I’m reading a fun book now called “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown in which a robot is marooned on an island. Being a robot, she doesn’t eat so Brown is saved the problem of menu planning.
On the other hand, my Carduans are alive and do eat. They need to explore their ravine and find foods they find palatable and obtainable.
Plant Menu Planning
Since the Carduans arrive in the ravine in mid February, their plant choices are very limited. Most plants are dormant until the weather warms up. The plantains, chickweed and dandelions I see in my garden are not often seen in the ravines as they are alien plants, although they emigrated here in colonial times.
As the weeks go by, the weather warms and lots of plants start to appear. The action takes place over fifteen six-day weeks, so there is a time frame.
My research covers when different plants appear, grow and bloom. Then the question is whether they are edible. Some like yellow rocket are edible, but bitter. Water cress is edible, but an acquired taste. Spicebush and redbud blooms are tasty, but hard to reach for the Carduans.
Meat Menu Planning
The Carduans are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. However, the Carduans are limited in what animals they can tackle.
People think of deer or wild turkey. These are far too big for the Carduans to tackle. Even rabbits are bigger than they are.
The most available creatures small enough for the Carduans to tackle are mice, voles, minnows and crawdads, possibly moles, chipmunks and squirrels. Since the permanent camp they establish is near what they call a river and we call a creek, minnows and crawdads are easily found. The others are harder to find.
One other source of food is one most people would avoid: insects. Many insects are edible, the right size and, during warm months, available.
Menu planning for such small characters is challenging. It forces me to think outside the box.
