Rural Life

Day 21 of Deconfinement Diary - crafty bantam

Another quick one today as not very much has happened, however...

I've mentioned before that we have a freeloader in the garden - Bridie the Bantam.  She is very pretty and very small and we really don't know where she came from, but she has decided to stay, just not in the chicken run.  She idolises Dummer the huge Light Sussex, and runs away from the rest.  She can be very noisy, particularly when she wants food or water.  But she doesn't believe in sharing.

I posted her broody moment when she found a high shelf and spent the best part of 2 weeks trying to hatch infertile eggs - she gave up after she had thrown most of them on the floor when trying to get down to ground level for food or back onto the shelf for brooding on her eggs.

She knows that we know about the shelf so she stopped using it.  She may also have had a little break from laying.  But after a while nature says she would start again, so where are the eggs this time?  Last night as I was putting the big chickens back into their run after their daily vandalism/slug and snail eating foray, I spotted the new stash point - carefully (or not so carefully) hidden in the shade of an artichoke plant.

She may stop using that nest, as this afternoon I nicked the whole stash to make banana bread.  But honestly, we feed her, so she should feed us occasionally!

 

Day 20 of Deconfinement Diary - just Saturday stuff

So as not to worry people if I don't post anything, here is a short update.

The market was heaving this morning and given that at 10:30am it was also already rather hot, I decided not to join the huge queue for the fruit and vegetable stand (we have access to quite a lot of stuff anyway), but did get fresh tuna and half a shoulder of lamb (yum - can't wait).

The afternoon was mostly devoted to mowing and watering - but we did avoid these beauties.  There have not been as many bee orchids this year as last year, but this example was particularly fine.

And now I am off to cook said fresh tuna, so I wish you all a good evening!

 

Day 19 of Deconfinement Diary - looking up

After her appalling behaviour yesterday morning with the catnip, Nibbles decided to entertain us at aperitif hour, showing us a very convoluted route onto the outdoor table.  She then struck various poses, including her favourite knowing stare.

She also showed us her trump impersonation as she looked in totally the wrong direction when the chickens started to do something really loud and silly by the raspberry canes.

As I escorted her through the front door later in the evening, I thought the swallows/martins were awfully loud and close.  I looked up just as one swooped towards the house and disappeared in the shadows.  We used to get swifts in the eaves, but Poirot ate all the offspring when they got to interesting size (just ready to fledge and leave the nest), and then when the façade was repointed, their nesting site was blocked up.  There is a possible gap for the swallows/martins, but if they go through it, Zola at least will find the nest very quickly, so I hoped it wasn't where I thought.

Now apologies for the grainy quality of the image, but a bit of zooming with the camera focus on the phone and I found where they were.  I don't think this is tenable, so I can't see us having little swallows/martins fledging this year, in fact I expect to find eggs on the steps to the cellar pretty soon, but while they are there it is lovely to see them.

Having braved the excitements of Leclerc at Chinon on Wednesday, it was my turn to need a supermarket shop today, and our Super U really doesn't fail to disappoint.  You would think we were at the start of lockdown, there were so many gaps in the aisles - none of the cream that Poirot likes (yes, this is an emergency), no Whiskas for older cats (still), very little by way of loo paper (fortunately didn't need it), very little beer, NO tonic water, no adult size espadrilles, no hand sanitiser as you went in, no mention of when trollies are disinfected, no surgical spirit to be had, but 7 euros for a smallish bottle of hand sanitizer, and only two bits of Cheddar.  Very poor show all in all.  Mind you it is a bank holiday weekend just starting here and the weather forecast is fab, but that shouldn't affect many of the missing items.

Anyway, the good news is that with a couple of colleagues, I've won a new work contract for six weeks, so there is a bottle of sparkling in the fridge to celebrate.  I don't think it is confidential to say that I will be looking at funding activity in the Romney Marsh area - it's just a shame I won't be able to do a site visit within the timeframe of the project.

 

Day 18 of Deconfinement Diary - busy, busy, busy

Yesterday was a busy day and I wasn't home until quite late, hence no blog.  In the morning it was the market at la Flèche which is getting back into its stride, with nearly everyone back - even the paella and couscous waggon that Richard Newth was worried about.  There are still grumbles about the new pitch placements, not least as for the food stalls, the lack of shade in the square will become more and more of a problem as summer goes on - they miss the huge plane trees.

After that, I was in Chinon, doing bits and bobs and helping out on stuff.  We had to get some biggish ticket items from the hypermarket - Leclerc - and were surprised at the discounts and offers.  They aren't normally putting huge numbers of points on summer furniture at this time of year, nor big discounts on electrical goods.  It was very orderly going in - you had to queue, but that was only to keep distances, while you got a squirt of hydroalcoholic gel on your hands and then took a disinfected trolley from the ranks.  There was a separate exit for leaving the store, and the "facilities" were open.

I got home at 7:30pm and we sat out under the abri, chilling out before I did supper.  It would have been peaceful apart from this noisy chap (although thinking on it, cats might have been involved, or not - and the photo is very blurry as he was quite a way away).

This morning Nibbles disgraced herself; after her morning ablutions and reconnaissance trip outside, breakfasts one and two, she then demanded catnip - before midday!!  The sign of a real addict.

To prove that not all photos I've taken in the last 48 hours are fuzzy and out of focus, I was mowing by a lake this afternoon and the first of the water lilies was coming out.  The light was coming through the trees and bamboo and it was all rather lovely.

And then there is this rather splendid view of our village yesterday at sunset.

And I am proud of myself as I filed our French tax return - early!!

 

Day 16 of Deconfinement Diary - growing things

Ah the joy of having reliable brakes - it meant I could go out and about quite happily this afternoon, after a morning of staring at the computer screen.  Today's foray was "just" to feed the boys in the country, check round the property and water the seedlings.  It is also a magnificent day here today - blue skies, a bit of a breeze to take the edge off, and lovely sunshine.  The official shade temperature is supposed to be about 25ºC today, and it probably is about that, but when you are out and about, you are not always in the shade, so it feels a lot hotter.  Still, I topped up my vitamin D levels nicely I'm sure!

So what did I see out and about?  Well the contents of the tin of cat food disappeared very quickly as all four boys were hungry for food with gravy on it and even ate their carrots, before joining me down the garden.  Fergus found his usual dust bath, but this time in the shade.

After a certain amount of shuffling around for the best position, Donald took the spare chair and Spooky curled up on the ground, again both nicely in the shade.

Clause was feeling vulnerable - I had found a further two ticks on him and wanted to get them off, but he wasn't going to be pulled around today, he wanted to be left alone, so he took to deep cover.

The potagers are coming on - I really didn't think the tomatoes would take when I just shoved in the bare rooted seedlings we had been given, and I was quite sure the lettuces wouldn't do anything.  The shallots were a gamble and I wait to see how they turn out.  The broad beans are nearly over and the bit of plot in between will be sown with borlotti beans soon.  Beans are good on the vile clay soil there, as the roots are supposed to be good for breaking down into the soil and also for fixing nitrogen.

I also checked the orchids in the other plots.  We've not had as many bee orchids this year as expected and many less than last year, but the lizard orchids are now doing their thing.  They aren't pretty but they are rather dramatic.

I was surprised to find a bird's nest orchid as well.  It's a pretty name for an orchid that is even less attractive than a lizard orchid.  It is parasitic and grows from something rotting in the soil, normally roots of something else.  It has no leaves, all you ever see is the flower stalk.  I've found them at my Mum's and in the One Acre Wood, but it was a first to find them where the boys hang out.

 

Day 15 of Deconfinement Diary - garden plenty

It might be a bank holiday in the UK, but it isn't here (Pentecost Monday is actually next week), so my car is in the garage having his brakes fixed.  John is working, however, as it is ideal mowing weather, so I am at home, on my own and reliving lockdown.  While it would be nice to be lounging in the garden, the usual drongos are in the garden next door with a pile of Tramp Strength, so I have done some necessary garden chores but not as much as I would like.  I've even done a bit of desk/computer work.

While I was in the garden, I was able to admire the rose we received for our Silver Wedding Anniversary five years ago - and it has put on a lovely show this year.  Thank you, Pauline and Dave once again!

I also spent a happy while checking round the hanging baskets and pots for strawberries and in amongst the canes for raspberries and have a nice portion prepared for pudding this evening, complete with a dash of something to draw out the juices and flavour.

Dinner will be a rustic dish of lardons and broad beans, simmered in stock for a while with garlic and thyme - I've not had enough beans to do this with for a few years, so hope I can remember the recipe (it's not one that is written down anywhere).

In a day or two I will cut the last spears of asparagus from our garden for this year, to allow the plants to develop properly and store food and goodness for next year.  We've done quite well this year, not least as John has kept the bed well strimmed and we have, we think, got rid of the feral artichokes that were clogging up the area and stealing nutrients and light.

I'm looking forward to getting my car back - even if I don't use it for a few days, I have the impression that I can go somewhere if I want to.  With lockdown so recent, today has been a bit of a challenge in some ways.

 

Weekend 2 of Deconfinement Diary - well it is a bank holiday weekend!

While the first weekend of fewer restrictions was spent on mundane but useful things like gardening, shopping, feeding ourselves and preparing for the coming week, this weekend we were daring and crossed the regional border into Centre Val de Loire.  Such braveness and intrepidness!!

It was fun to be out and about together - during lockdown having two in a car was a signal to be stopped and checked, so we just didn't do it.  We went over to Restigné, near Bourgueil, first of all.  We took the roads less travelled across country, admiring the woods, fields and villages we hadn't seen since February or so.  It was great to see our friend Laurent the wine maker again, and for the first time this year.  He has not been having a great time of it.  The markets that allow him to sell his wine to the public have not allowed vignerons in until the last week or so, he doesn't sell to the supermarkets as he doesn't have the volume and can't go very low on price (or as low as they want), while the bars and restaurants that he supplies are closed.  Added to that, customers such as ourselves have not been able to get to him and he has been severely hampered in gaining a living.  While he has applied for the government handouts, he has heard nothing back.  He was very pleased to see us.

Normally at this time of year we get the gossip on the spring weather and how it has affected the buds on the vine.  This year, he was more interested in telling us and showing us how much damage one broken bottle can do when in a trailer full of goods for market.  With little margin and few sales, losing a few presentation boxes in such a way is a loss too.  We left his place with 20 litres vrac (i.e. needing to be bottled) of his 2018 corsé red wine and 20 litres of his best dry rosé for us, and a further 10 litres each of dry rosé and the 2019 red for Chinon.

Then on to Chinon!  Coming along the Vienne, it is a dramatic way to enter the town.  First there is the river, which was lower than I have seen it since October last year!

Then as you get closer, the chateau dominates the entrance to the town - it has a long history but is most famous for being the place where Joan of Arc performed her first miracle - spotting the Dauphin disguised among his courtiers.

Then we had a lovely afternoon/early evening catching up with family and their new neighbours, including reciprocal cellar visits, and didn't get home until 8pm.  Today has been more relaxed, and has included feeding the country cats, picking ticks off them, watering seedlings and eating home grown strawberries and raspberries with the chunk of Mum's shortbread that I purloined yesterday.  Not a bad weekend!

Day 12 of Deconfinement Diary - a delayed appointment

A reflection on one of the few the joys of this virus - normally at this time of year towards sunset, the sky around us resembles a giant Jack Straws puzzle, with con trails in all directions.  Last night - not a single one, the wisps and streaks are cirrus clouds showing a change in the weather.  Lovely!

Anyway, on to that delayed appointment.  We had an appointment on the 19th March with Cuma near Brion to have a couple of barrels of brown gloop turned into something rather wonderful.  However, due to lockdown, that appointment had to be cancelled, but they got a dispensation to carry on distilling to the end of May.  So today we dragged the two seething barrels from the cellar and John drove them to Brion.  He was told to come back at 5:15pm, and has now returned with two barrels that need a good clean out, and one bonbon with 12 litres of clear and dangerous spirit.  It is a mixed vintage this year - pear and peach, because that was what we had. 

Now the gossip from Brion is that normally they would have 300 clients through a season, but this year they have only had 70!  People still labour under the impression that preparing fruit for distilling is illicit and illegal, and can only be done if you have grandfather rights.  No, people!  You can prepare and have distilled the products of your gardens, using a recognised distiller, the difference is that the amount of tax you pay on the product to the Government has increased.  If there is fruit this year (too early to tell for the moment), get brewing and keep those distillers in business!  However you can't have apple or grape product distilled, as that would make Calvados or brandy, which are controlled products.

No idea what this is like yet - currently it will be rough as old boots, but by late Autumn it should be OK.

So today the cheque book got a workout through needing to pay the distiller and the Government.  It is going to get a workout tomorrow too, as we head out not quite as far as 100km to visit our favourite producer of Bourgueil wines at Restigné before doing a socially distanced and responsible visit to Chinon.  The public health France cry for alcohol is "toujours avec moderation".  Good thing they can't access our cheque book!

Day 11 of Deconfinement Diary - and it's up!

A couple of updates from yesterday's blog.

Firstly and very sadly, I was right, it was an undertaker's van backed up to a (nice) neighbour's house, as he died at home yesterday at just 70 years old (nothing to do with Covid).  

Secondly, and on a happier note - yay, my hair has been cut!  No longer the shaggy sheep look, but back to something more normal for me.  On arrival, you get to slather your hands with gel, so they are nice and sticky.  Then you get to put on your drape yourself.  Meanwhile everything the person before touched is being disinfected.  Then the compulsory hair wash which isn't so bad with a mask on, but no back or scalp massages.  Then the cutting, with the hairdresser wearing a mask and a face visor, so speech is muffled.  Great care is taken around the ears so that your mask is not cut off by mistake.  The biggest issue is if a bit of cut hair falls into your mask - that is a whole new form of torture and one the CIA will no doubt adopt, particularly if you then try to speak!  So there we go - and I feel a lot better for it, especially once I was out of the salon and could get my hair lined mask off my face!

And then this evening, just before sitting down to type, we got the new abri roof up.  The internal ties to the centre of the frame aren't tied yet, but as we aren't expecting a gale overnight, I'm not worried.  The stripes work even though they aren't matched, and we have shade.  This is important as it was humid and up to near 30ºC today.  Nibbles has tested the shade for us and approved it.

Now to go and christen the shade with a suitable libation!

Day 10 of Deconfinement Diary - and it is now the glums kick in

I shouldn't feel down, I shouldn't feel anxious, I shouldn't feel "confined", but yesterday evening I lost it.  It had been an OK day, with John picking up a new client, so the promise of a bottle of fizz to celebrate in the evening, and I did win a couple of battles against French bureaucracy, but sometimes you just crack.

We have some very nice neighbours and then we have F the alcoholic, and the demi-monde that are attracted to him.  At 5pm, two of these decided that what they really needed to do was strim the garden F squats and to drink large quantities of tramp strength beer and to parade around in their jeans and not much else other than (surprisingly) PPE for the strimmer.  Two whole hours of a quarter of an hour strimming or playing with the strimmer, then a quarter of an hour drinking and shouting at each other as they only had one set of ear defenders, then back to playing with the strimmer.  It was a glorious evening and I had been stuck indoors much of the day with computers, and it was the last straw to deal with those drunken bums.  There were times when I was nearly in tears.  Normally I just sit with an MP3 player plugged in and my back to them, but last night I just couldn't.

So the abri roof isn't yet in place, as I couldn't face the comments yesterday once John got home.  Likely it won't go up tonight either, as I have a hair appointment (yippee - perhaps that will cheer me up) at 6pm and they are back with the beer, no t-shirts but no strimmer.  Also I saw a gurney going into another neighbour's house, and that is never good....

Tomorrow I will report on the challenges of getting your hair washed and cut while wearing a face mask.  My mind is currently boggling but no doubt it will all become clear in about 40 minutes!

I leave you with a couple of pretty pictures to brighten up your day.