Rural Life

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 15 of 30 Days Wild - vegetables and a feathered visitor

Yesterday I was very excited about butterflies so didn't bother with the vegetables at the plot which are starting to do useful things.  The tomato plants, that John was given in return for helping to fix a ride on lawnmower and I just jammed into really unprepossessing ground, are doing really well and are covered with young tomatoes.  They are ridged and furrowed, so I expect they are some form of beefsteak tomato or heritage type.  If all the rain we are getting doesn't give them blight, I think I will be making a lot of tomato sauce this year!

Most years, the courgette problem is the same, the first flowers are all male and while pretty, they do nothing for our dinner plate.  This year, we have a different problem, the flowers are all female, and bizarrely, that does nothing for the plate either as with the young plants, the female flowers excluding the actual flower bud are no more than 4 centimetres long.  I think it is due to the hot, dry May weather, although I'm sure people will tell me if that is wrong.  Whatever, it is now clear that you need a good mix of male and female flowers in order to get courgettes worth eating!!

Now on to the feathered visitor, and for once it is Zola who has to hang her head in shame.  I was just about to start a Skype interview and the little darling was scrabbling around in the office, making out she had lost something.  I had to assume it was (yet) another mouse, but could do not more than ask her to find and take away her little friend before talking to my victim.  Once the interview was done and I was sitting and thinking, there was a rustling noise behind me, so I got my glass (empty) and went to trap the mouse.  Except it wasn't, it was either a swallow or a house martin.  Zola came to help so had to be locked in a bedroom while I tried to trap the little fellow with a cloth or my hands.  While it was quite happy on the floor by my desk, it was even happier flying along the landing to the front window, which I opened and it flew away.  I hope she hadn't damaged it too much, but it didn't do the baby duck lurch, it definitely flew, so fingers crossed.

It should have been yoga tonight, but once I got off my last call of the day and checked the rain radar, it was clear to me that it wasn't going to be a clear one and a half hours, and frankly, today I didn't feel like getting rained on while doing the sun greeting or other moves with more dodgy names.  I did a bit of CPD instead.

 

Day 14 of 30 Days Wild - rainbows and butterflies

We seem to be getting a lot of rainbows this year.  Yesterday I showed the one that was looking south east from the pub on Friday night when we left.  Today I share with you the double rainbow that could be seen from our back door yesterday evening, this time looking north east.

A few days ago I was worrying that history would be covered up in terms of the stonework on a house in the village.  I'm actually pretty hopeful that they are going to leave the stonework visible though, as there is a fine repointing of joints, but the scaffolding is coming down, and there is no covering render.  Fingers crossed guys, because I find this quality of stonework beautiful and fascinating.

John had his work cut out cat minding today.  This made it easier for me to tend to the needs of the tomatoes and check up on the haricots and tie in more bean poles for the borlotti beans.  It didn't make it any easier for him when it came to mowing around the plots though.

In places the buddleia is out and providing lots of lovely nectar for the butterflies.  I spent a happy (and Wild) 10 minutes chasing around the bushes, trying to photograph butterflies and got some reasonable pictures this time I think.  This is the one I like the best - it's a peacock butterfly by the way.

Tomorrow it is back to work and also back to the uncertainty over outdoor yoga or not - don't be surprised if there is no blog, as I could be stuck with my foot round the back of my head (boasting), or be spending the evening rubbing horse liniment into my aching joints.

 

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 9 of 30 Days Wild - I said I might not post yesterday!

The weather was not propitious yesterday for outdoor yoga, but it was good for getting a lot of work done on the computer and by the time I had finished, I just wanted to rest my eyes.  Later in the evening I went out and photographed the rainbow.

Today I have been over to Chinon, which has a very fine chateau that you can see from the house there.

The walled garden has red valerian growing in it, which attracts the butterflies - we saw whites, a peacock, and this which I think is a White Admiral.  And yes, I do know it is sitting on a pink rose, but it started out on the valerian.

 

We also went wine tasting and buying at Restigné again - all very good!

Tomorrow I may be more verbose, but I still have 50 e-mails to read before bedtime!

 

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 4 of 30 Days Wild - not so wild, but I got revenge!

This blog was late yesterday and was going to be very dull today as I really have been working very hard, but then I went up the garden to release the Garden Vandals and found things to comment on.

The weather changed drastically yesterday with the storms and a front or two going over.  We had 11.5mm of rain overnight, but Mouliherne seems to have the local record with 140mm.  Friends over that way have mentioned lots of lightening and thunder and there was a mud slide blocking one of the lanes too.  Today is cool (cold after 28ºC yesterday) and dull and not inspiring.  The birds are singing but aren't flying around much.

This is what the Garden Vandals did to the lettuces that were with the main batch of chilli plants - they were just right for cutting too!

These ones are still OK for the moment, but if a beak and neck can get in, they find the leaves and the chilli plants, so you can see which lettuce is best protected in this bed!

But to get round to the revenge part, I was releasing the big 4 chickens, and took my time as Dummer wasn't among the party - either she is on strike due to the cold, or she has gone broody.  Whichever, she went for my hand when I tried to stroke her.  On my way out of the run, I bent over to inspect the rat trap which seems to be doing a good job as a deterent, if not actually catching anything at the moment.  A certain bantam of our acquaintance seems to think it is a good place to lay her eggs - I found 3, but one was under the trap so I left it, but that is still 2 to me!  haha! 

Tomorrow's blog will be a bit late, as we have a great moment in Deconfinement!  Our first visit to the pub since lockdown!  I'll share it with you.

Day 2 of 30 Days wild - and more Nibbles shame

I love dragonflies and demoiselles and I love that they come into our garden even though we don't have a water feature and we are quite a long way from the river and the plan d'eau.  There is something about fennel I think that appeals to them, and I found this pale blue cutie by the raspberries when I was watering yesterday evening.  You can't see the wings particularly well, but they were tucked away.

Standing in the queue for the boulangerie this morning was not a trial at all, in fact I could have stayed longer.  There were a dozen or more swifts flying in circles up across the church roof, and occasionally one would peel off and disappear in a crevice in the façade of the church, where they are clearly nesting.  It was magical to watch them, but not easy to photograph!  This is the best I got.

Finally a less appealing aspect of watching out for natural things and wildlife - I know where the hedgehogs pee on the lawn because Nibbles thinks that hedgehog pee is almost as wonderful as catnip and disgraces herself.  Another moment when the phrase "Just say No!" is very relevant!

In deconfinement news, one of the Chinon Two is beating us to a new experience as he was invited to attend the reopening of the Café Francaise in Chinon this evening.  I look forward to hearing about it in due course!

 

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!!