Another daily text, kindly corrected by Butt Roidholds. Notes at the bottom.
Ao reitrar* umas ervas daninhas perto das framboeseiras, encontrei cerca de uma dúzia destes monstros aterrorizadores. São larvas de lucano** (ou “vaca loira”) portanto ainda que pareçam assustadoras tento não as transtornar. Coloco-as no solo atrás de uns troncos apodrecidos, abrigado por uma silva. Estarão felizes lá, acho.
*=I don’t know why but I’d never come across this ao+infinitive combination before. It can be used to introduce a subordinate clause like this. “Pulling out weeds in the garden, I found…” I originally wrote it as a present participle: “retirando umas ervas daninhas” but that’s less natural.
**=this one probably won’t be in most people’s vocabulary. It’s a stag beetle larva. Stag beetles are our largest insects and I love them. The alternative name, Vaca Loura, means blonde cow, which is hard to explain.
Luso 