Snail Hunting

Dave and I planted some celery and zucchini in our garden. A friend at work gave me and I planted them about six weeks ago. I was super impressed because they were growing very quickly and looked nice and green. I am quite attached to them and check on them on a daily basis.

You can imagine my horror in discovering that snails were attacking the celery and ate one of them entirely! Why my celery? Why not the beautiful weeds growing next to them? Growing up in Kansas I don't remember ever having snails. Do we have snails, mom? I obviously don't know how to get rid of them. And they are slimy and they spit juice at you when you try to pick them up. Sick!

The morning I discovered one hanging from the leaves of my zucchini plant, I knew something HAD to be done.

My plan: hunt for snails and keep hunting for them until I wipe them off the face of the earth.

(On a side note: I have decided it's okay to wipe them off the face of the earth because so far I haven't found anything that they are actually good for. If you know of something they are good for, please let me know quickly before they are gone forever.)

The first hunt was an overwhelming success! Dave and I plucked at least 100 large, medium, and baby snails from underneath rocks, the bottom of leaves, and the side of walls. I hate touching their ugly shells, but at least they have something hard to pick them up by. It was oddly satisfying to go dump them far away from my garden and tell them never to return. I have gone hunting a couple other times since and always come up with 20 or 30 more snails to relocate to a place that doesn't grow vegetable.

You'll be happy to know that my celery has made a stunning recovery except for the one that was entirely devoured by the evil snails. Though this is good news, I am staying vigilant as their seems to be a never ending supply of them. I don't understand. How do they reproduce? If anyone knows the answer to this question OR has any good tips on keeping snails away, please let me know.

For now the hunt continues...

Whole Wheat Pancakes

I love these pancakes! Mostly because I don't feel bad about eating them, but also because they are good!

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 1/3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Mix the egg, milk, salt, and brown sugar together. Then add the flour and baking powder and mix just until the flour is mixed in. If the batter is too thick, add a bit more milk but stop before it gets runny. Add blueberries, bananas, nuts, or anything that strikes your fancy!

Makes 6 medium sized pancakes or as I made this morning...3 medium and 2 large pancakes!

Lovely Rainy Saturdays

Don't get me wrong...Sunny Saturdays are much better than rainy ones, but there is something nice about a rainy Saturday. There isn't as much pressure to get up and do things and get outside because the sun might disappear. Why do a load of laundry when it won't dry inside for about 3 days? Why mop the floor when the next time you walk in from outside it will just get all gross again? You might as well catch up on some good ol' R'n'R.

Today is a perfect example:

- Got up at 9:30am which is the latest I've stayed in bed in months.
- Made whole wheat pancakes and eggs and drank 2 cups of coffee.
- The finished it off by sitting on the couch reading for 2 hours before doing this!

And the best part about it is - I don't feel guilty at all about not doing the laundry, cleaning the house, and going running! The sun hasn't made an appearance from behind the clouds yet and it is still raining quite steadily, so I am obliged to enjoy it!

I do think that the next few hours will involve an exercise video, a shower, and figuring out what to wear to a wedding reception this evening...but that is about it.

I LOVE IT!