The Mange Tout Harvest and the Otomys irroratus rescue

The winter vegetables are growing nicely and it is quite strange to see winter and summer vegetables in the same garden producing vegetables for the table.

The peas are a feast. And although the snails are a problem, the plants are still looking good. It looks like a promising harvest and they will brighten up winter meals with their fat round bodies bringing a touch of sweetness to stews, soups and risottos.

I love photographing the peas with their pods, luminous in the winter sun, and patterns of leaves and tendrils suspended in the air. That reminds me. I must give the peas more supporting twine strings.

On a cold and wet Thursday, I was heading to the garden for a picking of mange touts. I was stopped in my tracks by Keith calling to me from the rosarium with, ‘You need to see this’. I asked if it cannot wait until after lunch but he responded excitedly, ‘I think you would want to see this’.

I headed to the rosarium and met Keith in the pathway with a look on his face that said, ‘you are going to be so amazed and it was I that showed it to you’. He pointed to the empty canal that was drained for winter repair-work and there on the floor of the canal floor sat a vlei rat (Otomys irroratus) looking very sorry for itself.

There he sat with his front paws together as if praying. He had found a dry spot but his tail was still resting in cold water. We could not know how long he must have been there but the fall of 1,3 meters into the canal must have been quite rough for that little body. I realised that he needed to be rescued because the canal was expected to be flowing again from lunch time and that would mean certain death.

I handed the bowl and scissors to Keith and after making sure that he knows to harvest the mange tout peas I left the task to him. I changed into shorts and stepping into the cold garden I prepared myself mentally for the cold water of the canal. The vlei rat looked at me getting into the canal with a look that said ‘What now? Have I not suffered enough to now have to run through the cold water’?

He made a half-hearted attempt to get away, but I caught him with the bucket where he sat looking at this new predicament in which he had found himself. In his mind he must have been calculating how high he would have to jump to get out of the bucket.

I took him into the veld and up the koppie opposite the house to where there was a sunny patch.  It was a sunny spot, where he could sun away the traumatic experience. As I let him out of the bucket into the warm dry grass, I expected him to stop, turn around, and give me an appreciative look and nod for my gallant efforts.   All I received was the rustling of grass as he scurried away.

The lack of a thank you did not dampen my spirits and I felt the good Karma washing over me like the warm rays of sun or maybe it was just the warm rays of sun, but it still felt good.

In the time that it took for me to rescue the vlei rat, Keith had gathered the picking of mange tout peas and I could make us a well-deserved lunch with our first pea harvest of the season. We raised a glass of wine to a successful partnership of spotter and rescuer of the vlei rat.