A garden, pollywogs, and slugs

A garden in bloom

Fran being Fran

A house with a garden

This morning, I worked and accomplished loads. Later this morning, Fran and I went to Eartham to help his grandparents order their books and take some to charity.  At one point I was ordered to walk the dogs (and myself?) around the house. The house is breathtaking, but the garden is just splendid.  This is even despite the madame's protest that nothing had been done to it all year.  A whole host of ripe raspberries, under netting. Water features and dogs.  A field full of wild grass and flowers.  The odd statue and bench.

In one of the water features were a host (by host I mean 5) of what I would call pollywogs. They were no longer tadpoles, but they looked like tadpoles with four legs, and before the summer is out, I am sure they would be frogs. (However I am secretly hoping they all get eaten becase) I am not sure I have seen anything more horrifying in my life.  I stared in sense of sick fascination and how grotesque I found them and yet I could not look away. I couldn't even take a photo of them.  I kept fearing I would fall in, which was not helped by Fran's acrobatics across the water and pretending to shove me in. I'm not sure I could cope with that after last night.

Outside there is a run I daily place the dear bunnies.  Last night, it was after dark and I was going to lock the door when I suddenly remembered I had left them out there! I sent Fran out because it was dark (I know, I know...) and I was watching him struggle to coax that hard-headed Indy, when I looked down on the steps and slugs were crawling all over. I flicked away four with a badminton racket. I looked up, and ashamed of my cowardice, stole out in my bare feet, hopping on the balls of my feet to the cage like I was avoiding land mines. And guess what. I stepped on one I couldn't see because it was dark and all the horribleness you would imagine DID.  I screamed, scooped up the bunnies, cursing any form of gastropod, rushed straight into the bathroom to get the mess off.  OK, I don't know what slugs are covered in but after scrubbing manically last night, I woke up this morning with the crud STILL on my foot. After considering amputation and soaking it in a tub for about twelve hours, it came off, but, I think I am scarred for life.  Just another reason I need a hedgehog because they eat nasty slugs. And a mongoose because they kill nasty snakes.  Now, what kills pollywogs because I am sure I could appropriate one of them as well to protect from yet another of my irrational fears.