Allotments 4 All

To us Mr Snail is a PEST but to Lauren he is a wee friend with a smiley face!!

Wicker what a beautiful child is she your grandaughter?

Yes she is the Last (so I am told!).  Loves the allotment but really does love snails and insects.

LAST? That's what we thought, Wicker!!!

Pest? In this house, the g/c would be the pest - more damage than any snail!

Snails? Agree - fascinating. Shame all the thrushes have gone? = Tim

We have a snail smashing Thrush and it is fascinating to watch.  She finds the slimey critter, takes it to our path and then quite precisely, smashes it to smithereens!  ;D    My two love them, and we often come across jars of them in the house - their pets.  Sometimes I am held to randsom as they would like 'proper' pets and they tell me that until they have a furry pet with proper legs, they will have to love the snails!  ;D

Amazing how the thrush has an 'anvil' for the job?? They have 3 in our patch, & you can find up to 20 shattered shells at any one time. Or could - until they disappeared. = Tim

What a beautiful little girl AND Snail....
Lovely photo Wicker !

:)

Must be a coincidence but for the first time ever we saw a thrush "shelling" a snail last week (Lauren wasn't there!), fascinating.

EJ your kids had us smiling "furry pets with proeprt legs"  ;D ;D and Tim 5 will do nicely thank you!

What a beautiful child Wicker.  I remember my grandson (now nearly 17) messing about with all sorts of slimey things in the garden.  Only wish there were more to follow but unfortunately he is the only one - lucky you with five :)

No thrushes here either but my neighbour used to pay a kid down the street two pence a snail/slug that was collect out of her garden. All I have to do is find a child that's not glued to a playstation!
Sarah_O

Hi all
We must have a very enterprising song thrush. It has THREE "anvils". The first (at the bottom of the garden) is the metal gate - it must be a pretty good aim to aim its snail shell at the narrow bars. Next is a large flat stone at the base of a sunflower in the middle of the garden - I've a feeling this is its favourite stone as there is always a larger pile of smashed shells there. Then there is the goldfish's gravestone (put there to stop cats from digging her up!) at the far end of the garden.

Oh Spurdie, to have a garden with a "goldfish's gravestone" is really quite something and says a lot about you I think - nice of course! ;)

Oh hello, Wicker  :)
Yes, we're quite mad!  ???  When Gloria Goldfish died, we had a little funeral and sang "All things bright and beautiful" (every verse!!!). The "gravestone" is actually just a nice piece of pink granite slab that our neighbour gave us, but at least none of the neighbourhood cats have managed to dig up Gloria's remains!  :)

We have had funerals for all our mice,(too many to count!) and our 2 rats, (domestic not compost heap kind!) Crosses made from lolly sticks, and flowers gathered from the garden. Ceremoniously put into loo rolls or in the case of the rats, cardboard boxes, taped up, then put into the very deep hole dug by me!! Notes written, and words said, by the kids.
I am always scared though that I will unearth an old friend when putting in the newest member, as by then the flowers have gone, and lolly sticks rotted, so Spurdie, may take up your idea when the guineas go! ;D

Yes, Doris
You could always put a flower in a pot on top of your "gravestone" so you'd have no gaps.