pumpkinstrokemarrow

Yesterday to Painshill again, only a couple of weeks or so since our last visit. Snowdrops out and looking good in semi-wild settings. Fair amount of damage done by recent gales. One lump of cedar has fallen across the grotto - where perhaps it will be allowed to remain as enhancing the grottine effect - and another rather larger lump has fallen off the largest cedar in Europe. Maybe it is no longer the largest. In any event a pity as it is rather a splendid tree. Must look next time to see how old it is - I have always been very impressed by the claim that some Sequoia in Califonornia are around the same age as Jesus Christ. Also saw a number of very tall beech trees, with unusually clean trunks. Most large beech trees seem to have very convoluted trunks, not much good for timber - which is consistant with my experience of beech as a good quality hard wood for making small things - not beams. Most notable however, were the two geese who had taken up residence on top of a thirty foot tree stump and were making a considerable noise. If I had been asked in a properly nuetral way, I would have said that a large water bird like a goose would not have been able to land on such a thing - but clearly it can.

Pondering about what went wrong with the January Kings this year. They look large enough but have not hearted up very well - and are certainly hosts to large numbers of small - and some not so small - animals. Maybe they need more food than they are getting.

Steak yesterday, the first time for a while. I think it was sirloin steak and it turned out very well. A firm buttery texture rather than the grainy texture I associate with my cooking of steak. This may have been to do with, I think, it being at the mature rather than fresh end of the spectrum, something I don't usually care for - it had the appearance on the slab of being a cancelled order. And I even managed a proper amount of interior pinkness. Served on this occasion with lettuce and a small amount of white rice. So perhaps useful stuff for a quick meal after all.