After spending last Sunday morning vacuuming up webs and dead spiders we decided to blow the actual cobwebs away by going on a walk with the dog. It wasn't long before our foraging obsession kicked in and we were filling every pocket we had with the goodies we encountered. The result was fairly impressive, if a little random!
The berries are sloes which have been washed and put in the freezer before being made into Sloe Gin, the sweetcorn was enjoyed for dinner and the golf ball is for my Dad. As for the conkers, I've heard from several sources that they are good at repelling spiders (and read several more that there is no scientific proof for this). After my morning of cleaning I was keen to attempt a 'prevention is better than cure' approach and I was willing to try anything.
What I hadn't heard previously is that you are supposed to drill a hole in the conkers. I suppose this helps release something odorous to spiders - or not, depending on who you believe. Although S had offered to drill the holes, the conkers were still quite soft, so I decided it couldn't be too difficult to poke a hole in each one. I cast around the kitchen looking for something suitable but nervous that a slip of a conker could result in the hole being drilled in my hand.
In the end I remembered the little devices we have for holding and eating sweetcorn. These have two extremely sharp prongs, making them just perfect as I felt that the twin prong would also make it less likely to slip and cause collateral damage.
In no time at all I had pierced all the conkers with perfect little twin holes, making them look a bit like buttons and - in my opinion - quite charming.
Now I just have to spread them around the house and see if they have any effect. Apparently, Great Auntie Jean used to swear by them so who am I to argue?
