We have a rose bush beside the well wall, it faces south and west so benefits from any heat the wall retains from sunlight, and despite a dodgy moment in 2006, when the wall was repointed, so it was cut down to nearly ground level, it has continued to thrive through the years. it gets mugged each summer by the grape vine, but carries on through and on New Year's Eve, it still had a lovely display of blooms to see 2024 off in style.
So far this year, we have had some 85 millimetres of rain, which makes everywhere soggy and slippery. The two old clay pits in the One Acre Wood are as full of water as we have ever seen them, and we are hopeful that there will be tadpoles of some sort or other (newt, salamander, frog and toad) in due course.
The fish pond is filling up nicely, but with no rain forecast now for 10 days, it will all drain away again quite quickly I fear. I am not minded to restock the pond anyway. But it is good to see it so full again, as it is a welcome resource for the local wildlife.
One winter task we have started, is to clean out and refresh as required the two bird boxes we have installed to attract great tits or blue tits. They are the target species as they eat pine processionary caterpillars, so we have the two boxes positioned near to a good food source! Both were used last year, although we think one was abandoned before any eggs were laid, as the nest was very limited. The other one looks like it was much more comfortable, so was perhaps a good starting point for a few of the local birds. The nest has now been removed and both boxes will get a quick go over with a weed wand to kill off any undesirables, but not so much that they are burnt inside. Then they will go back up and we'll see if they get used this year.
We have sun at the moment, which warms the heart, and the stones of the house as well a bit. I'm sure sunset is later today!! In any case, the sunlight makes us feel better, if not warmer! Finally we are getting the preferred winter conditions of sunlight and sharp cold, and if the easterly wind (or bise, French for kiss!) would only drop, I would be inspired to strim and prune and do useful things!
Local clubs and societies are also greeting the new year, with AGMs better held in winter when no one has a good excuse to avoid attending. The Comité des Fêtes had ours on Friday night, followed by the obligatory "verre d'amitié", followed by a bit of a banquet for the volunteers who made it all possible last year, by helping with events. We had choucroute garnis (not my choice), but didn't start eating until gone 9pm, so sleep was evasive on Friday night as I tried to digest and to cope with the effects of fermented cabbage. I suspect dishes like choucroute, cabbage soup and kimchi should be regarded as bad for global warming...
Even if the food wasn't totally our favourite dish, such evenings are priceless as we share gossip and good vibes with our neighbours and friends. They are one of the things that make living in rural France such a joy, and enthuse us to carry on our involvement in the Comité des Fêtes. Many of the people there had another AGM the following day, though that was only followed by a verre d'amitié and cake, probably quite a lot of cake...
Now to get through January, planning lots of garden and land management activities, and hopefully doing some of them too! Two trail cameras have been checked over in the last 10 days, so next week there should be film of boar, badgers and pine martens. Have a good week!
Comments