Every body at our house loves cream peas

We have a mixed marriage; while I'm from the far north (Minnesota), my precious husband, Bob, is from the deep south (north Florida).  Food and cooking styles from these two regions are vastly different so over the years we have had some interesting discussions about what we are going to eat and how it will be prepared.

One southern food that no one at our house argues about(I mean, discusses) is southern field peas.  Everyone loves field peas--they are easy to grow and simple to prepare.  Our favorite variety is the cream pea. 

The humans at our house love them a little green, and simmered gently with some bacon crumbles thrown in.

Mordecai, the sulcata tortoise (look him up on Facebook--he has is own page) loves the pods, but is always looking for the pea I might have missed while shelling them.

This year, there is another body that has developed a taste for fresh cream peas.  Whenever I harvest the peas, I always find several pods that have been split neatly with every single pea devoured.   Only a bird could reach some of these pods without cutting them down or disturbing the vines in any way.  The pea patch is within sight of my kitchen window but I have been unable to observe the culprit at work.  I suspect a pair of rufous-sided towhees that took up residence in our backyard this spring.  I caught them raiding the blueberry bushes in June so I know they love berries and are undeterred by my typical bird repelling activities. 

At the end of the season, we will all stop eating the cream peas (except the birds) to allow some pods to go to seed so that next spring we can grow our favorite southern vegetable once again.