Snack Food

orange harvest

Today on my garden walk I found a tasty harvest (the first orange of the season). This orange was enjoyed overnight by what I’m guessing was a local possum. When the parrots go for the citrus they tend to poke their beak into one spot, pull out a seed and then drop the fruit. Possums are more thorough. In the past, I’ve noticed that the possums only move on the citrus in late winter, when the pickings of their preferred food become slim. Often we’ve had half a mandarin peel left on the tree by dexterous possums who remove part of the peel and pull the flesh out. Obviously oranges cling to their skin with more passion.

nibble squash

This squash is ripening on a vine that god planted (it came out of the compost bin but I’ve never purchased a squash that looks like this one). For the past week Frank’s been suggesting we harvest it but I’ve said we should wait for the stem to start to die. Well, yesterday there was one bite missing from the top. I took it to mean that the squash really wasn’t ripe (otherwise wouldn’t whatever ate it have taken a second bite?). Today a second bite is gone. Which means there are 2 eaters? Or maybe the first guy came back to see if it was finally ripe? Or just possibly whatever eats it is satiated by one bite? Whatever the story, this squash now officially belongs to the local fauna.

At least something is enjoying the fruits of my labour. My garden is egalitarian – snacks for one and all.

Update 7 July: I went back into the garden today and the squash has more bites taken from it. Death by a thousand nibbles. I’ve also lost the end of two small zucchini. Something out there clearly likes gourds.

nibbled squash

 

Update 25 July: This squash (the same one as pictured above) is well and truly gone. It’s historic squash. Anti squash. Invisible squash. There was no one day when anything took a large bite from it but I don’t think there were many days when nothing took a bite from it either. I only wish I had tasted it because it must have been the most sumptuous vegetable ever grown in the southern hemisphere to be savoured over so many days – 3 full weeks of appetizer, main, and/or dessert. Yummm.

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