Work In Progress

 

It’s summer, it started today

On the left, the cherry vodka is starting to take on some colour. 

The blackcurrants are from friends in exchange for some cherries and are destined for blackcurrant jelly.

The little bottle has some vanilla pod in vodka.  I read a post on the Homesteading / Survivalism  Facebook page on making it and thought I’d give it a go.

And finally the bottle on the right is the start of walnut wine.  This is a wine, brandy and green walnut concoction which if left to mature turns out a bit like sweet sherry.

Anniversaries

Not only was yesterday my daughter’s birthday but it also marked the start of my third year here. I can’t believe how fast time can pass, two years working on the farm I can cope with but my little girl now able to apply for a driving licence; that’s just unbelievable.

Another notable event of yesterday was that I now have for the first time since I moved in reasonable telephone and Internet connection. I’ve been more or less unable to keep an Internet connection for more than 10 minutes lately and once lost it often wouldn’t let me connect again for a few hours. I was beginning to think it was the modem playing up but telephoned France telecom anyway to report that I could barely hear people on the ‘phone line due to the crackling.

Yet again they said there was a fault and that they would have an engineer out to look at the line in the next 48 hours. The deadline passed and there was no change in the line – I didn’t really expect there to be, anyone living in France will tell you the same. But then, yesterday while I was working outside I spotted a telecom van moving post, to post towards the house. As they approached I could see they were replacing the line up to my house.

Back in the mists of time during an earlier problem with the line an engineer had been sent out and he’d told me my line needed replacing but nothing was done and I let it drop as I did get a connection again. But this time they changed it – I was really surprised as there is over half a kilometre of line that is solely used for me.

All of a sudden I have a stable Internet connection and a telephone line with practically no background noise. I’m over the moon.

The Vegetable Field

I’m another step closer to getting into the healthcare system. Over the last couple of days I’ve been able to work the area of land I’m going to use this year for the vegetables.

For those who don’t know about my healthcare problem, in order to pay into the system and therefore be covered, I need 11.5 hectares of land. I have 11.33 and there is no land available close by that I could afford to purchase. The French way round this is for me to cultivate an area of land for vegetables. This area of land has a weighting of 3; so if I for instance cultivate .33 hectare, I end up with a nominal land tally of 12 hectares – 11.33 – 0.33 = 11, the 0.33 becomes 0.33 x3 = .99 – call it 1 hectare, 11 + 1 = 12, over the magic number of 11.5 and I can get health care.

Last year I attempted to cultivate an area only to see it disappear under water and become unworkable until mid year, far to late to do anything. This year I’ve taken an area of my cereal field, (last year it was already planted with wheat but this year I’m sowing sunflower in a couple of months so it was still fallow).

So this is the lower half of the area; I’m using an 8-bed rotation, potatoes, squash, root, beans, tomatoes, cabbage, everything else, and the two yellow markers nearest mark the top of bed 4. In the distance is a single marker that marks the far corner of the area, which is 60 m by 30 m, which is only .18 of a hectare but it’s about all I think I can manage and it just takes me over the magic 11.5.

The Woodland - Phase 2

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon and having just signed up again for the chasse meal – gosh the year has passed fast – I thought I had better do some work. I know way back I decided to try and take time out on Sundays but at this time of the year there is just so much to do.


I’d already sorted out the trees required for the first two rows and combined with the ploughed ground it only took a couple of hours to plant the two rows. It was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon out in the fresh air and sunshine.

While moving some of the hazel trees I noticed that along with the wonderful catkins there were also the female flowers; so tiny that you could easily miss them, it's the little red blob on the left of the stem.

Returning to the chasse dinner I've just read this version from Living the Dream, just to give another viewpoint - I love the bambi and babe idea.

Oh What A Week

Suffice to say this has been a tough week. I was very lucky in respect of the storm damage here but at the start of the week, I had another alpaca die. Totally different symptoms to the others but sadly the same outcome. I am now at my wits end trying to find out why this is happening and why my alpacas will not put on any weight.

I have been through many reasons and have been told many conflicting 'solutions'. Loosing my beautiful Theo so soon after Ashan has knocked my self confidence greatly.

Since the vets here have no idea as to what has killed them, I've arranged for an autopsy on Theo and am now awaiting the results of that. Robin at Utopian alpacas has been really helpful again; we've been through possible causes and our current thought is liver fluke, although why he should have got it when the others have been here for longer is something we haven't' a reason for. Until the results come back though it's all speculation.

Robin has also put me in touch with an alpaca breeder, Leah, who lives about an hour north of here. She has very kindly agreed to come down next week to go through things with me and see if there is something I am doing that is wrong, to look at the land and to look at the hay. Local farmers have said the hay is fine but their experience is with cattle so maybe...

Tonight though I'm suffering from backache; I've spent most of the day helping a neighbouring farmer in his orchards. He had around 900 trees blown over in the storm and the local farmers have been working on his property for the last couple of days.

Yesterday I made a couple of chewy chocolate cakes for the communal meal this lunchtime while this morning found me in the orchard with about 20 other farmers. Everything was in swing. There was a group collecting and distributing 6 ft log posts to each prostrate tree, then the next group of 3 or four would move down the rows with a bucket-less digger. The digger arm was used to press the post 3-3.5 ft into the ground and then they moved on. After them came another ground with a digger (because they are tracked they coped better on the land which is totally saturated), a strap was placed round the tree and it was hauled back to vertical and then strapped to the post.

After that the tree was heavily pruned and then came me, along with Ann and another friend, N, and our job was dragging all the branches to the middle of the track-ways so they could be bulldozed out of the way.

It was interesting again that none of the French wives worked in the orchard, their job was to prepare the mid-day lunch, it's still quite sexist here. Being single and a farmer I think I honorary male, especially after I did the tractor run to the plum drying cooperative back in the summer

Part way through the morning we had a visitation, the Conseil General - the department's general council - arrived along with their official photographer, the local mayor and photographers and reporters from 2 regional papers.

Lunch tile came and about 30 of us sat down for lunch at the village hall and in typical French fashion it was simple and yet a feast at the same time. A vegetable based soup that was delicious made by one of the men from the village as his contribution as he was unable to help in the orchard due to having his knee smashed by a kicking cow.

Then there was grated carrot and macadonie (mixed veg) served cols but mixed with vinaigrette, surrounded by quartered hard boiled eggs. It was a feast for the eyes as well as the body, oh and there was home-made mayonnaise too.

After that the main course was roast pork and creamed potatoes. I dread to think what the calorific value of the potatoes might have been, I know that they contained butter, milk and creme fraiche. Delicious.

Then came the lettuce with an enormous platter of cheeses and after that the dessert accompanied the coffee.

After that it was back to the orchard for another hour or so before I had to leave to do my chores here. I have to say there is something really heart-warming seeing how so many people here are turning out to help their neighbours. There is still community spirit, one of the reasons I wanted to move here.

Looking at the amount of work that is building up here, I think I'm only going to be blogging once a week, partly because a lot of the work is going to be very repetitive and partly because I think I'm going to be rather tired by the end of the day and I need to use what time I have for research.

As I'm probably not going to be blogging tomorrow, Happy Imbolic to those who celebrate it.

And The Wind Did Blow

And blow, and blow, plus another 20.5 mm of rain to add to the 39 from yesterday. Added to which the power went out at around 8 am but was back on at 2 pm – I was battening down for the day without electricity as the winds haven’t let up so there must be some pretty tired people out there battling away to restore the power.

Link to BBC report here.

Last night we were just on orange alert but it’s been upgraded to red alert this morning – now I’ve got onto the computer. Apart from the wind coming in off a depression in the Atlantic, there is another depression coming down from the north and that is bringing much colder weather so possible snow flurries and ice.

The farm has taken some damage; on the windward side roof tiles have been lifted so rain is pouring into the rear storage area. I’m hoping that it won’t get much worse or it might start to affect the lived in part of the building. It’s far too windy to risk going up to try and fix the roof.


Down by the pond I have 3 young poplars that I thought would be fine. Wrong; when I looked out this morning, one of them had snapped and by lunchtime a second had also snapped and looks like it’s fallen onto my tedder, which is stored down there. I’m really glad I wasn’t tempted to go and look at the damage after the first tree came down and yet again I’m so glad that the 3 over large and rotten poplars round the house are down.


Elsewhere, the large plastic patio table has had the centre section broken – I tried removing the parasol but the base has swollen into the holder and everything was just too heavy for me to do anything about. I do now realise why wooden furniture is so popular here.


One of my wild cherry trees has also taken a battering; it’s not that tall so I was a bit surprised to see it leaning but the ground is so waterlogged, I guess it just couldn’t hold on well enough.


The chickens stayed in when I opened up this morning but when I went to give them their grain at lunchtime some of them decided to venture out – or rather ran past me. So I hope they are feeling strong or goodness knows where they will end up. The roof of their hut is also taking a battering and I’ve had to weight it down with more bricks. So still here at the moment and waiting to see what the rest of the day brings.

Morning Has Broken

The sunrise this morning was truly wonderful and despite the rhyme there was no rain, although we might get some overnight.

Looking to the west where the moon was setting there was a lovely pink glow on the house on the hill. Unfortunately I only realise when I downloaded the photographs this evening that it’s not possible to make out in the photograph the work I did yesterday. It seemed light enough to the naked eye but the camera thought differently and if I try changing the lightness in the photograph, the colour balance goes so I’ll photograph it again tomorrow in daylight.


Today was taken up by bill paying, ordering the next 166 trees ready for planting and buying this.


I spoke to my neighbour last week who has a mini digger and once he’s finished pruning his plum trees he’s going to come over and dig a couple of drainage ditches for me that will hopefully protect the pump house from the run-off of any deluges. This pipe is to go in where the bridge into the alpaca fields is to go. Mind you I’m reeling a bit at the price, 147€ for 6m by 30 cm. Still it’s less than the vet’s bill I paid and a lot less than the cost of the trees. I keep telling myself that these one-off spends will diminish but I’m beginning to think I’m kidding myself. There will always be something else, that’s the nature of life, isn’t it.

Gleaning

What a difference a day makes. From yesterdays sun and warmth to today’s gloom and cold and the temperature hovering around 1 or 2 °C. The plan had been to continue with the trees but yesterday evening I got a telephone call from Regis saying that if I wanted to go and collect some maize (corn), then today was the day.

So 10 am saw me outside Regis’s along with harvest baskets and my trailer and Regis piloted me to his friend’s field. The combine had left a single row of plants standing along one edge of the field plus it quite often pushes the plant down rather than cutting it and harvesting the cob.

Two hours later, I’m cold but I’d got about halfway down the field and had a really good haul of cobs, the bag is about a metre square and the cobs are about 4 or 5 deep I think.

Had it not been so cold I think my back would have lasted longer and I might have picked a few more but I’m really happy with what I’ve got. Tomorrow (probably), I’ll extract the cob-stripping machine that’s at the back of the barn and see if it works. The mechanical parts probably will but the wooden seat has a high chance of being totally rotten.

The actual picking of the cobs was quite easy once I got into the swing of it but it was the half stoop that strained my back. It has made me realise though that I could grow a small area of maize and be able to harvest it by hand. I’m not going to grow maize commercially as it requires irrigation and I don’t have either the water supply or the irrigation equipment but a small area left to it’s own devices is I think practical especially if I plant it at the bottom of one of the slopes to where water drains.

Continuing in the gleaning vein, Regis also gave me some empty egg boxes as the chickens are beginning to lay again plus all the oyster shells from over the holiday period - oysters are a tradition dish for Christmas and New Year here. I'm going to soak the oyster shells in a few changes of water to leach out the salt and then I'll smash them up for the chickens too - I'm nearly out of the commercially prepared oyster grit I'd bought so this is rather good timing.

France Is So Different To the UK Sometimes!

This has been really brought home to me today. Over the last couple of days I’ve been reading about the dioxin contamination in Irish pork at the moment, due to contaminated feed. It’s been the main story in the newspapers, the TV and the on-line news. I would think that unless you lived the life of a hermit it would be impossible to live in the UK and not know about it.

Today I went to spend my ‘loyalty’ money at the other supermarket I frequent and was in a lovely relaxed mood as I wandered through the arcade. So laid back that I actually stopped to read the notices that were pinned on one side of a board at the entrance to the supermarket; the other side was advertising a spectacular that you could book through the supermarket.

I’m glad I did and what I read, and it was only in normal size print (10 or 12 point) on an A4 sheet, stopped me in my tracks. It was a notice advising people that a product, strong chorizo, that they sold could possibly harbour listeria.

Now as you probably realise it wasn’t just that a product could contain listeria that stopped me in my tracks but that the product had been on sale in August and was a product I was pretty sure I’d purchased and my son G had eaten, (rather a lot in one go too). He had also been rather violently ill afterwards and we’d put it down to it being too much spicy stuff.

I still had the remains of the packet in the refrigerator so I took down the details and hurried back to check. It was basically the same product but a different batch number. That would normally have reassured me but I had a small amount of it a little while back and I too have been feeling ill for a while. I’d put my stomach upset down to the cough medicine I was taking but despite not taking the medicine for a week I’ve still not recovered from the stomach upset.

A bit too much of a coincidence I think but the difference in reporting a possible health risk couldn’t be more marked; full scale coverage so no-one can miss it or an insignificant piece of paper that was pined above my head height, (OK I am a bit vertically challenged) and I just happened to spot as I had time and walked past the relevant side of the notice board.

A Free Meal?

I know I could be accused of being cynical but I fully believe there is no such thing as a ‘free meal’. This is doubly so when venturing to the supermarket. I have loyalty cards for each of the supermarkets I use as they all offer money back. This money is of course not due to the supermarkets generosity; I pay for it with every purchase I make. So if I don’t collect and use this money I am just adding to the supermarket’s profits, and Tesco alone made £2.5 (4.9$) billion profit in 2007 all from it’s producers and customers.

Here in France the money you accumulate over the year is wiped out at the end of the year so now is the time to use it up. So when the supermarket had an offer of grain-fed, free-range, non growth hormone pork I cashed in my total. Well for Leclerc Villeneuve at least. The credits you accrue are shop specific so I will go to Leclerc Bergerac over the next month and us up my monies from there.

It turned out that I had 58.96€ to use at Villeneuve and I bought 2 entire bellies at 17.44€ and 11.52€, and a leg of ham for 22.61€, making a total of 51.57€ so I even had a little left to use against the rest of my shop.

I try not to go to the supermarket too often as I always spend far more than I expect to but when I do go it’s because I’ve gone through the publicity material we get each week listing the various offers. Sometimes the offer is just a straight forward reduced price item they don’t usually sell but other times it is a cash-back offer onto your card so I stock up on items when they are on offer. Of course it only makes sense if you would buy the item anyway but even little amounts add up over the year and I’m sorry but I really don’t see why the supermarkets should get even more from me than they already do.

Anyway, enough waffle I have pork to deal with and more posts to follow showing what I’m doing with the meat.

PS Thanks to everyone’s kind thoughts on Snowy; I just want to get her back and cuddle her – only another 4 hours to wait!

Vaccinations and Operation

Today, apart from being a dry and sunny day was also vet day. I’d left the cat food low last night so all the cats were hanging round me this morning. The cat-flap was then locked and the cats loaded into the baskets. Cid and Hazel are playmates so they are put together in the double basket while Patches and Snowy are in individual baskets. For various reasons; those two would be very upset to have to share a basket with any of the others. Patches because she’s attacked all the others due to her nerviness so they all attack her now and Snowy because she is top cat and doesn’t see why she should have to share with anyone else.

Today’s trip was for their rabies vaccination. It’s not that we are travelling anywhere but there have been a couple of cases of rabies both north and south of here where people have illegally brought animals into the country that have then turned out to have rabies, plus while there might not be many foxes about they too are carriers here.

While none of the cats were that happy about being bundled into the baskets they didn’t complain much so it was a very trouble free trip and Cid, Hazel and Patches all got a clean bill of health.

So what about Snowy; well I’d been watching a lump on her ear and as I feared it is a cancerous growth. She’s 12 years old and a white cat that loves the sun. I’ve tried sun block on her ears but she hates it. She puts up with it for about a week then she disappears in the mornings and only returns home in the evening. I could put, and sometimes do put, the block on in the early morning but by the time the sun is hot, I know it will be well past effective.

She’s going back to the vet’s on Friday to have the growth cut out so she will lose about half her ear. The growth is unlikely to grow much over the winter but would start to grow again when the sun is back but I though that if I get it done straight away then the scar tissue has the winter to heal. Apart from that she has a clean bill of health too which I’m really happy about.

The Wheel Turns

One lovely thing about working outside is that you get to see nature happening around you. Back at the beginning of March I was lucky enough to see the storks migrating northward and it triggered the feeling of spring arriving. Today as the sun began to set I heard that call again. For the first time I have seen them on their way back south.


There was a group of 30 or so that flew overhead, their calls can be heard before you see them. I had to run to the house to get the binoculars as they fly so fast and pass overhead in a few seconds. A little while later I spotted another small group on the horizon. Having been out all day I knew that these were the first groups. Finally just as the sun had set and the light was fading fast I heard more and turned to see an arc of a couple of hundred birds passing overhead. It’s amazing to watch the continual movement in the group as it appears every so often, possibly every 15 – 20 birds, the one at the back pulls out and moves to the front of each little group, taking over the head position. I know it’s done to allow each bird to rest in slipstream of the others but watching how effortlessly they do it is a marvel.


As I watched them disappear into the distance I wondered if I’ll see more tomorrow or if they will fly over during the night but it also occurred to me that I felt the end of the season happening; the end of summer and in some ways the end of the year. It also dawned on me that in the pagan or Celtic calendar this is the end of the year, Samhain, the New Year occurs on the 31st of October.

Winter Preparations

The tractor still isn’t back so I decided to make a start on some of the outdoor preparations for winter. First up was cutting back the mulberry trees. Last year I made the mistake of leaving it too late and there was a sharp frost. All the leaves dropped in one go and the rain and frost of the following couple of days turned them into a ghastly slime that coated the grass. I really didn’t want to have to deal with that again this year so out came the long handled loppers and the pruning saw and I set to work.

The trees have done what they were planted for all summer; they provided shade for the car and the washing line. Now that summer is over, the car doesn’t need the shade and the washing needs to be able to see the sun to have any chance of the washing drying. After a few hours of pruning (it always takes much longer than I think it will), voila –

One reason for the slowness today was the heat. It may be autumn, heading for winter and the overnight temperature may have been 5°C but by the afternoon the temperature in the shade was 25°C and in the sun it peaked at 44°C. Working outside requires two sets of work clothes, a winter type set for the mornings and a summer type set for the afternoons. Tomorrow however we’re forecast rain and a drop in temperature despite the lovely red sunset out there tonight.

Once I’d finished the trees and then dealt with the alpacas I turned my attention to the wooden garden furniture. A had very kindly painted it with a special hard wood oil when he was here back at the beginning of summer, looking at it after a summer in the dappled sunlight it hadn’t fared any better than the doors C and M painted with linseed oil for me and they spend a large part of the summer in direct sunlight. The special hard wood oil cost around 18€ for a litre, my linseed mix works out at about 2€30 a litre so guess what I will be using from now on.

The home-made oil is a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine (as a carrier). The book I got the recipe from states that for soft woods use 75% oil, 25% turps and for hard wood use a 50:50 mixture. Half the time I’ve no idea what sort of wood I’m treating so I make up a general mixture of two thirds linseed oil and one third turps and use it for everything. By the time the sun started to go down I managed to do the upper surface of the table and three of the five chairs.

The other two chairs will get done as and when and I will also be treating all the wooden handles of my gardening implements.

Two Steps Forward, One And Three Quarters Back

I should expect it since nothing ever seems to be straightforward. I’ve been ploughing, then ploughing and then ploughing some more. G and I managed to get about a third to half the field done before he left and I’ve been trying to get the remainder done. The field is about 5.5 hectares and is outlined in the picture below. My tractor is the tiny dot at the top of the field indicated by the arrow and probably not visible unless you enlarge the picture.


The reason my tractor is there while I am somewhere else is simple. There I am in my own little world, trundling up and down the field when I allow myself the little thought that I am nearly finished. That was the big mistake I made. Never expect to finish anything easily. I glanced up to see how close to the end of the field I was and noticed that the radiator was boiling even though the temperature gauge wasn’t in the red.

A few choice words went through my head sort of on the lines of ‘bother’ as it was late and I wouldn’t have time to get to the shops for suitable coolant and it would be dark before the tractor would be cool enough to open the radiator cap.

This morning I looked into the radiator and it was empty so having bought the recommended stuff I refilled it. So far so good, no fluid gushing out so I set off back down the field. Having got everything warm and pressurised by the time I got to the end I could see the coolant dripping out the bottom of the radiator. A trip to the repairman was in order but having got there I found out that he’s away today so poor old MF is now abandoned at the back of the house awaiting repair.

I’m beginning to think that the field will never be finished.

My Winnings

Back in the mists of time I mentioned that I won a prize on the raffle at a trip to Eymet for the wine and oyster fair there. Here are my winnings: -


Boy am I looking forward to these.

Preparing For Winter

Although the weather is still pleasant with day temperatures in the mis 20’s there is a general feeling of summer being over. The leaves are falling at an increasing rate and the morning dew is taking longer and longer to dissipate.

Having been spurred on my Sue’s efforts in the pottager, I’ve also been tidying up the rest of the farm. Basically if it can be mowed it is being mown. The new alpaca fields have been topped of all their sow thistles, the wheat field has been mown ready to finish ploughing it and today I mowed the garden extension, the field where the wood is and the hay field.

The hay field is being done for two reasons; firstly the hay cut left the grass very uneven and a lot of coarse grass was growing and secondly because about a third of the field was being taken over by blackberries as I mentioned back in August.
I’ve cut back most of them in the hay field and reclaimed a 4 by 50 metre strip. Over winter I’ll remove and burn what I can of them but I can now see where by boundary is and my neighbours field begins.

Tomorrow I’m getting another delivery of plum wood from Ann and Regis so the afternoon will be spent cutting and stacking that but in the morning I hope to cut the weeds back in the pump field and will have another go at ploughing that if time permits after I’ve finished the wheat field.

Another Day, Another Fête

We had a day off last week and managed to fit 3 engagements into one day. In the morning G, M and I went to Eymet, renown for being the most ‘English’ town in France, or so the local TV station says every time England plays France at anything. They were holding an oyster and wine festival. Sadly there were no Arcachon oysters as their sales had been halted due to an infection scare but there were some from northern France. There were also many local wine growers eager to promote their bottles too.

We started off at the tourist information booth that was selling glasses for wine tasting and I also bought some raffle tickets. We then did a tour of the town square to examine all the stalls. There were stalls selling all sorts of seafood (as in the picture above), stalls with moules/frites and stalls with wine. Once we’d decided at which stall we’d purchase our moules the only problem was to get a seat. Whole tables were being reserved by the gathering groups of French who were far better prepared than we were. They turned up with the covertures, aperitifs, coffee and picnic boxes crammed full of salad and other delights to accompany the oysters or mussels.

We eventually settled ourselves on the end of a table near the corner of the square where we could people watch and then set off in relays to purchase lunch while leaving at least one person to guard our places. Having really little idea of which wines to try our decided plan was to get three different rosés and have a joint tasting. Wine, mussels and frites and a plate of oysters were soon purchased and very quickly consumed with much enjoyment.

From there we travelled to Monflanquin where the medieval fair that progresses through the bastide villages in the area was currently installed. The atmosphere in the encampments is always fun and the visiting children and sometimes adults, join in, arriving in their own costumes to be entertained by the re-enactors. One of the highlights of the Monflanquin stage was a display of raptors and along with a wonderful eagle our hearts were taken by this eagle owl.

We didn’t stay too long there as I started to feel decidedly unwell. This was not a good sign as at Christmas I had been very ill after eating oysters. Yes, I was decidedly unwell again which was strange as I’d quite happily wolfed my way through a box of two dozen oysters soon after I’d arrived in France. Having thought about it I’ve finally concluded it is the salt levels of the oysters that I can no longer tolerate. The ones I’d had when I’d first arrived I’d kept in cold water in the house as at that time I didn’t have a refrigerator. The two lots that had made me ill were both fresh and au naturel. So I think I’d better give oysters a miss when I out from now on.

Thankfully the illness was short lived for that evening we were off to the local salle de fete for a village meal.

My village/commune although very small, around 200 inhabitants, is twinned with two other places in France that share the same name. one of the twinned towns was visiting our village for a four day visit and the paella meal was part of the celebrations – a bit more of this in the next post.

As is almost statutory at these village meals there was far more food than anyone, even G, could eat and of course because this is the prune (plum) growing area of France it was washed down with the plum eau de vie. We did well and managed a few mouthfuls each of the fire water and then decided that we’d bring it home to drink the rest later. I only had to drive about half a mile but that stuff is potent.

The wonderful day was given and even better feeling the following day when I received a telephone call from Eymet tourist office. One of my raffle tickets had been drawn and I am to receive a basket of preserves from one of the town shops, exactly what I won’t know until I finally get it but I am thoroughly looking forward to that.

Fireworks and Edith Piaf

Yesterday was Bastille Day, France’s National day. We treated ourselves to a day of doing nothing but relaxing. In the evening we set off for Villeneuve as we’d been told there was a free firework display.

We got to Villeneuve for about 8.15 pm and headed for the river where the display was happening. Thankfully we’d heeded the instruction to go early and found a place to park relatively easily. The town centre was heaving with people, roads had been closed, café seating spilt out onto the pavements and roads and live music was on offer at many of the cafes.

Not knowing where to go, we wended our way over the river to where the boats moor and struck lucky. We were on the other side from the entertainment – a band that played well-known middle of the road 70’s and 80’s pop music for the two hours that we were there. Although we’d come totally unprepared we managed to find some firewood logs to sit on right next to the place serving hot dogs, frites and drinks. Next year I now know to take a picnic and chairs, as did many of the people round us.

The sun finally set and the swallows darting up and down the river gave way to bats swooping and diving above our heads for the midges. We must have smelt wonderful to anyone standing near us having all covered ourselves in the various anti-mosquito sprays and lotions we had. It worked though as no one was bitten The band sang their encore at around 10.15 and we all waited in anticipation.

One rocket took to the sky, then nothing for a while, and then it was followed by a second one. Again a pause, we wondered what was meant to happen and then the music started and the bridge to our left erupted in fountains of fireworks. The musical accompaniment was Edith Piaf, which I loved, and the firework display was breathtaking. We watched, entranced, to a display of about an hour, the colours exploding over us, and the explosions echoing off the buildings that line the riverbank.

Then it was over; the explosions gave way to applause and then the murmur of hundreds of people wending their way back to the narrow steps leading up from the riverbank. It had been a delightful evening, one to be thoroughly recommended to anyone in France on Bastille night.

Rain Graph

I was beginning to wonder if I was really getting into farmer mode and complaining about the weather but it really has rained a lot over the last two months compared to last year. I only started collecting data half way through March last year so only have the last two months where I can compare the rainfall and here it is – a bit out of focus but I couldn’t cut and paste the chart from Excel:

In figures April last year was 41.50 mm but 120.50 this year and May was 102.50 last year and 160.50 this year. The folklore here is that you get bad summers when there are 13 moons in the year. There were 13 last year and 13 this year; I’ve no idea about next year but I do hope it’s 12. It’s the first of June today and even as I write this I can hear the thunder in the distance and now the heavens have just opened and it's tipping down.

Today has been taken up with helping Ann at her Vide Grenier (Empty Attic, or car boot) at her place to raise funds for her work with stray cats. Despite the weather forecast of showers this morning and thunderstorms this afternoon, the rain that greeted us at 7 am, cleared by 8 and it remained dry all day.

Of course a few items tempted me, there were a couple of cotton sheets that if good, will be wonderful if it ever gets really hot this summer. If they are not good they will make wonderful cleaning cloths that should keep me supplied for years to come and a couple of books. There was a copy of the first Cranks cookbook with their wonderful carrot cake and there was (I guess from the typeface) a 1940/1950’s copy of Pride and Prejudice. I’ve seen the film but never read it. So I spent a lovely afternoon chatting and reading the book. I also bought this:-

It’s a foot warmer; there is a little metal basket inside to put coals or ashes in and wooden bars on the top so you don’t burn your feet on the metal casing, just what I will need when winter comes round again.

I’m off for another duck dinner tonight along with Ann, Regis and some of the others who helped so an update on the strawberry jam will have to wait a bit longer.

Creeping Forwards

When I got back from Agen yesterday there was a message on the answer phone, the kitchen store had telephoned to say my stuff was there. They didn’t specify which stuff and I’ve learnt from past experiences not to get too excited. I was right to be laid back; it was the replacement leg for the unit that had arrived and not the missing unit. On the positive side though, the order for the missing unit was there in the book; if it has paperwork attached it will be done - just don’t ask when!

Still the trip into Villeneuve wasn’t a total waste, I found some more sandals, having worn out my last pair as if I’m not in my safety shoes (which are nearly worn out too) I’m in my walking sandals, and I filled the car with diesel – ouch. Long gone are the days when it cost fewer Euros than litres. On the national news the other day they were showing people who were filling up every day so it ‘only cost them a few euros’. I think they are only kidding themselves, I’d rather fill up and get the shock of how much it costs to encourage me to cut out unnecessary journeys than spend the money in dribs and drabs trying to convince myself that it’s not an expensive luxury.

Back at the farm I put in the last half row of potatoes and continued with a bit more ground preparation while it tried to drizzle. We’ve not had the thunderstorms and hail we were promised for today so that was good. I also started seeding the area in the grass I mutilated yesterday. I can only say started as the seed I had has only covered about a third of it so I will be getting some more when I’m next out.

Apart from that not much else got done, as I’ve been really tired. I’ve had a problem with one of my teeth and made an appointment with the dentist but there is a three-week wait. So I’ve survived the last week and a half on paracetamol but I think it’s leaving me rather out of it so I’m going to have to cut it right down and live with a bit of discomfort.

When I turned round from the computer this evening to see if it was dark enough that the chickens would have gone to bed I noticed the unusual lighting outside, it was a sort of yellow pink light. This picture gives a reasonable idea of what outside looked like – out of focus again because I can’t hold a camera steady to save my life.

I then tried to take a shot of the sunset its self. Well they say the camera never lies but it does really depend on the camera setting.

This first one is taken with the special sunset setting

It would have been quite a sunset if that was really what was there, I think I would be waiting for the end of the world to happen if I saw a sky like that!

In actuality it was closer to this, taken on the auto setting although there was a little bit more red in the sky but nothing like the earlier shot