I’m busy making a main course soup for dinner tonight. That way it will only need warming up when we get home after visiting both Preston (radiotherapy) & Lancaster (collection of new knee braces) hospitals. It also means we can save on car parking as the Fox can pop along to Booths for some fresh bread to accompany it & park free in their car park.
Today’s soup is a beef, barley & mushroom one. The beef is shin so it needs a long slow cook which it’s doing at the moment. Soon I will add the barley & cook for a further hour & a half. The caramelised onions & mushrooms I will add later, possibly just before I warm it all up.
There was a fair amount of beef fat from dicing up the meat. Needless to say that went out to the birds. I couldn’t help being impressed by the level of co-operation being shown. The gulls arrived almost immediately but they weren’t given a chance. First to get its beak on the fat was a lone starling while a magpie stood guard against the gulls. While the starling digested his booty, the magpie fed & the starling stood on guard to attack the gulls if they tried to bully their way in. And so they alternated until both the starling & the magpie had had their fill. Only then were the gulls allowed any scraps left.
I stood watching. I often feel the need to intervene to scare the gulls off - they are such big bullies - but not today. There was no need. Even I cannot deny the gulls any last bits on this sub-zero morning.
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