Maxwell is technically a dormant sourdough starter because he lives in the cold, without the opportunity to ferment and bubble away. Every Wednesday he gets sprung from the fridge and hangs out on the counter for a few hours after he gets his weekly feeding.
When Maxwell is removed from the fridge and the top is prised off the large plastic container where he hangs out, he looks like something out of Creature From The Swamp. It truly is not a pleasant sight, eliciting a "ewwww" from L. as he passed by tonight. The whole surface of the sourdough starter is covered with a half inch depth of viscous beige liquid that looks as though Maxwell needs the ministrations of a venereologist urgently.
This all gets mixed into the wallpaper looking glop below and Maxwell ends up as illustrated above. Half gets discarded or used as a bread starter and, he gets fed a delectable diet of flour and lukewarm water. After a couple of hours in warmer clime, the remaining Maxwell gets perkier and bubblier at which point he goes back in the fridge for another week or until I want to make bread.
Life is hard.