Rural Life

Autumn Lockdown - Day 36 - a better day

One of the things that made yesterday so dismal and depressing was the weather - heavy overcast from morning to night and wet and dank and cold.  So it was with huge relief that once the day dawned today, it was with sunshine (and a bit of frost).  That golden luminosity makes even the most challenging day seem better, and while today wasn't hugely challenging, some of yesterday's issues are still lurking.

The morning was devoted to dealing with a backlog of emails and phone calls, after lunch I had to honour my commitment to the Boys in the Country and go and feed them.  They all appeared, were pleased to see me, and most were very hungry too - well cold weather and growing a good layer of thick underfur takes it out of a chap.  Once they had munched their fill, we went and checked the enclosed garden - I had to sit on one of the chairs so they could all have a good love in with me for 10 minutes.  Then washing up cat bowls in cold water, which is always a joy, before I went out to explore the other plots.

I always like to have a look to see what is going on in Badger Mansions, slap in the middle of the wild flower meadow.  The damp soil made it so much easier to see their paw prints, including claw marks.  There seemed to have been a bit of activity since the rain stopped.

I then walked round the edge of the meadow, accompanied by Clause who managed to raise a pheasant, but not catch it.  That was much more interesting than me, so I was able to go the rest of the way without being shouted at in Cat.  When I got to where the old log pile used to be, I found an excellent example of the disgusting Giant Killer Orange Slug that lives around here.  We don't have any in the garden, but we have loads in the One Acre Wood.  This one was about five inches long.

At this point, Clause decided I needed to be defended against the slug, so came back from pheasant bothering and stood around shouting at me.  I felt it was time to leave.

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 34 - OK, some things change

It's Wednesday so it is market day in la Flèche, and finally we see that some things have changed here and for the better.  It has been a source of huge frustration that while you can sell plants (deemed essential), you cannot sell flowers (deemed non-essential) unless done by order/click and collect or some such system.  So it was lovely to see my friend Brigitte out with her stand and the glorious colours of flowers and ornamental cabbages and bouquets and cyclamen.  Brigitte raises her own cut flowers about 1.5km from us, but buys in some potted plants.  It isn't worth her while coming to the market in the hope of selling a 2€ cactus sometime in the day, but people are always after a good bouquet, and hers are some of the best!

The fripperie stands were out as well - so much acrylic and lycra and faux leather in one place!  But people were  happier, even if they weren't buying much.  It was enough that the extra colours and activity were a treat for the eyes and you could dream of wearing that pretty draped blouse, "enjoy" the accordion music from the CD stand and wonder who on earth dreamt up the plastic stuff on the "anything for 2€" stall.  Life seemed a bit more normal.

While Radio 2 and Zoe Ball were going all mushy about the Pfizer vaccine being approved for deployment next week, the feelings about vaccines against Covid here are rather different, with nearly 60% of those questioned saying they wouldn't want it.  They want to ski, to cuddle their grandchildren/grandparents, eat in restaurants and drink in bars, but they don't want to have the vaccine that will make all that possible.  Weird.  Even more weird was a promotion of the Miss France competition that runs later this week with all the 28 contestants (Miss Tahiti can't make it) posing in pretty cocktail dresses, open coats and face masks outside Versailles.  We assume they get to remove the face masks at some point, but it will ruin their make up.  Below, we have not so much Frosty the Snowman, as firewood bundle the Snowman.

Finally, walking around the wildflower meadow, I found the first hints of next spring's bee orchids.  I see at least two on this photo!

I think the damage is badger looking for roots and stuff.

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 33 - it's the little things...

I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation.  We are all plugging our way through 2020, with its lockdowns, cabin fever, Brexit anxiety, money worries and all the other things that make this year such a doozie.  So when you spot something unexpectedly lovely, when someone says or writes something unexpectedly kind, when there is just a hint of something good, it can open the flood gates a bit.

I'll not go into the written or said thing - that's personal, but I will share lovely and good.

First of all, a handsome cat portrait to set the scene!  This particular cat is looking forward to the 20th January, when he will become the undisputed only Donald that matters once again!

Today John was cutting the grass at Aldi in Saumur - when he used to do that at Baugé, it could take a while as so many people we know shop there, so would say hello.  It isn't a thing at Tiercé or Saumur, or so we thought.  I got a text from John to say that he had seen someone we know.  Before the old longère next to us was classed as insalubrious (and that was before the ceiling fell in), it was a rental property of last resort, for those who would not get a reference in a million years.  We had some nice neighbours (few), and some stinkers.  Joel was in between - we liked him, but his friends were really the scum of the earth.  He was the original slave of Nibbles.  He was also a tortured artist - some of his stuff is very good, but a lot isn't easy to live with.  We are lucky in that he gave us a slightly disturbing picture that we like, and he added a few very nice sculptures to the outside of the house when it was being renovated.  He moved away when his lease was up, and the last we heard from one of his chums was that he had died.  We were sad but not surprised.  So it was with great joy that I read that John had seen him at Aldi Saumur this afternoon - rumours of his death were clearly exaggerated!

Not all corona is bad, or rather korona!  We bought six strawberry plants in the spring of the variety korona - not deliberately, they were the only ones that Lidl had that day.  They weren't very productive, but what fruit we did get was very tasty, so we hope for more next year.  We grow strawberries in hanging baskets to keep them away from slugs, hedgehogs and chickens.  The leaves have turned the most magnificent colour - the plants just keep giving!

Today's blog was brought to you under slightly challenging conditions - Poirot is being very clingy at the moment!

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 29 - the answer to the spot the cat competition

So, where was Clause the giant lump of a cat hiding?  In the walnut tree of course - here he is hiding his face in shame at running away from one of his co-locs.  It's a bit grainy as he was a distance away.

Some things and not a lot change tomorrow - we can go further for exercise and all shops and other retail outlets are open again, but we will still need an attestation and we aren't really supposed to cross regional boundaries, and there are no restaurants or pubs open other than for takeaways, and we aren't supposed to meet people socially, and we still have to wear facemasks.  However there is growing evidence that curfew and lockdown do work.  While the UK is glowing in an R number of less than 1 today, we are well below that.  These stats are on a screen shot from the #TousAntiCovid application on my phone just an hour ago.

I went out for a walk and to check on a chum's maison secondaire this afternoon.  It was quite mild but not as sunny as promised, so my laundry is about as wet as when I put it out, just less wrinkled.  At the chum's garden, I noticed an interesting phenomenon on their magnolia grandiflora.  They produce these dramatic seed husks which rarely ripen here in France.  In Australia they seem to be prevented from ripening as they get to a certain point and then become irresistible to cockatoos who go nuts over them and seem to become more than mildly intoxicated.  I have a photo of one lying on its back cradling a nut in a public park - a nicer class of vagrant than in some areas, although they can also do a lot of damage when they put their beaks to it.  Anyway, this seed pod is now producing enticing looking seeds - I may have to gather a few to see if I can get them to grow!

I carried on from that garden and found a point on the hill with a rather pleasing panorama over to the south.  The hills are the last bastion before the flood plain of la Loire.

Finally, we are getting a bit better at this "keeping a fire in" lark, mainly due to having some nice big lumps of cherry wood, which burn slowly overnight.  Tonight we won't be keeping it in however, as we need to remove ash, and hot ash isn't fun to deal with and can burn through what you put it in.  Still, this was a cheery sight this morning.

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 28 - running late

The best laid plans and all that - I had planned on penning an exposé of the new stage 1 release from lockdown rules today, complete with how that would change my life.  I took some nice photos of cats and imagined a charming story to go with them.  I could have written about the wonders of keeping a fire banked in overnight - something we very rarely manage.  But it is time to talk to Chinon, then do dinner, so here is a photo of the fire this morning:

Here is a photo of a nice rural view:

And here is a photo of a cat in a walnut tree - honestly, there is a cat in the walnut tree!

I promise to be more entertaining tomorrow!

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 26 - a few pictures

I'm actually taking part in a Zoom presentation as I type this - the presentation was supposed to start half an hour ago, but there are announcements and introductions and so I thought I would multi-task, although this will be mainly pictures.  Finally the presentation starts, and the speaker seems amusing.  So here is some mistletoe

The sun setting through trees was particularly dramatic this afternoon.  I liked this tree in particular.

The sun setting through the trees was also a satisfying image.

Finally thoughts on cats and boxes, as we got a vast delivery of very senior cat food yesterday.  Any cat cannot resist the lure of a cardboard box.

Autumn Lockdown - Day 23 - dismantling an old friend

While we were initially up and about full of vim and good intentions, a flat tyre on the van and an annoying experience in the market (some poser bought all the local garlic and the quarter of red cabbage with MY name on it) took the shine off the day.  It was a cold but beautifully sunny day, so that was a shame.  So in a fit of energy, we decided that it was time to start to dismantle further the dead cherry tree in the garden.

As one would expect from a pro, John spent a lot of time looking at angles and weights and plotting how each bit would come down without damaging the neighbour's wood store or our "shed".  Then we got the better pole saw out, the ropes, relevant safety gear for John and we were ready.

I can't show you any action shots, as I was on the end of the rope, holding up pieces of tree and then gently lowering them to the ground, ready to be turned into firewood, but this is what it looked like when we were done for the day.  Clearly there is more to do, but in the rest of the daylight and the "making a noise" window, what was down needed to be turned into log burner sized logs.

This is just part of the booty - there is more and it is all now stacked and sheltered from wet.

While the neighbours kept popping their heads round the corner to see whether we had broken anything (we didn't), and admiring a man working, there were a few garden residents who weren't so impressed with what was going on.  Muck and Brass are appalled and Delenn has gone AWOL, having refused to go through the sawdust and into the run.  I don't know where she is sleeping tonight, as I couldn't find her on my last check round the garden.

In other news, I made the Christmas cakes, and they are now in the oven.

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 21 - a different walk

The weather changed overnight as a cold front went through, and while it was actually quite nice and I got the laundry dry, it was also much colder than of late throughout the day.  This made sitting on hooman much more appealing for Nibbles, and at lunchtime she spread herself up my chest and got up close and personal.  She allowed me to take about 50 photos of her - that's how comfortable she was!  A few were out of focus and she wouldn't look direct at the camera most of the time, but ancient tribal beliefs would say that her soul is now mine (I think she thinks it works the other way round though).

When I managed to extricate myself from cat, I went out for my allowed exercise.  I had to post a letter, and had thought of going on one of the familiar routes, but wanted a change of scene, so I went down to the Pont de Godeau (he still didn't turn up) and then up to the Voie Verte and along that towards the open country.  The Voie Verte used to be a railway line and once decommissioned, was then left to run wild, which made it a great place for wildlife.  When it was reopened as a cycle and pedestrian route, that exposed a couple of large badgers' sets along the line.  Much to my distress, last winter, someone erased one of these.  Either it was overzealous path maintenance or it was a farmer trying to avoid badger tracks over his land.  Either way, my walk this afternoon demonstrated nicely that they failed and Badger Burrows are being extended and improved for the winter!

Further round on my walk, I looked across to the village from where I know to be the 1 kilometre as the crow flies from home limit.  I must admit I was very lucky with the time I chose to go out for my walk as I had sun the whole way, which took the chill off and made everything so much more optimistic.

The final photo from my walk is of the cressonière that is perhaps 200 metres from home and taps into the same groundwater spring as our well.  When we first saw it, we thought it was an old washing point or lavoir, but talking to locals, we now know it was a tank for growing watercress.  The water flow has diminished considerably from what it used to be, and I don't think that is due to residual drought conditions.  There have been groundworks and building further up the hill which are likely to have impacted on the flow.  I'm not sure how clean the water would be anymore either, so I wasn't tempted to grab a handful of greenery - and I don't think it is watercress in there anyway!

By the way, it is Beaujolais Nouveau day today!

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 20 - trouble

Wednesday, so market day at la Flèche, and fortunately it is a restricted market at the moment, only food and plants.  Why is this a good thing - normally I am complaining about it?  Well fibre is coming to la Flèche, and with it, the urge to dig up everything everywhere and inconvenience as many people as possible for the longer term greater good.  I've ranted before about laying fibre optic cable.  Today, the whole of the riverside parking was closed off to punters, so we had to park where the frippery stands would normally be.  If they had been there, it would have meant a lot of people having a very long walk!

Within the market, all was as normal, although fewer people than last week - but last week was a bank holiday.  Eggs were 20 cents each for free range - important as our freeloading hens aren't laying at present.  I had planned to get a couple more this autumn, but first laziness and then lockdown have scuppered that plan, and we won't be able to increase the flock until sometime in the spring I fear.

Then on to see the Boys in the Country - and this is where the trouble comes in, as conditions were ideal for spotting the nests of pine processionary caterpillars.  Not so much now, but we have until the end of February to get traps rigged up on two of the pine trees to stop the b@st@rd caterpillars reaching the soil to pupate and fly away.  Before anyone gets righteous about that, they are a non-native invasive species with few predators (blue and long tailed tits are starting to eat them I gather) and poisonous spines that can blind or otherwise mutilate cats and dogs, and cause particularly nasty and long lasting sores on humans (I know, I've been affected twice).  The spines do wash down into the soil, but if you are planting or if (being a cat) you dig a hole for your "needs", you can still be affected by the spines.  No, they just have to go!

It was a glorious morning, indeed it was lovely until about 3pm, then boom, the clouds arrived.  Tant pis!

 

Autumn Lockdown - Day 11 - new hope

I'm not talking politics, I'm not talking vaccines that have to be stored at -80ºC, I'm talking plants!

Last lockdown, I spent a lot of time tracking and worrying over my 2 small orchids that live in the bathroom.  As we got more and more freedom, they stopped producing new flowers and when we got temperatures at up to 40ºC outside and nearly 30ºC indoors, first the flowers dried and fell and then the flower stalks shrivelled too.  Mind you the flowers did each last over two months, so one can't complain.

Anyway, as the new lockdown kicked in, and I was sitting on the loo, I looked at the orchids again and one of them seemed to be getting back into action.  At first I wasn't too sure, but you can see from this photo today that a new flower stalk is pushing away and that there are a number of branches that may either be branches or will develop into flower buds.  Bad luck people, you are back to orchid watch!

And it's not only orchids.  Friends fled rural France the day before lockdown kicked in, but during the two weeks before that, they had spent hours spreading 3 tonnes of top soil, raking it, rolling it, planting bulbs in it and finally spreading loads of grass seed.  Bizarrely for November, we actually have ideal grass growing weather, moist, warm and not too sunny, and the grass seed is pulling away.  Even better, it only looks like there has been one attempt at digging up a flower bulb and it wasn't successful.  Spring should be dramatically floral in this garden next year!

From the number of hits yesterday, I think people liked Audrey the Racoon.  Perhaps Sundays need to be Racoon Days?