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Wednesday 13 December 2023

The Squirrel is Back

 I've seen the squirrel around, darting through the edges of the street, but today I did a top up of the bird feeder and I was generous with the nuts.



If you look particularly closely, you can see the rats as well near the sideways plant pot. I took this pic through a window, as I didn't have a chance of getting closer, but the pic of the squirrel is close enough. And regardless of rats, I'm not going to cut back on feeding the birds during winter.

I feel conflicted about the rats. The food is supposed to be for the birds, and I'm not a huge fan of rats, but the baby rats are cute and I hate the thought of hurting living things. I suppose that we will have to see how things go. 

In other news, DH and I have been looking at air fryers. On the one hand, they look perfect for the sort of cooking we do. On the other hand, our kitchen is more or less functional and why add to it? We're considering one of those air fryer ovens to replace the halogen oven when it bites the dust. Looking at things rationally, it would make sense for us to get an air fryer. We eat the sort of food that I wish we didn't, like chicken nuggets and pre-made hash browns that seem perfect for air fryers, and it would possibly make the things I feel that I ought to make, like shepherd's pie or roast chicken. It's a lot of money to lay out, but then again, we'd probably get it back in electricity savings over the life of the air fryer. if you have any thoughts, please share.

Writing stuff - I'll share the writing prompt (here) today but I probably won't bother too much in future. It's like the writing prompt is one side of a line and this blog is another. I'd encourage you to write, because it's been a lifeline for me, but I don't want to feel that anyone is pressured or feels that they need to share. It's quite selfish. It's a writing gym with a little accountability. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

8 comments:

  1. The prompts are helpful - if only I had the creative juices flowing right now!

    Air fryers? We bought a very small one - then later realised it wasn’t big enough and we bought one twice the size. Both at bargain prices at the time from big online stores. Total £40 apart from p & p.

    I admit we have been using junk type food in them ( but cooking veg) not something we used to do - but sometimes life is too short.

    I have seen online people being very creative with them though.

    I imagine the big double drawer ones are probably more useful. I suppose we are wasteful with power as we often do casserole type things in cast iron pans which heat up quickly ( not le creuset😱) then put in the main oven. We have too many electrical things unused🙄I get carried away…

    Squirrels even steal squirrel proof containers from here. Used to buy all bird food from Wilco - although I just read that what was our Wilco store has an application to be used by a B & M store.

    Be careful with the rats ( contamination)- I confess that I’m not keen,
    Love Mary. X

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    1. I'm not keen on rats but I suspect that I'll get them when feeding the birds. And the young ones look cute.
      Squirrels are a menace, but a cute one. I love watching them run with their tails as soft as air behind them.
      I have a teenage son, so junk food in an air fryer is a strong possibility!
      And enjoy the prompts if they work for you. There's no pressure here.

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  2. I like squirrels, but, not rats, although, one could say that squirrels are sort of like rats with bushy tails! I put out food for Mama Cat and the possums, and the raccoons, and next door's chicken, all eat it! Even some of the birds will fly down and eat the kibbles!

    I bought my daughter a small air fryer and she loves it. I don't have one and doubt if I will ever get one for myself, although, after my friend burned her arm while deep frying something in a regular frying pan, I am wondering if an air fryer might be safer!

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    1. I wonder whether I could put kibble out for the magpies. DH loves the magpies.

      I'm not safe with hot fat, and I've set a pan on fire before. It's looking like it could work for us, but I'm doing the thinking first.

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  3. I actually bought an air fryer a couple of years ago. As I live alone I thought it would be better than turning the main oven on if I just wanted to cook a chicken breast. When it came though I realised it was bigger than I had thought and with the microwave, toaster, kettle and food processor already on the worktop there was no space left, so I returned it. A friend who also lives alone thinks they are marvellous and she does all sorts in hers. It could work out for you, especially with a teenage son who can get his bits and pieces when he wants to.

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    1. I think it could work well for us. I leave bear to make his own food as he is difficult to feed. An air fryer and some nearly healthy stuff in the freezer would be perfect. I think that it would suit me as well, but I'm doing the thinking now.

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  4. Think of an air fryer as a small oven. Anything you would cook in an oven can be done in a decent airfryer. They win over a domestic oven because the pre heat time is minimal. We hardly ever use our main oven now. We have an instan Pot Versazone, which has a big drawer which can be divided into two. You can choose to use the whole big drawer on one setting, or justuse half a drawer, or use 2xhalf drawers on 2 different settings. You can sync the finish, so both halves finish at the same time. I recommend a facebook group called Air Fryer Magic with Feisty Tapas which (unlike many fb groups has recipes with "british" ingredients and measurements. Also, the airfryer book by Jenny Tschiesche, same reason.

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    1. Thank you! The FB recommendation is particularly useful. I want to know what I'm getting into!

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