Allotments 4 All
Produce => Wildlife forum => Topic started by: Spurdie on July 10, 2004, 09:51:07
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Have just been watching the news - apparently there's to be new laws against cruelty to animals. Fair enough. But this includes cruelty to SLUGS AND SNAILS!!! :o
I hope slug pellets and beer traps aren't going to be outlawed! I'd have no garden left!
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Gone will be the pleasure of hearing them scream when you pour salt all over their slimy bodies.
And what about squishing vine weevil grubs between ones thumb and forefinger? Or throwing cutworms to the hens? Or taking the top off the ants nest so the blackbirds and robins can get at the eggs? All definitely cruel and heartless things to do.
AND what about those 'humane' mole traps which kill the same number of moles as the instant death ones?
AND Warferin for rats, surely that is cruel, to give them poor innocent creatures a chemical which causes them to bleed to death from normal internal bleeding?
I could go on. but my heart is full of man's treatment for our little friends. prrrrrrrrrrrrp!!!!!!!
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I've never knowingly killed a slug or snail. I don't use bug spray and rodents are deterred from becomig too comfortable in the house by use of a sonic device - it upsets their feeding pattern and they move on.
Saturday is tomato day - they get fed and fondled - and I noticed that my little army of ground-based slug killers was getting bigger. Lots and lots of little frogs are based in and around the greenhouse and I havent seen a slug for weeks. As I feed the birds all year, they hang around the garden and bash the bugs for me. It's a lot cheaper to feed the birds than to buy slug pellets - and my Karma us unharmed.
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Hi, FOC!
How do you manage to have frogs in your garden? Do you have a pond?
I have a friendly song thrush that bangs snails against the gate. Does this not qualify as "cruelty to snails" ;)? Sadly it is no match for the HUGE brown snails (about 2" in diameter) that demolish my delphiniums and hollyhocks. How do you keep control of them?
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I used to have a real problem with slugs and snails where they would strip almost everything in the garden.Now that all of the shrubs have matured,the Thrushes and Blackbirds go mad under the them hunting the snails/slugs.I too have frogs in the garden and dont have a pond.They seem to be happy living under the Mexican orange blossoms i have where the soil is permanetly damp.These with the birds have totally decimated the slimy pests population to a point where you would be hard pushed to find one alive!
My slug pellets have remained in the shed,un-used for couple of years now. ;D
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so are they going to be prosecuting animals for be cruel or is it just humans that get the short shrift? ???
All I can say is they've got to catch me and my salt first. ;D I'd like to see them with their powerful satellites watching me kill slugs from space. :D
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For those that haven't read it click on these links ::)
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=VG3SD5RAGXWSDQFIQMGSM54AVCBQWJVC?xml=/news/2004/07/11/nslug11.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/07/11/ixportal.html&secureRefresh=true&_requestid=43549
www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2004/07/11/dl1102.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2004/07/11/ixopinion.html
Edited to say, for some reason I can't get these links to work properly so copy paste the full text and see how you get on. Roy
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Me thinks this is taking animal welfare too far!
Good god-what next? Campaigners claiming aphids have feelings...
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Saw a hedgehog crushing a huge snail the other day, i'd say that it was about 2" (the snail not the hedgehog). Just stood on the shell and crunch. Quite impressive as I didn't know they had the strength.
TrailRat
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Don't panic, peeps - just a moment's thought!
Where would this leave the GM stuff? And the pesticide manufacturers? Good God - they might even have to take themselves seriously for once, and ban hunting!
And what about fishing!!! Eating meat!!!!!! Factory farming!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey - and all the various household fly-sprays!!!!!!!!
Methinks (mehopes?), somebody is having a neat little wind-up?
All best - Gavin
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Do you think it would be cruel to leave slugs and snails in a big box with vaseline up the sides for the thrushes to find them? ;D
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NAH!!!!!!! Go to it Aqui. ;D
Eileen.
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And what about building sites and road building - can't dig a hole with a JCB without pulping a poor defenceless slug can you - Sodding daft politicians.
Even if its not true, its indicitive of the general public's opinion of MP's that we actually believe they are capable of considering such a law!
Suppose we could be incarcerated for slugicide!
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Well slap the handcuffs on me...cos today I murdered over 100 large ones (stopped counting at 56!)! with a strange gleeful feeling! This lovely damp weather has bought them all under my carpet paths, but they were not there for long! (Evil laugh!)
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I do have a nice big wildlife pond - put in about three years ago. It's full of reedmace and other big plants (plus my dogs) and I'm delighted with 'my' dragonflies and notice I have a healthy population of pond snails that arrived on their own. When the pond was being dug, the digger hit the water main and it looked like the Palace of Versailles! The wagtails then moved in and claimed the mud as theirs! I had frogs and toads before I had the pond but seem to have even more now. I have bunnies too - hundreds of them. If something has a hard time surviving here then I don't bother growing it again. (The bunnies are surviving very well)
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;D Hi Spurdie, just think all the garden police walking around, watching for signs of slugicide, will they have an inquiry as to how they die, murder, slug slaughter, or natural demise.Hmm does that mean we'll all get a police record? ???
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I hope not Val, i'm on already in their bad books for speeding. And I can't even drive or own a car. :-\
TrailRat
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Hi Trailrat
How on earth did you manage to get done for speeding? On you bike???
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I'm afraid so Spurdie and this not a motorbike either.
TrailRat
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Is yours a supercharge penny farthing then?
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Nope, just a carb charged rider with a tail wind.
TrailRat
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Did you have a tail wind then Rats? I didn't know until a few years ago you could be done for being drunk in charge of a push bike, a friend of ours was stopped riding home a bit worse for wear. : ;)
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you can be done for being drunk in charge of a horse as well.......good job there weren't any copper sound on some of the Christmas Eve hacks I have done................. ::)
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oh dear ;D ;D No drinking the beer traps then folks, you'll be done for being drunk in charge of a slug. or 2 ;D ;D ;D
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Don't worry this new law is only going to apply to vertebrates for the moment, the science isn't there to determine whether invertebrates feel pain or not so those of you who like evil squishing can continue.
This is according to Radio 4 anyway.
Ten x
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In todays paper i read we can kill slugs & snails so orf you go and do your stuff see who can get the most i think Doris must hold the record.LOL!!!!
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HURRAH! :D
If there's one type of creature that really makes me dread picking them up it's slugs and snails! Worms are lovely and fun but a slug has all the personality of George Bush. "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!"
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Got another 95 today Rosebud!! (Evil laugh!)
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I'd be one of the first with a snail/slug murdering record too! I am eating the veggies not them. ha!
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Ok I'll admit I'm a wimp and can't knowingly kill anything slugs included. They do get basic flying lessons though into the field at the back ;D
And I know , before anyone mentions it, that they supposedly have a homing instinct and come back but they do have to avoid all the crows and magpies first ;)
This year to protect my hostas and pretties I've used crushed seashells which suprisingly has worked!
Now I just need to deter the neighbourhood cats.................. >:(
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Lily I have scattered one bed with holly to deter the cats, and the little darling delicately missed all the prickles and left a package on my lettuce >:( Anyone need a cos for dinner? ;D
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Doris,
holly works better dry & brown, perhaps yours was, longer spikes are good, pyracantha or blackthorn prunings.
Failing that -pigeons stuffed with dynamite ;D
Jeremy
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Jeremy I like the last suggestion!! ;D How about, Pidgeon stuffed with a cos AND dynamite!!
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Spurdie....worms are fun.....explain ;)
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TEACHER: Explain why worms are fun
PUPIL: Please, Miss! Worms are fun because
1. they are wiggly
2. they tie themselves in knots
3. they sometimes poop on your hand by mistake
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:-X :-XDon't be rude child write out 3 times.......Nobody loves me , everybody hates me, think I'll go eat worms, long thin slimy ones, short fat wiggly ones, see how ther wriggle and squirm, bite their heads off ,..slurp...etc....
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Problems with slugs and snails??? Not me. At my allotment I have free access to manure and SEASHELLS, provided for the paths.
And every year in spring I put a thick layer of SEASHELLS all around the lettuce, around the beans, the runnerbeans, the courgettes and the strawberries etc. And it helps!! No slugs, they stay at my neighbour's. ;D ;D ;D
At home I use SEASHELLS to deter the cats, specially my neighbour's. They , the cats I mean, don't like the sharp edges and stay out. :D :D
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Spurdie, well yes, I guess worms are fun. My kids think so, problem is daughter number one loves them just a little too hard so what was a 2 inch worm becomes a 10 inch worm, with possibly a couple of brothers! :o
Val, harsh, but fair! ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Hi Emma you have to be harsh with these folk from north of the border, they aren't used to our soft gentle refined ways, ;) ;)
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>:( YOU??? GENTLE AND REFINED???!???
How would you like a sporran through your letterbox? MADE OF MOUSE SKINS!!!
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:PThe dog would eat it, oh make it a haggis and maybe we'd all try it.Yep refined...the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plane...By jove I've got it. :-*
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>:( being able to quote silly sayings does NOT make you refined!
For example, if I were to say "Hoo noo broon coo", I would not be refined either. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear :P
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Found a new way to dispose of slugs. Just got hold of a new billhook with a double edge. As I come across them I hack them in half and use the flat of the blade to fling them where the birds will find them. Whats really disgusting is the fact the front half keeps moving, until it realises its be seperated from its rear end. Crushing snails with the flat of the blade is immensly good fun too.
TrailRat
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:PWhats refined then, I thought the hoi poli were always saying silly things? Oh well its back to Neanderthal man and yes I'm fine thanks....oh I thought you were asking how I was, hmmph first you call me a hippo, then a cow, or was that a sow, a body could get offended you know. Heard you got some real wild cats up there, the farmers have to put pretty colours on their sheep, at least we don't have to have Barbie animals. ;)
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:D No, no, Val! It's just that we have fashionable animals up here!
I don't know if stripy sheep are a deterrent to panthers or not, but I've a feeling they may think they're zebras and eat them anyway! I personally haven't seen any large black felines - apart from our neighbour's black tom that comes and sprays against my pots!
I HAVE seen a couple of large stripy wildcats locally, but to be honest, they don't look that different to a domestic tabby - just much bigger.
I haven't done my lines yet ... I hope I don't get a detention! However, have you read Trailrat's posting (above)? I think it's high time he got a detention! ;)
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;DSeems strange just been talking to you on another post.Think Ratty should be expelled not detention...or to be PC, permanentely excluded. We've got a local wildlife place here....if you saw Britain Goes Wild, it was the wood where the dormouse is.....They've got a wild cat and when the kids were younger we were all looking for the wildcat thinking the cat in the cage was the local tabby. Wasn't really a cage more a fenced off area.I'd love to see a video of the panthers and things that are supposed to running wild in our countryside. Just a video mind, I don't want to come across one. lol.
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What did I do wrong? ??? :o ???
If I must be punished please don't PC me, just give me a good sound spanking. :-X
TrailRat
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Apparently a couple of people on our site collect large snails, feed them on lettuce for a few weeks (?) to cleanse them and then eat them (only got this info second hand) - I do know snails are bred for eating but somehow didn't think the everyday variety would be the same. Maybe being pampered then eaten is the ultimate in cruelty but not so different from all the other creatures we scoff!
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:-XRatty you'd enjoy it, a punishment is supposed to be a chore not a pleasure. so when you've dug your plot you can , dig it all over again.
:(Ah Wicker poor little snails, seems a bit to hands on for me. ;D
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Hi Wicker, I certainly don't fancy eating any of my snails! However, feeding them lettuce should make them soporific, so you could catch them easily! ;)
Val, I think Trailrat's punishment could last for several years, the speed he digs at! ;D
Finding new ways to humiliate and vommit violence against snails is a violation of their snail rights, under European law no. 123456. I herby sentence you to 3 years hard labour to be carried out in your back yard. Any further incidences of the aforementioned cruelty will result in your having to cook and eat the snails you torture. Court adjourned.
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;DPlease your honor but he's not working hard enough at his labour, if it would please your worship I nominate myself to supervise and crack the whip,...heh, heh ,heh.oh arr, that be reet.I do love to see a man on his knees, putting his back into it, shoulders against the wall. oh heck you get the drift. ;)
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I nominate Val as my warden. Oh yes please. As for the snail punishment, been there and done the escargot thing. Very tasty when covered in garlic butter. The french do love their garlic. Was very chewy, is it meant to be like eating pencil rubbers.
Warden Val, permission to let my working muscles breath, by letting me work in shorts and topless.
TrailRat
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>:( Silence in court! Warden Val, I think Mr Rat is becoming overheated. Permission granted to hose him down with ice cold water! Or failing that, turn on the sprinkler! Please note that the defendant is not allowed to run underneath it nor make a slide on the grass with it.
The defendant shall work diligently in his garden without the fortification of beer or alcopops. The beer is to be reserved for slug traps (at least the slugs wil die happy) and the alcopops shall be confiscated and consumed by the Judge and Warden. 8) Hic!
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oooooohhhh, I like it when I get treated rough.
Shame about the beer though :'(
TrailRat
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;)Silence, Mr. Ro-dent, otherwise known as RT666. You will stand to attenshion when hoshed down. Yum these alchos are great,,, now where's me chair.....If it do please your hhonor, the aforesaid warden will sup..shup...supe.....take charge, to 'elp me conshen...to 'elp me focus the mind, will close me eyes for a bit......zzzzzz
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:-[ Whash that, Val? Eh? Eh? Oh yesh! Look! The prishoner's digging a hole under the fence! Ha ha ha! Hic! Has ha - oops! He's eshcaping? QUICK! Help me up off thish deck chair! Oh no! Who'sh tied my lacesh together? What the - ooops! I've fallen over! Ha ha! I've fallen over! I think I've broken my head! Ha ha ha! Hic! Gosh that's shore! :(
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It's very hard to leg it with this case of beer under my arm. Oh well it'll be worth it. By the way the snails tied your laces together. :D
TrailRat
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:-[ Whash that, Val? Eh? Eh? Oh yesh! Look! The prishoner's digging a hole under the fence! Ha ha ha! Hic! Has ha - oops! He's eshcaping? QUICK! Help me up off thish deck chair! Oh no! Who'sh tied my lacesh together? What the - ooops! I've fallen over! Ha ha! I've fallen over! I think I've broken my head! Ha ha ha! Hic! Gosh that's shore! :(
LOL folks ,thats hilarious!
Spurdie you sound just like Sean Canary!
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zzzzzzzwhat, what,zzzz
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WAKE UP VAL! There's a mouse under your deckchair! :o
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Ahhhh, thats where I left her then. Thanks Spurdie. I think she'd be more comfortable in Val's sleeping lap. ;D
TrailRat
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:o :oOh for gawds sake, I've left the dog curled up in the sleeping bag, just felt something soft and furry...oh shikes...or words to that effect.... what the hell :'( :'(its a mou.....call an ambulance, quick,oh dear, oh my word, the old ticker, ........shriek...it moved...just get it outta here. H- e- l-p. :'( :'(
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Trailrat, stop comforting Val - that's inappropriate behaviour between warden and prisoner. >:( And as for performing the "kiss of life"! Well! I'm sure she's not unconscious! >:( >:( By the way, do up your top button, Val. ;)
How much garden have you excavated so far, Trailrat? Are you planning another session this weekend? Gardening, I mean, NOT wrestling with the warden!
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:D Set the trap for ratty, The gov thinks she's dug the trench to stop us escaping, heh, heh, covered it with sticks, when Ratty runs off with the beer, down he goes, up goes the crate into Vals waiting arms, that'll teach 'em, Yes I'll lure him with promises and undone buttons. The Gov is so bossy these days, those plants she's growing so well, maybe will alter her mood, chill man....
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oooooohhhhhhh undone buttons. I love chocolate buttons and can never resist an open pack. (Runs over trench in typical cartoon style and doesn't fall in)
TrailRat
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:-\ Hmm, something is amiss and its not me, That dreaded Ratty I will lure him into the trap, if persuation won't work I'll get the heavy mob in.....Here Kitty, Kitty...
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No cat scares me, I'm your typical London bred rat. The type of rat that is use as a Guard "Dog" in most inner london scrapyards.
Here ensues visions fur flying and high pitch caterwauling
TrailRat
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;D ;DNot your usual type cat though Ratty, couldn't get next doors tabby, so popped into London zoo and borrowed one of theirs, come along now Leo, when I say pounce...go for it.......Oh stupid Lion, pounced on the d**n scarecrow the govs put up. Oh Ratty's getting away, back to plan G....umm ....
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Does plan G involve a spot :o
TrailRat
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::) ::)No it doesn't...why did I put that ???erm H then? ........a lot of plans later.....Can't get that Ratty much too foxy ??? change tack, the beers the priority, distract him and get someone to pinch the beer, can't be the gov, she'd drink it all, you know what those northeners are like, think every Sunday means Funday.
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YE CHEEKY SCUNNER!!! As for beer, you can have it all! I cannot stand the stuff! Give my bottle to the slugs! That's if you were planning on saving some for me in the first place! But Bailey's ice cream ... mmm! Yum!
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::) ::)No it doesn't...why did I put that ???erm H then? ........a lot of plans later.....
Preparing preperation H are we? ;D
TrailRat
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;) ;)What letter is safe? no, no, no, please don't answer that, I mean in the alphabet not nationality. Hey Ratty the Gov is calling you a slug, I'll have a slug or 2 of the beer...shall we sweeten her up with a Bailey's, put a nice lot in the glass it'll knock her out, she might even cook us a haggis when she wakes.
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Never tried haggis? i've been called many things but a slug. By the way i've got a lovely huge pot of baileys ice cream in the fridge. :) :P
Might have some after dinner.
TrailRat
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I BET YOU HAVEN'T! If you HAD bought some it would have melted - you're SUPPOSED to put ice-cream in the FREEZER, silly! ::) I had you down for a Smarties McFlurry man! :D Val, I bet you're a solero fan - fruity and soft-centred!!! ;)
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I'm a ben and jerrys fan actually the baileys hagen daz is for the missus. It is in one of our fridges, we have a general cold fridge for milk, cheese etc etc. Then we have the cold store fridge which sits on 0 degrees which keeps the ice cream and yeast in and then we have a freezer which sits at -10 for long term storage.
And I'm more like a pistachio ice cream, in other words, slighty nuts.
TrailRat
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;D Spurdie, yes how did you guess and twisters, favorite white magnums...all those calories. Hey Ratty , slightly nuts? no way off there man, very nuts.
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In fact forget the ice cream, I'm just plain nuts.
TrailRat
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8) 8)Just one corn-etto give eet to meee, de-licious ice cream from Ita-lyy.........
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8) 8)Oh no! You're off the rails ... you've topped cornetto ... with slugs and snails! :P
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:'( :'(m Oh yuk, its that Ratty's fault he distracted me...good job there's no puppy dogs tails, don't want a lot of lads running around. ;)
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I thought lots of lads running around was the result of a little hanky panky, hows your father, nudge nudge, ;) ;) and all that carry on.
Now I see where me and the missus has been going wrong. Now does anyone know where to get puppy dog tails? :o ::) :-X
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At least with this spell of dry, warm weather there are far fewer slugs and snails in the garden. Saw a meadow brown butterfly in the garden today - they seem to be making quite a comeback. We've also had brown argus butterflies on the oregano. We usually only see them up on heather covered hills.
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;D A real scorcher today, too much for me. Haven't seen many butterflies this year Spurdie, only the cabbage whites, maybe the dry hot summer from last year affected the caterpillers....Ratty you don't want to know. lads are just like the adult version only worse if thats possible....there may be trouble ahead, la la la lets play the music and dance.