Excursus: pet food

I have intermittently mentioned my joy of cooking and my pets, which have at last been combined. No, no, restrain your screams of horror, as you have the wrong end of the stick. Calmed down? Good, then read on. One of the best ideas when cooking is to use fresh ingredients - which applies not merely to vegetables but also to the herbs. Fresh basil is quite unlike its dried counterpart, for instance. I use basil quite a lot, and one day I realised that wild rabbits would probably eat it. So I checked in our little rabbit-care booklet, which suggested that fresh herbs were an acceptable treat. Thus fortified with the experience of experts, I offered a spare sprig to Spot, and he devoured it ravenously! Bold and Nerva (Nervy), the guinea pigs, were fairly unimpressed by basil, but they have been guzzling down sprigs of thyme lately, and have been finishing off the ends of courgettes for a few weeks now. Spot seems unimpressed by thyme, but he and the guinea pigs both adore fresh mint.

Last night, Mum wondered what their position was on avocado. She failed to find any mention of it, but remarked that guinea pigs are fans of banana peel. Off to the kitchen to get myself a banana, and the guinea pigs the peel. Nyom-nyom-nyom-nyom-nyom-nyom-nyom! They only stopped eating the banana peel when their tiny tummies were full. It's amusing to think we seem to have miniature goats! I jest, of course, but it's certainly better for them to have the peel than for it to fill a bin and contribute to the messing up of the world. Anyway, folks, have a lovely Sunday!