Fair Game

Yesterday evening 30% mentioned that she had received an odd message on Facebook.  A few minutes later she advised that an acquaintance* had been shooting and had come home with a brace of duck and a few partridge. He then went off to play football and, unfortunately for him, managed to sustain a serious shoulder injury. He was no longer able to dress the birds and wondered if we would like them.

It therefore came as no surprise that my plans for this morning had been upended, and, after refuelling my car and collecting top soil and soil conditioner,** we headed over to collect the birds.

The rest of the morning was spent dressing a brace of mallard and two brace of partridge. I can dress poultry properly, but I am not overly keen on plucking and gutting birds. I therefore took the easy route and simply filleted the breasts of each of the birds ... That is where all the meat is, especially on a partridge!

They are now tucked away in the freezer.

In the afternoon I used the top soil and manure to rejuvenate the areas of the herbaceous border that I cleared yesterday.  I then gave them a good watering and will leave them for a day or two before planting.

I had been gardening near the veg patch and wandered over to take a look at the Durham Early spring cabbage. Something has been munching little holes in the leaves, but I can't identify the culprit. They are netted, so it is unlikely to be pigeons or mice. It could be slugs, but the row of Savoys alongside them is untouched? I scattered a  handful of slug pellets around the young plants, and will be keeping a close eye on them. I hope it's not bloody caterpillars.

It is my aim to finish feeding the bees this week, so I also made up another six litres of syrup during the course of the day and topped up the feeders on the hives. That should be enough now. I'll remove the feeders in a week or two, and let them settle down for the winter. 

That just about covers Tuesday's comings and goings.

---

* He was actually the chap who purchase The Pile from us back in 2021.  He has subsequently separated from his wife and taken up with a new partner in the village. I describe him as "an acquaintance" because on the couple of occasions I met him I found him to be an arrogant twat.  The Pile was sold again when his marriage ended, but I don't really know the new owners.

** This is a polite way of saying rotted cow shit