Macro Monday again, folks, and here I am with yet another incomprehensible easy puzzle for you!

This time it’s something that lives in my kitchen, and is hardly ever taken out of it. Certainly not everyone has these things, but we have several and they get used quite regularly. Personally, I can’t remember how I managed without them!

They’re usually made of metal, though I have seen them in other materials, and I should tell you that though there’s a warm cast in this picture, the metal here is actually silver in colour. Does that help?

These are quite specialised, I suppose … however, most people do have one or two which do the same job, even if they are a different size or a different shape. And perhaps other people’s will do it in a slightly different way. Quicker, slower, more, or less thoroughly …

Anyway, if you don’t have one yourself, I imagine you’ll have seen them in use, or perhaps on sale somewhere, because they’re not that unusual.

I checked this one with OH, who usually takes a look once I’ve posted and says things like ‘Well, that’s just cruel!’. This time he knew the answer right away, so a good number of you will probably guess this one correctly. I hope so!

If you need it, there’s a second picture here.

As usual, check in tomorrow for the solution, which I will add at the bottom of this post in the form of a picture link, with further explanations in the comments below.

Thanks for playing!

OK – here we are on Tuesday evening, and the answer is here! I’m very happy to see that so many of you guessed this one right! Babs was the first, and was absolutely spot on, guessing not only the item, but the number of them too! Well done, Babs – and well done the rest of you, too!

First (non-existent) prize for most amusing comment goes to Teresa, I think, for ‘a device to electrocute people’. She knows perfectly well I don’t have one of those, so I’m assuming this is just wishful thinking. JD and Granny Grimble also made me laugh, so they take second and third on that one – thanks, ladies!

Come back again next week and see what I have for you. It’s all ready and waiting …

Snails. Love ‘em, or hate ‘em?

I do both, actually, which is really odd since my attitude towards slugs leans heavily towards the ‘hate’ end of the spectrum. It’s not their fault. They just make me shudder with revulsion, whereas snails are kind of cute. And slugs are just homeless snails … .

So, anyway. There I was, doing a little weeding in my tubs and patio pots, when I spied a big Helix aspersa, or common garden snail. Now, whether or not you think these things are cute, they are serious garden pests if you want to keep hostas and other ‘snail salad’ plants. Or even if you just want to avoid treading on them in the dark, because, personally, I hate the sudden crunch that tells you that you’ve just killed or injured a small and slimy life-form – how about you?

Taking all this into consideration, my usual response to finding snails in my pots or hanging around my hostas is to give them a quick flying lesson. That is to say, since I won’t kill them, I relocate them in a rapid, albeit lazy, fashion to the field next door which is usually full of some type of grass or other (um, wheat). It’s a nice soft landing and while I know they’ll just crawl back to the tasty side of the hedge, it gives us both something to do. I feel as if I’m protecting my plants, and the snails? OH reckons they’re all queueing up for the free trip and inviting their friends along.

So when I saw the snail in my planter, I picked him up gently by his little house. He didn’t come willingly, but when at last I had him in my hand, this is what I saw.

You know what those are, don’t you? You know what that snail had been doing in my tub? The blob of earth sticking to him is a clue. The wretched thing was digging straight down into my compost and laying eggs! Bloody cheek!! What am I, a nursery for baby gastropods now? Is this the equivalent of having to sign your kids up to the really good schools as soon as you know you’re pregnant?

Did that snail say ‘I’m just going out for a moment, dear. We really need to sign the snailets up for those flying lessons before it’s too late. Got to keep up with the Helix pomatias, y’know!’

I’m afraid the eggs did not go flying with their parent. I considered them too young. They went swimming instead, where my fish were glad to help to prevent them sinking to the bottom by giving them a free ride.

And I can too call that snail a ‘he’. They are hermaphrodites, you know.

In case you don’t remember, I’m using the theme ‘shops’ for Round 7 of ABC Wednesday, but this week, I’m afraid it’s interpreted just a little loosely.  I’m going to tell you about what I did at the weekend, which was to take Sid to a Meet & Greet at a shopping centre – but hey!  At least there’s a Cotton Traders in the picture, as well as an adoptable greyhound* wearing his ‘I need a home’ coat!

Now, dogs aren’t actually allowed in the Springfields centre itself, but the Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust were granted permission to set up their table just outside the gates, which was very convenient because it was between the car parks and the shops!  Everybody had to come past us, unless they’d arrived by the water taxi which conveys customers from the town out to this particular shopping centre along the River Welland and the Coronation Channel.

And guess what we found when we arrived?  The cutest little greyhound PUPPIES!

And look!  They let me have one to cuddle for a while.  Luckily, there was a chair, because even though little Grace was only fifteen weeks old, she was still quite heavy.  I was glad enough to put her down in the end, sweet as she was, because those puppies are constantly in motion, climbing all over the place and chewing everything!

Sid, of course, took everything in his stride.  Puppies?  No problem.  He shared his cushion quite companionably with Grace’s sister Lucie.

Last time Sid and I did a Meet & Greet at Springfields, it was for a different greyhound adoption group, Kama’s Cave.  We had the same spot, just outside the gates.

And the same chairs!  Lots of children came to see the dogs that day.

Of course, they were different dogs.  Two of them were white and black, which is a colour combination that many people refer to as ‘Cow Dog’.   Here are two pretty Cow Dogs curled up with an equally pretty fawn on the comfy cushions.

And I’m happy to report that a good many coins were collected in the coffers on both days to care for our canine friends!

* This greyhound is the lovely Dibble, who is dog of the month on the Lincolnshire Greyhound Trust home page.

I’m going back to the original style of Macro Monday puzzles this week, with this one. And look! It’s a really easy one.

I think.

Probably easy, anyway.

Well. It might be. See what you think.

This is a very common object, and I would think most people will either have one (or many) themselves, or will have seen plenty, even if they haven’t looked properly at them. We have several, in different rooms, all doing the same thing in slightly different ways.

This one is actually a rather specialised one, but the basic form is the same so if you are familiar with these things, you’ll take that in your stride, no problems. The size of those sold for domestic use doesn’t vary too much, either.

I suppose you wouldn’t normally see one lying around like this, but this one (though it isn’t visible in the photo) is broken.

So, as usual, take your best shot in the comments, and I’ll be back tomorrow evening (UK time) with the answer, which will be added to the bottom of this post in the form of a picture link.

Oh dear. I got it wrong again, didn’t I?  I made it too difficult. I’ll have to remember to try next week’s picture out on a few guinea pigs to see if it’s actually solvable!

Anyway, we do actually have a clear winner here!  Very well done indeed to Granny Grimble who guessed correctly! And well done all the rest of you for doing your best with this one.

The next nearest guesses were from Baino and Gattina who both mentioned the actual item, but in a very dismissive way as if it couldn’t possibly BE that!

Go here to find the solution, and don’t kick yourselves too hard. I should have included a little bit more of it in the picture to give you a sporting chance. In case you’re still not sure exactly what it is, I’ll add details in the comments.

I must try to do better next week!