Tag Archives: peanuts

Pumpkin Pie?

Posted on by

Pumpkin Pie?

s_dsc0282s

I didn’t intend to grow enormous pumpkins because they are totally unmanageable – I just wanted some large enough to make Jack’o’Lanterns for Halowe’en and some to store for the winter to make spicy pumpkin soup (see recipes) to warm us up on Bonfire Night and to cheer us up for December lunchtimes.

Pumpkins must love rabbit manure because this is the result!  I do admit that I did dig quite a bit of manure into the pumpkin patch.  Fortunately, not all of the pumpkins are this big but it’s going to take all the boys to lift this, a saw to cut it in two – and probably all day hollowing it out, taking out the seeds and cutting the flesh into manageable chunks for soup!

Last year I dried pumpkin seeds on baking paper in a slow oven and they were really tasty – they made a great substitute for peanuts and I served them in bowls with olives.

 

The Nuthatch

Posted on by

Nuthatches like sunflower seeds as well as peanuts.

DSC_0149ss

Our neighbour works wonders with bits of old iron and he made this very innovative bird feeder which all the birds love and the cat hasn’t found out how to get onto yet.  We get visits from a pair of nuthatches, they usually pick up a peanut and fly off to eat it but this one stayed long enough to be photographed.

DSC_0002s nuthatch

I have also seen nuthatches eating melon seeds but they prefer peanuts.  The hens like melon seeds too.