Sometimes life should be easy.
When unknown critters are wreaking havoc on all things edible in my potager I do what any practical person would do….
Go shopping.
In my case it was to buy some good pesto.
And some good, fresh pasta.
Add one of mon mari’s favorite fruits, avocado, some cooked, cleaned shrimp and dinner is served in no time.
Tagliatelle with Shrimp, Avocado and Pesto
Total time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8oz (240gr) large shrimp, cleaned
- 1 avocado, pitted, cubed
- 1/3 cup (3.5oz, 100gr) pesto
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 7oz (200gr) fresh tagliatelle or 4oz (120gr) dried
Instructions:
- Cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain and put into a bowl.
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
- Add shrimp, paprika, and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until raw shrimp curl and turn opaque or cooked shrimp are heated through.
- Combine pesto and lemon juice
- Add shrimp with,oil and pesto mixture to pasta. Toss well to combine.
- Add avocado, toss gently and serve.
First, there was Sedi, the Bunny Slayer
The little, pointy-nose, brown dog chased many bunnies before she finally caught one but she remained determined to keep them off of our property her entire life.
She was succeeded by Bonnie, who caught her first, and only, bunny at the ripe old age of 10 months.
She has brought a few bunny heads home but they had been dispatched by some other slayer, likely the neighbor’s cat.
A hawk wouldn’t have left the head behind…..
She was a fine looking young dog, wasn’t she?
She lost her title the other morning.
I let the dogs out, as usual.
I went into the barn, got their leashes and went to the front gate, as usual.
I noticed that the clematis we had planted there was looking rather trampled. I bent over and fixed it.
When I stood up and turned around there was Guapa….
She had a squirming bunny in her mouth and a look on her face that was both proud and terrified.
If dogs could speak I think it would have been something like:
What the F*#* do I do NOW?!?!?
I told her to drop it.
She did.
Then I ran towards her and Bonnie ran towards the bunny and Guapa tried to pick it up again and the bunny tried to crawl away….
I think it had a broken leg as it was attempting to crawl, rather than hop. Of course, it could have been simply terrified out of its little bunny brain.
I managed to get leashes on the dogs and we went for our walk. I left the gate open so the bunny could leave.
The smaller bunnies can, and do, squeeze through spots in the fence but I didn’t think it would be able to get back out the way it got in.
It didn’t.
It went towards the house instead.
Long story short, eventually we (that would be the royal we) managed to get mon mari to come out and ‘deal’ with it…. Which he did by moving it across the lane into the tall grass under the plum tree where all the other bunnies live.
It will either live on or die in peace.
So Guapa may or may not be the new Bunny Slayer… But she finally caught one.
Oh…. Wait…..
There was the morning last fall when I found a very wet, bedraggled, dead bunny just outside the front door. The night before I had a very difficult time getting them to come in.
One of them had apparently caught it and they were both playing with it.
They’re big girls, they try to be gentle, but the bunny didn’t survive playtime.
But I never discovered who caught it.
And that’s life in the country…
I know, I know, but it still makes me really sad. Poor buns…
Yesterday, my old, deaf, couldn’t get her arse out of the way to save her life, Red Dobe decided to chase the deer that was standing about 40 feet from me while I was sitting on the back deck. I was able to grab the Blue Dobe’s leash, but we don’t put the Red one on one because she doesn’t leave the yard. So the Blue though about barking but almost nothing came out so he just stood there and vibrated. The Red however, managed to fall down all four of the steps to the grass, picked herself up, charged the deer in her own, inept way and the deer just stood there looking at her like, Really? You really want to go there? Aaaand, sauntered off while Red was trying to get enough traction to chase it. Wish I’d had the presence of mind to hit the record button on my phone.
As to our bunnypocalypse, neither dog chases them because we’ve had buns as pets so their prey drive is non-existent with them. Which is a good thing. I couldn’t stand that. But that’s me.
I’m laughing…. I can just picture it. I was walking Sedi, the shepherd in the first photo one day and she stopped to, er, take care of business. Just as she started a bunny ran right in front of her. She couldn’t stop and couldn’t chase. I had to sit in the field I was laughing so hard. Good that we have dogs to entertain us.
I cannot imagine the Cocopop catching a rabbit…she might chase but she would be outrun more than easily !!
It’s the ‘cornering’ that usually lets them escape. The bunnies can turn on a pin…. the dogs take longer. But, when the bunnies are inside the fence with the dogs,,,,,