Waterlilies and Ducklings, Tomatoes and Limericks

About ten years ago our daughter-in-law planted a water-lily in one of our ponds and now it has really come into its own with a beautiful display of rich pink flowers spreading over a considerable area of the water. Apart from providing a glorious burst of colour they are also a playground for this year's brigade of mallard ducklings who, when not being marched around the farm by their sergeant-major of a mother, spend time hiding in the groves of bulrushes and ploughing their way through the lily pads to reach open water.

As I mentioned in the last post we are in a time of glut regarding fruits and vegetables and while continueing to prepare plums for freezing I am now also roasting tomatoes which will also go into the freezer ready for winter soups and casseroles. We are already eating our own potatoes and of course the endless supply of the ever-prolific courgettes which must never be allowed to get too big or turn into marrows which nobody really likes. Small courgettes are very versatile. I grate them raw into salads or lightly cook them in olive oil with lots of garlic and black pepper to be served with whatever else we happen to be having for lunch.

I was asked recently by my sister to provide a limerick for a competition being held in her local village. Having not written such a thing since I was in school, a very long time ago(!) I gave it a go. The word 'King' had to be incorporated in the verse so after much thought and mental strain I came up with the following; (apologies for the rather odd format, the technology has got the better of me, Blogger won't let me make proper paragraphs or breaks in text)

Not too bad, methinks! I was brought up on the limericks of Edward Lear which are just so brilliant and I do not pretend to be anywhere near his capabilities, also limericks are actually quite difficult as they have to tell a story in just five lines with the AABBA structure of rhyming, so it was a challenge. I think my sister has got the rest of the family having a go too. It will be interesting to see what they all come up with. After the efforts of literary composition I must now get back to my domestic chores, including the plums & tomatoes.