I am not a vegetarian…

I am not a vegetarian, but sometimes I think I should be.

I love the taste of meat, but am disturbed by eating fellow sentient mammals.  Then I consider the fowl and the fish; decide I shouldn’t eat them either and then I am left with the plants. Plants are alive too and are killed so we can eat them. If we eat neither flesh nor fruit, we are left with nothing at all, except our own extinction .

I grew a magnificent  pumpkin from seed. I fed and watered it and then I picked it, sliced it into mighty  chunks and made it into soup. The slices wept moisture and were so beautiful I could hardly bring myself to hack it up. But I did: I cooked it with red lentils, cinnamon and spices , pureed it to creamy perfection and ate it with relish while the rain fell outside. Oh to be human!

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/02/trees-have-rights-too-robert-macfarlane-on-the-new-laws-of-nature?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

This is a brilliant, hopeful article!

 

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/30/how-to-rewild-your-garden-ditch-chemicals-and-decorate-the-concrete

 

This article says it all! Maximise every millimetre of growing/ life space in your garden and make friends with the world!

Where do butterflies go at night?

Having had the luxury of really watching the butterflies in my garden during the day, as I swung in my hammock my thoughts turned to where they go at night.

I have two big ficus trees that are wheeled out from the house in early summer and take up residence under an open sided covered terrace. In the evening I have noticed butterflies of various species disappearing into their glossy foliage as dusk gathers. They are bereft of flowers and so their only attraction must be a safe place to rest during the night. I have also noticed that the spiders in my garden never make webs in these ficus trees, which in a garden strewn with webs of all shapes and sizes is interesting in its self, and I guess that this safety from spiders, combined with protection from rain and a slightly warmer temperature makes them an ideal resting place.

As my holiday draws to a close I am beginning to feel that anxiety that comes when you realise you won’t have enough enough time to do all the things that you wanted to. I am determined to look under bramble leaves for resting brimstone butterflies this evening, to check rabbit holes for sheltering peacock butterflies, but I think I know that I will really spend the day chasing up the satellite guy, getting the chimney swept and cleaning the cooker hood. How all our good intentions end up in the kitchen sink!