FAUNA AND DOGHOUSES

Well, I am in the doghouse!

Last night I cooked some lovely Halibut (which stuck to the pan), underboiled the potatoes but cooked the broccoli from the garden beautifully.

Unfortunately I also cooked beautifully several caterpillars!

Not only that they were not found till we were eating our supper.

So, I am in the doghouse.

Now, talking obliquely of fauna - I discovered the following animal making its slow way over the tarmac from behind my car in the direction of the compost heaps.

It is called Limax maximus - presumably after some Roman general or something.

It is also a whopping slug. Not as chunky as some of the big shiny black ones but . . .

We have also had a tragic death discovered by my wife wending her way to the Wendy House to write.

There on the path was a distant relative of an elephant - a common shrew - curled up and dead. There seemed no obvious sign of injury so we will have to put the cause of death down to natural causes. (Though I suspect next door's cat to be that natural cause. We have had "gifts" before.)

We have other predators -

Look carefully and you can see the spider waiting at the bottom of its funnel shaped web highlighted by the raindrops.

We have also had a courgette/marrow problem - too many.

So made some soup -

Recipe - chop some onion and soften in pan with some oil and/or butter. Dice courgette/marrows peeling the older and bigger ones, remove seeds if necessary.

Chop a big spud, add to pan with stock and handful chopped mint, simmer an hour, blend in blender - season, done.

I have not given quantities as there are none - just what feels right!

At least only Courgette and Mint soup - not courgette, mint and caterpillar soup!

Broccoli coming up and going on heap. Still have plants for overwintering and spring purple sprouting - too early for the crawlies.