Fish, cow, hummingbird and snail

Fishman is back. I told you that didn't I? We can never tell when he will turn up but it is always a Wednesday or a Thursday but it could be once a week, once a fortnight or once a month. Last week he appeared at the gate

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He has his cooler on the back, full of fish, so I called Danilo outside to decide what we would buy. We decided on Chinese Carp - I would have loved the giant prawns but at US$20 a pack we decided against them. Fishman pulls his scale out of his fetching special scale handbag and he weighs them.

I went inside to put the fish in the freezer and upload the photos and as I was uploading them, Danilo called me from the back garden to go there with my camera. As a dutiful wife I obliged. I asked him what I was supposed to be taking a picture of and he said there was a cow in the garden. He wanted a picture for evidence of escaping cows again. I could see no cow, but I set off along the track with the soon to be goat enclosure on the right and the proper garden on the left. No cow.

I continued past a mother hen and her chicks - all of the hens have chicks at the moment, so we are surrounded by them - until the odd passing hawk swoops down and takes one away. But still no cow.

As I continued down the track I looked to my left into the overgrown yuca and sweet potato garden, and there it was. The cow - or bull I later discovered.

I walked closer to try and get a photograph, and he walked towards me.

And then he gave me an evil look out of the side of his eye. That is a seriously evil look.

And then he started chasing me. I was screaming (as you do when being chased by a bull), Danilo was doubled over with laughter, the dogs were barking their head off, from a safe position in the house, and the bull galloped after me all through the garden, trampling over plants and scattering squawking chickens everywhere, which stopped Danilo from laughing. I made it safely into the house, while Danilo was chasing the bull. Unfortunately due to all of the new projects, gates, goat fences, walls, the bull could not get out and ran past the window chased by Danilo (in blue), while the dogs enjoyed the show.

As Danilo chased the cow, I sat down once again to upload the photos. We have a hummingbird who always comes to visit and I can never get a picture of him or her, as he is too fast and by the time I have turned the camera on it is too late. I get pictures of the flowers he has been on

which are right next to where I sit, slaving away at my computer, where the balcony used to be.

But this time, as the camera was on, I got him!

Not brilliant but I am getting there.

Now returning to my garden. I noticed there were two lovely red tomatoes so I went out to pick them, with great excitement. Tomato sandwich for tea.

Or not. A sneaky snail had eaten them all.

So time to break out the egg shells which FB friends tell me will keep the snails away, and prop the tomatoes up on sticks.

Meanwhile Danilo tells me the green peppers have turned from green to black so they must be rotten. Oh ye of little faith - from green, to black, to RED!!!

I have this vegetable growing down to a tee now. Two snail eaten tomatoes and one perfect red pepper! And the black one will be red by the end of the week and loads of green tomatoes too.