Rural Life

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!!

 

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 12 of Deconfinement Diary - a delayed appointment

A reflection on one of the few the joys of this virus - normally at this time of year towards sunset, the sky around us resembles a giant Jack Straws puzzle, with con trails in all directions.  Last night - not a single one, the wisps and streaks are cirrus clouds showing a change in the weather.  Lovely!

Anyway, on to that delayed appointment.  We had an appointment on the 19th March with Cuma near Brion to have a couple of barrels of brown gloop turned into something rather wonderful.  However, due to lockdown, that appointment had to be cancelled, but they got a dispensation to carry on distilling to the end of May.  So today we dragged the two seething barrels from the cellar and John drove them to Brion.  He was told to come back at 5:15pm, and has now returned with two barrels that need a good clean out, and one bonbon with 12 litres of clear and dangerous spirit.  It is a mixed vintage this year - pear and peach, because that was what we had. 

Now the gossip from Brion is that normally they would have 300 clients through a season, but this year they have only had 70!  People still labour under the impression that preparing fruit for distilling is illicit and illegal, and can only be done if you have grandfather rights.  No, people!  You can prepare and have distilled the products of your gardens, using a recognised distiller, the difference is that the amount of tax you pay on the product to the Government has increased.  If there is fruit this year (too early to tell for the moment), get brewing and keep those distillers in business!  However you can't have apple or grape product distilled, as that would make Calvados or brandy, which are controlled products.

No idea what this is like yet - currently it will be rough as old boots, but by late Autumn it should be OK.

So today the cheque book got a workout through needing to pay the distiller and the Government.  It is going to get a workout tomorrow too, as we head out not quite as far as 100km to visit our favourite producer of Bourgueil wines at Restigné before doing a socially distanced and responsible visit to Chinon.  The public health France cry for alcohol is "toujours avec moderation".  Good thing they can't access our cheque book!

Day 11 of Deconfinement Diary - and it's up!

A couple of updates from yesterday's blog.

Firstly and very sadly, I was right, it was an undertaker's van backed up to a (nice) neighbour's house, as he died at home yesterday at just 70 years old (nothing to do with Covid).  

Secondly, and on a happier note - yay, my hair has been cut!  No longer the shaggy sheep look, but back to something more normal for me.  On arrival, you get to slather your hands with gel, so they are nice and sticky.  Then you get to put on your drape yourself.  Meanwhile everything the person before touched is being disinfected.  Then the compulsory hair wash which isn't so bad with a mask on, but no back or scalp massages.  Then the cutting, with the hairdresser wearing a mask and a face visor, so speech is muffled.  Great care is taken around the ears so that your mask is not cut off by mistake.  The biggest issue is if a bit of cut hair falls into your mask - that is a whole new form of torture and one the CIA will no doubt adopt, particularly if you then try to speak!  So there we go - and I feel a lot better for it, especially once I was out of the salon and could get my hair lined mask off my face!

And then this evening, just before sitting down to type, we got the new abri roof up.  The internal ties to the centre of the frame aren't tied yet, but as we aren't expecting a gale overnight, I'm not worried.  The stripes work even though they aren't matched, and we have shade.  This is important as it was humid and up to near 30ºC today.  Nibbles has tested the shade for us and approved it.

Now to go and christen the shade with a suitable libation!

Day 9 of Deconfinement Diary - French bureaucracy will get me if Covid doesn't!

After yesterday's triumph of finishing the sewing (still not yet in place however - something for tomorrow!), I felt strong and able to cope with the thought of firstly helping some chums get through the ANTS system, and then looking at the tax declaration stuff.  Well that was a mistake!

Actually things started well, in that we got my friends' approved digitised photos done at the local service in double quick time, plus John scanned the required documents for me so I didn't have to battle the scanner.  Then it all started to go a bit pear shaped.  First off they wanted more documents than we had scanned, so I ended up taking photos of electricity bills and health system cards and using photos.  That worked and one application to change from a UK drivers licence to a French one went.  Could I get the other one to work?  Aaargh.  It took 15 goes to get the home address entered, as the system took offense at a "lieu dit" that it couldn't automatically find in its repertoire.  As the Government will happily send tax and health stuff to the address, that was a bit annoying, but by sidling up to it, catching the system unawares, a judicious prayer to the god of computers, and by not doing anything different, it finally accepted the details and let me do all the other stuff required for the second licence exchange application.  That is two hours of my life I won't get back!!

So after lunch I went to feed the boys and water the seedlings I planted at the weekend and check on stuff.  There are cherries, but not many, not large, not whole and not particularly spectacular - a shame after all the blossom.

I also took more photographs of bee orchids, but most are out of focus.  This one worked nicely though.

Once home, I thought I had better start looking at tax forms for here and Chinon.  Big mistake!  O it is easy to find the exchange rate they said last year at the tax office - I had to access a number of different reports, copy down twelve numbers to 4 decimal places, take the average and now I wait to see if it bears any resemblance to the number I asked for on the Q&A.  If it does fine, if it doesn't …. And tax French bears no relationship to real French like wot it is spoken either.  Another 2 hours of my life I won't get back.

Rummaging in the shed yesterday evening, John found our Covid-19 remedy (not that he was looking for it, but nice to have found it anyway).  We think it has more chance of working than Trump's dodgy hydrochloroquinine anyway.

Day 8 of Deconfinement Diary - with assistance from Nibbles

It's not been a momentous day here really.  First thing after breakfast I took my car to the garage as he was making a noise - a discussion and a look at the back wheels with a torch and he is booked in to get his brakes sorted out next Monday - not before as they are busy and there is a bank holiday.  I'm glad they are busy - it must have been a tricky time for them.

After lunch I thought I'd better crack on with the roof for the gazebo.  Lockdown stopped play as I had done all I could without fixings.  Amazon France was then blocked for unsafe working practices, so I had to wait until last week when the large "sells everything" shop opened and I had access to their haberdashery department.  If you remember, the lady there was pleased to sell me Velcro and orange tape and not have to discuss the lack of elastic.

I evicted the seedlings and got myself set up on the outside table, and cracked on, knowing it was going to be a long haul.  Nibbles decided to join me, and made things more difficult.  The photos show her serene and relaxed, but mine is a hand cranked sewing machine and there were times when every time my hand went towards her (so once every rotation), it got smacked, claws out!

Anyway, by about 7pm (hence the delay to this story), it was all done.  Tomorrow we will put it on the frame and celebrate with a bottle of something nice, but for tonight, you will have to make do with a photo of it on the ground.  There is of course still the centre piece to be done, but not this week!

The eagle-eyed will notice that Nibbles is still helping.