Rural Life

Day 28 of 30 Days Wild - Saturday fun, Sunday work

I did warn you that there would be no blog yesterday - we were out celebrating with one of the Chinon Two.  I have to say that weather-wise, it wasn't really the best day for celebrating.  Before we even got to that, we had to brave a cold, moist and windy market to get supplies.

Before settling in to a delicious and copious dinner at the Bistrot de Marché at Chinon, we went on a bit of a wander and café tour - this was in the main square, and a bit moist and windy.

So we moved location to the admirable Café Français and sat indoors, and admired the collection of confinement cartoons by a local chap, many of which had appeared in the Nouvelle Republique.  We then strolled on to the Bistrot de Marché, inspecting menus as we went - in many instances, that was actually just an academic exercise as quite a few had signs up saying they were complêt for the evening, even before opening time!  I tried to emulate the wonderful sunset scenes that so many friends post at the moment, but failed totally - if you look very closely, you might just spot a chateau on the horizon.

To make up for a day of lotus eating yesterday, this morning was spent working hard on the vegetable plot, while the afternoon has been spent clamped to the computer, working on a report that has to be submitted on Tuesday (so long as it arrives before midnight, that is OK).

Fergus is guarding the strimmer while we do other things - tomorrow there will be a Fergus portrait I think!

But now it is time for Sunday aperos - bring out the Gin!

 

Day 21 of 30 Days Wild - a soggy one

Full marks to those who spotted that the mystery bug yesterday was a leaf katydid - news to me!

The moon changes today and with it should come a change in the weather from the British Depression Nadine to something more akin to summer - apparently by Wednesday, temperatures will be up near 30ºC.  That will be more appealing to this lavender, which today had a few bumblebees and the odd hummingbird hawkmoth on it, but nothing to what we would expect when the sun is out and the fragrance dominates the area.

As there was a gusty wind this morning as well, it was difficult to get a good close up of a bumblebee - I took about 12 but this is the only one that was even vaguely in focus!

The promised hot weather will do wonders to the early season figs which are to be found in abundance at the moment but are distinctly not ripe.  Bizarrely with the late season ones, I find hurling abuse at them (verbal abuse) seems to ensure they start ripening pronto.  I may have to try that this week with some of these!

Other trees are showing promise of future fruitfulness - I've shown chestnut flowers before, but this bunch show the mix of male (long, fluffy and droopy) and female flowers (more upright and not fluffy) which mean that with favourable winds and insects, there will be lots of lovely chestnuts in October.

Even later than the chestnuts are the medlars - a curious fruit that is really only nice to eat raw once it is rotten, although I gather you can make a good jelly with them before they get to that state.  These won't be ready until November, and should be bletted in time for Christmas to go nicely with a bit of Stilton.  They should get a bit bigger as this tree produces a nice size fruit about the size of a walnut.

Yoga tomorrow - really!  The hall has been reopened, so there is no issue of rain stopping yoga (which is why the weather will improve tomorrow), so there will either be a late blog or none at all - you have been warned!

 

Day 17 of 30 Days Wild - but fairly brain dead

Which is really my way of saying that apart from going to the market this morning, I've been stuck indoors either stretching my brain with work, or stretching my brain talking to our French financial advisers about investments. 

John has had the same brain strain, between talking to French financial advisers and then working out how to fix a new to us ride on lawnmower blade engagement system that uses a spring.  We had to get a new spring, and it arrived today - a huge, chunky and impressive thing.  I gather working out how to flex it enough to fit it was an amusing puzzle, but the good news is that Mambo (ride on lawnmower number 5) is now back in service and ready to roll.

So once again I will have to delve into the Guadeloupe archives to find things to please your eyes - birds and chocolate!

So, a pelican in flight.

A lorakeet in captivity (not native to Guadeloupe but to Australia, where every time I tried to photograph one, it pooped on me).

And finally, unripe chocolate.

Day 13 of 30 Days Wild - bar society

So after writing yesterday's blog, we packed up and went to the pub - because we can here in France!  I'm still a bit concerned about closed spaces with other people, so we sat out on the terrace although it wasn't as warm as it might be, and it was nice to sit and watch the clouds and the birds and the people (shock horror - two people did the Faire le bise!).  It helps to blow away the cobwebs of the week.

As we left, looking over the valley of the Couasnon, we spotted a strong rainbow with magnificent colours.  There was no rain around us, but clearly a few miles to the south east, someone was getting very wet indeed.

The air was very crisp and clear, so that standing in the Place d'Eglise and looking up at the church, it was possible to see every detail of the stonework and the slates on the twisted spire - at its most beautiful I thought.  The flower displays are not yet fully developed, but by August there will be magnificent flowers along the wall below the church.

Today has been remarkable for short but very intense showers.  I drove through one that was like driving through a waterfall.  The country cats weren't stupid and were hiding when I arrived to feed them and didn't come out from their lairs until the rain had passed.  So while I waited for them, I admired my Guadeloupe avocado tree, now it is outside and enjoying the weather.  The volume of rain should surely be reminding it of its ancestral tree in the Caribean!

 

Day 6 of 30 Days Wild - and a return to civilisation

Once yesterday's blog was filed, we returned to our Friday night routine and went to the pub to see off the working week.  It had been 11 weeks since the last visit we think, and we had moved from late winter/early spring to summer, so we could sit out on the terrace and not freeze (even though there was a bit of a wind).  It was good to be back - carry on the good work, Vinz and Steff at Excalibur!

Of course they are not the only ones opening up and in Baugé today I noticed that one road had been blocked off to allow the restaurant and pizzeria space to have people outside on new terraces too.

On the wild side of things, my review of photos showed that I had managed to capture quite a few butterflies, including a couple on chestnut flowers and even more marbled whites.  So I'll keep my blurb short today and let the butterflies do the talking.

 

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 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 5 of deconfinement diary - health and shopping

A couple of weeks into lockdown, we had the annual reminder that someone's jabs were due.  I phoned the vet to see what could be done, and they said it would be alright if lockdown was lifted by mid-May, but jabs were not considered essential cat healthcare, so we would have to wait.  As soon as we knew that May 11 was Deconfinement Day I was back on to the vets, and got an appointment for this morning.  It has to be mornings and just after breakfast, or Nibbles KNOWS and hides.  I've had to phone up and admit to having lost her more than once!

People don't understand that the vetinary surgery is a risky place it appears - I was let in, to wait with Nibbles to be called for her appointment, but lots of people turned up on spec it seemed to me, and couldn't understand why the door was locked and people were only allowed in one at a time!  Anyway, I have to report that the vet pronounced Nibbles very fit for her age (13), with a nice consistent weight over time, and administered the booster with little fuss.  I think she understood the word Nibbles, as she went for her backside rather than the usual neck.  Since we got home, Nibbles has been sulking.

My other outing today was to collect pork and an organic chicken from a local farm, that does direct sales.  It is excellent, as there is a menu of stuff to buy on their website, and every 3 weeks or so I get an e-mail asking if I would like to order.  Their sausages and merguez are brilliant, and the shoulder roast joints very yummy.  They also sell pasta from a local organic beef farm (there is a reason for that) and eggs and chickens from another local producer.  All the products come from within an 8 mile radius of our house, which is great for keeping food miles down.

Normally we go into a room with a bank of industry grade refrigerators, but current arrangements for social distancing mean a table outdoors, a plexiglass barrier, a box for posting exact money and cheques, an extended opening time and a strict one at a time regime.  It works well, but it is sad not to be able to interact with other clients as before.

Yesterday I got the last of the spuds in - a relief I must say.  There are now 44 potatoes growing away - 20 are actually up and about, the others won't be for a while yet.  I have 4 gaps in the weed suppressant mat that I will be putting some of my butternut squash seedlings in tomorrow, as we are now past the Saintes Glaces.

And another cat photo to finish - Clause decided he would look a bit more sensible than normal for his selfie yesterday.  He is also getting heavier I swear, even though he is shedding fur as quick as he can.