby was embarking on in their Sustainability Initiative. I was wishing that the wisdom of the Bring Back The Birds report i.e. in the suggestion of suitable trees would be considered for the tree planting.


I can't believe my eyes!!! My wish came true this morning as I walked through our lake park again. Forest trees, real forest trees all name-tagged thanks to Perniagaan Tunas Harapan, the "reforestation nursery" located in Tg Malim.

I've checked the names of trees against the Bird Report, and am so pleased that not only are these new trees listed in the report, some the existing trees in and around Ara Damansara are also listed as 'plants that bear fruits which are attractive to birds'; 'plants that bear flowers that are attractive to birds'; oh the list goes on.

"Blackcurrant ~ Plant which bears fruit attractive to birds"












Not only are these trees to be planted in the lake park,





they are also going to be planted along the lake's edge next to the houses. A necessary buffer to keep the fauna of the park peaceful.





I just can't wait to see the variety of birds that will be coming to visit and call Ara Damansara their home. We already have a certain species of hornbill roosting in this area. What a thrill it is going to be to see a flock of them fly by? As it is the pair is already a sensation with residents here. Oh and just a little reminder ~ please don't forget the perch poles in the lake for the fishing birds to stand on and aim for their prey.

Once again, thank you Sime Darby for doing right by your resident investors. I further wish is that you could also buy up the remaining land offered for sale around Ara Damansara and sustainably develop it too. If only more developers would emulate the example set by Sime Darby, wow the Klang Valley would be known throughout the world as THE PLACE to call home. What a pull factor for Malaysia My 2nd Home!

Tree planting binge

After all the input given by concerned residents of Ara Damansara, Sime Darby Property has committed that they have taken it all into account and planning the rehabilitation of our parks according to expert advice.



A recent walk through one of our lakeparks shows that tree-planting is already beginning here. A back-hoe machine was seen digging holes for the planting of trees, forest trees I hope, and a variety of it too. I've learnt from a very reliable source that Sime Darby has embarked on a mega reforestation initiative with help from Tunas Harapan, a tropical forest nursery somewhere in Tg Malim. I'm so excited, I can hardly wait for the trees to be in the ground and by the end of next year start, give the park the majestic look and feel of a tropical rainforest. And can you imagine the variety of birds that will visit and nest in this area. I am thrilled beyond belief.


Already along the banks of the silted lake, a large tree, looks like a Saga (red-seed) weaver birds are roosting, their elegantly woven nests hanging works of natural art. I hope the landscaping doesn't destroy this tree.


The trees that should be wiped out of our surrounds are the ubiquitous acacia, not indigenous and a voracious coloniser, pushing out precious indigenous species, so sensitive to the conquering nature of the acacia. But I really don't know about planting trees so close to the lake edge so soon, before the lake has been dredged and rehabilitated. I do fear that after some beautiful species are planted here, their fine specimens may be destroyed in giving way for desilting works. I'm hoping that planning does take place before development


What I would really like to see, is what I was reminded of in Bali recently. No wasteland seen there. If a piece of land was cleared of its natural vegetation, for development which has yet to happen, the land is cultivated with meaningful agriculture either rice paddies or orchards. Not just left to waste and turned into a dumping ground for people too lazy to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.


There's much to be learnt from any country we visit, if only we are not too proud to admit that knowledge and wisdom comes in all shapes, sizes and sources. None superior to the other, just helping everyone grow in harmony with our creator.

No abate in mosquitos

Following the installation of the first black-hole mosquito trap and the intermittent rains, the mosquito problem has escalated. The intermittent rains have made the situation worse by keeping the stagnant water levels in the drains optimal for mosquito breeding as opposed to torrential thunderstorms which was away mosquito eggs and larvae.

So I went out and bought 2 more photo-catalytic black hole traps. Thanks to my brother, who discovered another make at a cheaper price, I saved me quite a bit of money buying these ones. What's more this make even comes with 2 free replacement bulbs.





I've placed the traps in each likely corner and within just a couple of days, the number of mosquitos trapped is simply staggering. To think that without the traps, they would all have come into our living area. This time around, I shall remove all the beetles and moths and other non-mosquitos and weigh the vampires. Perhaps that statistic will lend some weight to the gravity of this pestilence plaguing Ara Damansara.

The drains, the drains, the drains around our houses need to be opened up and cleared of debris. When authorities, when?