Thursday 18 June 2009

Another beetle update / Mise à jour des scarabées encore

The beetles were back this morning.  We put one in a jar and I took it to show our neighbour.  He immediately squashed it and confirmed what Gintoino said, that they attack cabbages.  So the others have now been squashed.  They were pretty but they had to go.

Notre voisin a confirmé ce que gintoino a dit – les scarabées attaquent les choux.  Il a écrasé le scarabée que je l’ai montré et nous avons écrasé les autres.  Ils étaient beaux, mais ils devaient mourit.

I’m pleased with our garlic this year, grown from bulbs I bought in the market last autumn and much better than last year’s.  It’s delicious chopped fresh on salads or the heads grilled whole on the barbecue.

L’ail est bon cette année. C’est delicieux cru est frais avec les salades ou les têtes grillées entières.

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Garlic fresh ……..
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grilled ……
DSC06528 and eaten.

Wildlife in the garden / Faune au jardin

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a dragonfly /  une libellule
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and a marbled white butterfly / et un papillion marbré blanc.

But amid the sunshine and days spent enjoying meals in the garden, a reminder on the Guardian food blog today that there are ‘no gourmets in Gaza’ because the Israeli blockade is preventing basic food and fuel from getting to the population, including three quarters of a million children who are the most seriously affected.  According to Alex Renton’s post the UN says that

more than 10% of children are so malnourished their growth has been stunted. This proportion is growing rapidly. Anaemia due to lack of protein is another persistent problem – affecting 65% of children and 35% of pregnant women.

An inhuman collective punishment for an entire people.

5 comments:

Maggie said...

Regarding Gaza... I think both sides have sold their souls to the wrong party. When you have to trade your humanity for your beliefs you haven't considered enough possibilities.

On a happier note, your garlic looks fantastic! I am looking forward to harvesting mine, but it is not quite ready.

Sorry about the beetles. They were very pretty. If you ever learn their name please post it.

chaiselongue said...

I hate violence too, Maggie, but in Gaza it's a question of unequal forces and children who have taken no 'sides' at all.

I'll definitely keep trying to find out what those beetles are!

Maggie said...

Just to be clear, I agree with you about Gaza; I just don't understand the decisions made by the leadership on both sides. I don't know how they sleep at night. But I do know I'm glad I don't have their job. So much of the political realm strikes me as dressed up bullshit. When did feeding children drop off the top priorities list? I don't understand how humans create these situations and it frustrates me.

chaiselongue said...

Maggie: yes, you're right. The problem is that politicians don't think about real people's lives. It is VERY frustrating.

Weeping Sore said...

It's hard to focus on our respective kitchen gardens when we're confronted with the realities of genocide and starving children. While all I have to do is squish bugs and deter other pests, there are people in Gaza who face stiffer challenges.