ABC Wednesday - Quadruped

Quadruped, a four footed animal, usually a mammal, yup these two fit that bill. I think they are giving me the evil eye after disturbing their afternoon nap, but who could resist taking a picture of this pair and the pink Hello Kitty wellingtons. Somebody loves cats in this house.

They look more likely to eat an owl than marry one but they may like the meal the owl and the pussy cat had, for they "dined on mince and slices of quince/which they ate with a runcible spoon" which leads to

 Quince on a Rainy Day

the flowering quince which has been prolific this year and is just going past its peak. Who could not love a bush which is winter hardy, disease resistant, flowers early and thrives in any type of soil.  It may be a thorny tangle for the rest of the year but then it produces fruit which are almost as pretty as the flowers.  An other name for quince is a queene-apple.  It is a fruit that has fallen out of favour but in 17th Century English Cookery books there were more recipes for quince than for any other orchard fruit.  Things like Quidini of Quinces or the tranluscent paste jelly quiddany.  For more historic recipes from a food enthusiast see Historic Food.
But back to our quadrupeds

newly born lambs, not yet licked clean, an older one looking on quizzically at these new arrivals in the Eskdale valley.

But you cannot have sheep without cows, not in Cumbria which has mostly mixed farms, so here is one doing what they do best quietly munching away at the grass.

But sometimes grass does get quite boring, or so these Bagot goats appear to think, but what they found so tasty in the woodpile is a bit of a quandary.

For more words beginning with the letter Q visit the other participants of the the ABC Wednesday meme