Little Muddle

[Limpley Stoker]

Don’t, whatever you do, touch the bats.

[DonB]

How did cricket get involved?

[MrWolf]

You CAN eat crickets. Taste better than town pigeon. Though I would recommend town pigeon over seagull. They really are disgusting.

[Winslow Boy]

24 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

You CAN eat crickets. Taste better than town pigeon. Though I would recommend town pigeon over seagull. They really are disgusting.

Pigeon has an unusual flavour. Are you speaking from personal experience with the seagull?

[MrWolf]

Wood pigeon is fine. Just cut out the breast meat, drop in plastic bag, throw the rest back for the scavengers. They need to eat too. 

Seagull, good ol' survival training. If you get some dark meat from the scuzziest possible fried chicken place, then fry it again in fish oil that has been slightly burnt, you might be close to seagull.

A friend of mine has eaten Civet cat and is adamant that it's worse than seagull. I can only imagine that would be like eating a fox.

[Mick Bonwick]

5 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 I can only imagine that would be like eating a fox.

 

It's not.

[MrWolf]

53 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

It's not.

 

Okay, do elaborate.

[KNP]

Sitting, coaled, ready for the off once the brass cab side number arrives!

The Earl of Cawdor, or what is now referred to as 3203, a 4-4-0 outside frame loco made by Bachmann and fully DCC operational - in fact I would go as far to say its the best runner I have.

Nickname the Dukedog but known as the Earl Class it was rebuilt by the GWR using the boiler from the Duke class and the frames from the Bulldog class, 30 of these where reconstructed between 1936 -39.

A lovely hybrid loco for LM which will be seen for years to come.

Complete repaint, real coal added, crew in attendance and with the addition of a stored canvas cover on the roof complete with tensioners it was obtained a while ago off a well known auction site but work was slow as I decided to finish a few other projects before commencing another one.

 

I officially introduce 3203 though you have seen the odd snippets where people questioned why didn't I see the loco......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have left the old number ghosting through the new paint so it is easier to line up the new plates - in case you where wondering. 

Edited March 27 by KNP

[Neal Ball]

Lovely photos of the Dukedog Kevin thank you.

 

Last night I finished reading the loco profile book of the dukedogs “Small wheel double framed 4-4-0” by Pen and Sword. Fascinating history and some great photos.

[Mikkel]

16 hours ago, Ray H said:

I wonder how often in real life an unsuspecting railway person opened the door prior to unloading the baskets only to find that the fastening on one (or more) hadn't held and they got attacked by a mob of pigeons eager to get back home?

 

Quite plausible I think, there is documentation of at least one similar incident... 

 

 

Lovely pigeon van Kevin, will suit the layout very well I think. 

[MrWolf]

That Dukedog is a lovely looking locomotive, I have always thought that 4-4-0s are rather elegant. No prototype excuse is ever needed for one. 

[Mick Bonwick]

9 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

Okay, do elaborate.

 

It was an attempt at humour, but seems to have failed. It was intended to illustrate a knowledge of eating foxes, but that is something I have never done so have no authority on the subject.

 

I promise to try harder next time. I should probably make an observation about Kevin's models, not that that would be something to laugh about.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2021 by Mick Bonwick

[St Enodoc]

1 minute ago, Mick Bonwick said:

It was an attempt at humour, but seems to have failed.

It certainly seems to have foxed the wolf, as it were.

[Mulgabill]

As we seem to have arrived on the subject of foxes.

 

Our daughters farm has recently been inundated with foxes. They are to be seen at all

times of the day and night,  are in and out of the cattle sheds and barns, and are

not timorous in any way.

 

Of course they also pose a constant threat to the chickens, and geese, and are disruptive.

 

This situation has arrsen before, and after the event was found to be down to some "do gooders"

from one of the greater areas cities / large towns, having rounded up the "excess" population, and

transported them to the country, and freedom.

 

Trouble is they are set in their ways, and not at all fearful of "man", so don't disperse and fend

for themselves.

 

However the farming community is equally set in their ways......... and the current score is about 6-0.

 

So Kevin I advise against taking pity on any fox you stumble across, and relocating it to LM.

 

TONY

[DonB]

Have not seen a fox in the last couple of years.

We have pastures behind our rear fence and I used to see a rather shabby looking vixen most mornings returning to her den  under a bramble clump about 60 yards from my garden.

We do have Badgers nearby but I don't know if they would be edible and AFAIK there has been no suggestion that the should be culled. 

Some of the young beef stock in the fields does look ready for market.......and our freezer is nearly empty.......

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, Mick Bonwick said:

 

It was an attempt at humour, but seems to have failed. It was intended to illustrate a knowledge of eating foxes, but that is something I have never done so have no authority on the subject.

 

I promise to try harder next time. I should probably make an observation about Kevin's models, not that that would be something to laugh about.

 

 

 

 

 

Damn. I was hoping that you could tell us just how grim Civet cat tastes and whether or not it is potentially as unpalatable as fox. 

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, Mulgabill said:

As we seem to have arrived on the subject of foxes.

 

Our daughters farm has recently been inundated with foxes. They are to be seen at all

times of the day and night,  are in and out of the cattle sheds and barns, and are

not timorous in any way.

 

Of course they also pose a constant threat to the chickens, and geese, and are disruptive.

 

This situation has arrsen before, and after the event was found to be down to some "do gooders"

from one of the greater areas cities / large towns, having rounded up the "excess" population, and

transported them to the country, and freedom.

 

Trouble is they are set in their ways, and not at all fearful of "man", so don't disperse and fend

for themselves.

 

However the farming community is equally set in their ways......... and the current score is about 6-0.

 

So Kevin I advise against taking pity on any fox you stumble across, and relocating it to LM.

 

TONY

 

You are quite right Tony, relocated town foxes are a menace as they have no idea how to hunt and no fear of man. The only thing that you can do is shoot them because all they know is raiding dustbins or attacking caged animals. 

[vulcanbomber]

We had one as bold as brass on our patio last year, in the middle of town.

Edited February 8, 2021 by vulcanbomber

[Andrew P]

10 hours ago, KNP said:

Sitting, coaled, ready for the off once the brass cab side number arrives!

The Earl of Cawdor, or what is now referred to as 3203, a 4-4-0 outside frame loco made by Bachmann and fully DCC operational - in fact I would go as far to say its the best runner I have.

Nickname the Dukedog but known as the Earl Class it was rebuilt by the GWR using the boiler from the Duke class and the frames from the Bulldog class, 30 of these where reconstructed between 1936 -39.

A lovely hybrid loco for LM which will be seen for years to come.

Complete repaint, real coal added, crew in attendance and with the addition of a stored canvas cover on the roof complete with tensioners it was obtained a while ago off a well known auction site but work was slow as I decided to finish a few other projects before commencing another one.

 

I officially introduce 3203 though you have seen the odd snippets where people questioned why didn't I see the loco......

 

 

 

 

I have left the old number ghosting through the new paint so it is easier to line up the new plates - in case you where wondering. 

And still the door layeth, and the men thinketh, and the wind will bloweth when the snow cometh. 

[MrWolf]

Snow? In Little Muddle? Surely not!

[KNP]

Snow.....

Little Muddle?

 

Do mean like this....

 

 

 

 

I still have this idea lurking in the back of my mine for a total remake of LM into a winter scene.

This was a Cakebox Challenge called Cold! that I did but never entered as it was more of an experiment than a serious entry.

Edited March 27 by KNP

[MrWolf]

Beautifully done, but reminds me too much of what it's like outside at the moment! 

[John Besley]

9 hours ago, Mulgabill said:

As we seem to have arrived on the subject of foxes.

 

Our daughters farm has recently been inundated with foxes. They are to be seen at all

times of the day and night,  are in and out of the cattle sheds and barns, and are

not timorous in any way.

 

Of course they also pose a constant threat to the chickens, and geese, and are disruptive.

 

This situation has arrsen before, and after the event was found to be down to some "do gooders"

from one of the greater areas cities / large towns, having rounded up the "excess" population, and

transported them to the country, and freedom.

 

Trouble is they are set in their ways, and not at all fearful of "man", so don't disperse and fend

for themselves.

 

However the farming community is equally set in their ways......... and the current score is about 6-0.

 

So Kevin I advise against taking pity on any fox you stumble across, and relocating it to LM.

 

TONY

I remember seeing a herd of cows chase a fox across a field between Avonwick and Totnes once... the cows went hanging around either..

 

[MrWolf]

Cattle along with all other animals and birds are very protective of their young and a fox is a very real threat to those young. Which is why you don't actually have to train dogs to chase them.

[90rob]

2 hours ago, vulcanbomber said:

We had one as bold as brass on our patio last year, in the middle of town.

 

Not really on topic, but I must record this somewhere!  My old mother passed on a couple of weeks ago, just short of her 96th birthday. With the restrictions and all that we had a simple grave side service with just a few of the younger family members.  As the service finished, a very fit looking fox walked slowly up and sat down on the grass, not 20 feet from us. One of those moments that no one there will ever forget...!