Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

May! Bloody hell.

A very mixed month weatherwise with the last few days being unseasonably cold, wet and windy. Which doesn't bode well for my forthcoming trip shipping out of Tilbury on Thursday bound for Amsterdam and Antwerp loaded with a cargo of dead rabbits. Of which more anon.

I wasn't going to bother with the garden on the mooring but once the sun did arrive albeit temporarily, I cut the grass and thought I'd jolly the place up a bit. Given the number of rabbits around I wasn't going to bother with veg this year as the little bastards decimated the cabbage and pak choi last year. However having done a reasonable floral display I had some space and thought a couple of marrow plants and three courgettes could be accommodated. Bearing in mind last years events I made sure with the skilful placing of wire mesh that Mr Rabbit couldn't get at the plants. 

Hah! Get through that lot Bunny

The Garden

I have a strawberry pot but for a change this year rather than strawberries I thought I would grow  petunias as you can see here alongside one of the many pots of marigolds

The following day and neither petunia nor marigold is looking good

and here is the culprit

and two of his 2000 bastard offspring!

They're everywhere

Just waiting

and watching

for me

to drop my

guard

even with the Gnome Guard they breached the defences

I am presuming that the wanton destruction of the flowers was in retaliation for being denied access to the marrow and courgettes and failure to provide cabbage and pak choi as per last year. Spiteful I call it.

Wanton destruction

A Cunning Plan.............................................

Why the rope?

and a bell?

 It's the Mike Wall Patent Rabbit Scarer. Every time I see a rabbit or more likely rabbitS I pull the rope and the bell rings and they consider themselves "tolled" off. It remains to be seen who gets bored with this game first but as the sods have moved on to eating the hearts of my lillies we are now officially at War. If this doesn't work and it wont then hostilities must intensify with armaments brought into play...or perhaps a mink.....or 6.

A recipe for rabbit casserole.(with my own recommendations for making this a more satisfying dish)

Rabbit is lean meat with a slightly sweet and gamey taste that many regard as a stronger version of chicken. Farmed rabbit can lack the depth of flavour of wild rabbit (though in this case it isn't the rabbit that's wild! I'm bloody furious)

Killing your rabbit.
This should take as long as possible inflicting maximum suffering whilst incanting "Do not eat my marigolds" or " leave my ****ing petunias alone"

Method

How long you cook rabbit for depends on the recipe but you’ll need to braise gently  or slow cook for at least 45 minutes and up to 2 hours to tenderise the meat. If you’re using rabbit meat rather than joints, reduce the cooking time to around 25 minutes. Rabbit is versatile and can replace the meat in a chicken stew recipe.

I recommend cooking the rabbit alive as not only does this guarantee maximum freshness but ensures all the other rabbits in earshot (and I recommend the use of a P A system here) are aware of the consequences of wiping out 20 quids worth of my plants.

1. Coat the jointed rabbit pieces thoroughly in flour then shake off the excess. Season the meat. Keep the flour
2. Melt butter and oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot on a medium heat. Add the rabbit pieces (in batches if necessary; the meat should seal, not steam) and brown on all sides. Remove from the pot
3. Put the rabbit and other ingredients back into the pot, tip in the remaining flour and pour in half the liquid and deglaze the pan
4. Add the rest of the liquid and herbs. Ensuring that the rabbit is immersed, slowly bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook on the hob for 60-70 minutes, until the rabbit is tender. Thirty minutes into cooking uncover the pot – this will help to reduce the liquor.Now you can kill the little sod.

Serve with boiled new potatoes and bread.

Four skinned rabbits......when I say four skinned I don't mean foresk....oh never mind

They've had the Pinks

That's the chives gone

Enough of verminous bunnies. No point in getting paranoid about them. Just because as I write, one eye on my lillies...or what's left of them....I am aware that fifty pairs of bunny eyes are staring at me from the undergrowth awaitng my demise. 

To other matters. I'll just have a precautionary pull on my bell rope.

These handsome boats came through Cowroast today. They look great fun

Two views looking north last night-one at

8 pm and one at 10 pm

Other matters of no import.

The moment when Karen the Kia topped the 100,000 mile mark

Karen is big and expensive to run but as at any one time a third of my meagre possessions are in the back of my car it would be silly to get some tiddly motor that looked like I was wearing it. So on for another 100000 ?

Whilst cutting the lawn I found this little chap.

Nobody knew what this was called so I looked it up in my Book of Bugs.

She's a Female Cock Chafer (aka May bug, mitchamador, billy witch, or spang beetle) and she doesn't eat Marigolds or Petunias or Lillies or Chives (yes, they've started on the chives now) but with training and encouragement she might start eating rabbits. She does eat pine needles which would explain her presence here.

In my woodshed I have a thrush nesting and she has young. Not very good pictures I'm afraid but you can't go trampling about and shoving cameras at them but they are great to watch craning their beaks imploring food. I wonder if they like rabbit.....

You have to look hard to see her

Carrie captured me carrying the Mike Wall Patent Bottom Painter
(more details next time)

In between showers I have commenced the annual repaint of Independence plus I have at long last repaired the leak on the vent over the water heater so that's one less place for water to get in.

Enough for now. Have a good week.