This latest Covid variant is a doozy, so if you have the chance to get vaccinated, I heartily recommend doing so. The razor throat gave way to a debilitating cough, which turned into a lung infection, all of which was during the first heatwave. Now I feel better, we are slap bang in the middle of a second and worse heatwave! June has not been my favourite month! Still, my Poundland lily has been putting on a fine display and will go on for a few days yet, so not all bad! I bought it over before Brexit really kicked in so it has been going in that pot for some 5 years now!
The weather is crazy. May was so much drier than normal, and June has been the same - just 16mm of rain in the month to date and I don't expect any more between now and Tuesday morning. At the start of April, we had 2,500 litres of rainwater stocked in our giant cubes, but to keep the vegetables going, we have had to pump a further 3,000 litres from the well to put into the cubes, and we will be topping them up soon, as the farmers are going to start pumping and irrigating big time shortly, so the level in the well will fall. The fruits of the water can be seen in the impending courgette glut - they are delicious when small, but let them get to 8 to 10 inches long and they become less enticing!
The sweetcorn is not quite so triffid like but coming on nicely - there are 60 plants in this bed and if they all produce a couple of cobs each, we will be nice and regular through August and September, if you see what I mean!
We had a visitor - a rarity for us - during the last week for a couple of nights. It was fascinating for us to see our life here and the local area through different eyes. I handed him mirabelles and raspberries fresh from the tree/cane to try, to be met with a query of were they safe to eat, before tasting the freshest fruit he had had in his life I think. They were approved! Similarly our wells were a source of amazement. We drove through Durtal, and the surprise on coming down the hill and seeing the Chateau for the first time - What is that!? Just another normal facet of French life!
Last night as I took down the heat shutter from the bedroom window, I looked out to see a new moon on the horizon. It doesn't look as though this moon will bring cooler temperatures, indeed the forecast, always a bit on the conservative side, for Tuesday is a suffocating 41ºC. We will be up early in the mornings to water the triffids and feed cats, then snoozing through the heat of the day.
I have a trail camera to check over and download and triage the photos and videos, so there may be wildlife in next week's blog. Eating fruit, fresh vegetables, salads, and things that don't need much cooking is the order of the day - yesterday's queue for tomatoes, melons and apricots was just about bearable!
As I stood in that queue, I was able to admire another jewel of the Middle Ages, as our chateau at Baugé stands guard over the market square. Sometimes I forget to marvel at the wonderful area we live in, but not this last week, my eyes have been reopened!
So, I am back in the world of the living, albeit dripping with sweat at the effort of moving my fingers in an office that is currently 29ºC, which isn't that comfortable. So I am going to go and find a fan to sit in front of, and perhaps have a restorative snooze. I think I am allowed!
Have a good week!
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