Ste Angèle
The mornings have remained very cold. Deep frosts freeze the cat's water bowl overnight and the world is very white until about 10.30am.
Lunchtimes have been quite different for the last week. We've been able to sit outside with a cuppa or sometimes a beer enjoying the warmth of a January sun which has plenty of heat in it but which, sadly, disappears behind the hill far too soon. Sitting outside today (with a cuppa) we even heard the odd cricket quietly chirruping away in the distance. A couple of male chaffinches were arguing at the top of a tree and the distant squeal of a buzzard made us think that, just maybe, spring might be on its way.
A glance through last years diary though makes us less complacent. 22 degrees one February lunch time but I recorded that March 21st was 'the coldest day yet'. Brrrrr.
We've taken a day off today, which gives me the opportunity to catch up on some reading. For my sins I now belong to no less than three reading groups. The English Bookshop at Gourdon (http://www.booksandcompany.co.uk/) has two reading groups and I have recently joined one of them with a friend, we'll be going along to our first meeting on Thursday and I have a very interesting book to read. The Perfect Summer, buy Juliet Nicholson is a fascinating book about the summer of 1911; a new King will be crowned, the country has just come out of mourning for Edward VII and the difference between the rich and poor is wider than the Atlantic Ocean. I'm really enjoying the read which is so different from the second book club's choice for January 'We Need to Talk About Kevin'. This novel was dramatised on Woman's Hour on Radio 4 earlier this month. I avoided listening to it as I was in the middle of the book at the time and had been advised that it would be a bad idea to hear the end before I'd read it.
'Kevin' was a really harrowing read but I'm so glad I did get through it. Not to be read if you are feeling depressed (it would probably make you suicidal) but very well written, even though I did have one of the most awful American accents reading it 'to' me.
The latest group I have joined is a really good idea. It is a postal book group. Twelve people, all living in France and some of them French have selected a book each from their collection. The idea is that you send it on to one person on the list and you receive another book from another member. By the end of 12 months we should receive our own book back again. It's quite exciting not knowing what the next book will be.
With all this reading - and Jon is reading the books too even though he only belongs to one of the groups - it's a good job we are fast readers. The next job is to make a selection of books for our long flights - something gripping but not too heavy in weight.
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildlife. Show all posts
Sunday, 27 January 2008
Thursday, 17 January 2008
More wildlife
Ste Roseline
The birdtable is doing very well thank you. The birds are very active out there and totally ignore the big grey cat sitting under them muttering frustrations to herself because she can't climb the tree.
The deer were in the field yesterday too, whenever we wander down there we can see their trails through the wood, across the field, through the hedgerow and over the track into the distance. We've not seen the hare for a while but then it is hunting season and we wouldn't want him hanging around.
Our friends on the other side of the hill have been visited by a wild boar just the day after they planted some new trees so they weren't very happy about it, although luckily it only managed to dig up one of them it could have been so much worse.
We have even spotted the odd rabbit or two, rare creatures round here.
But yesterday, in broad daylight, Jon saw a FOX chasing a couple of cats up the lane - not ours fortunately. He obviously thought better of it, turned around, cut across our garden and down the field towards the main road.
Although we have spotted the odd fox at night, we've never seen one here during the day, and I was quite shocked to hear that he had been chasing cats. It may explain why our two sometimes come rushing to the back door, hackles up, when we can't seen anything around. They aren't the bravest of cats and luckily they have plenty of hiding places close to home.
They are looking quite interesting at the moment, our cats, with their mohican hairstyles from the anti-worm medicine I rubbed into their necks when we got back from the vet! This new medicine which is absorbed thought the skin, lasts up to 6 months, so much easier than giving them a pill. Figgy is moulting really badly at the moment so the nice vet also gave me some 'cat malt' which helps fur balls pass though their system - he's having problem with fur balls in the throat at the moment - so far though he has refused to eat the food with the malt on it so I may have to persuade him to open his jaws and just accept the malt raw.
This is not a prospect I'm looking forward too, I must admit.
The birdtable is doing very well thank you. The birds are very active out there and totally ignore the big grey cat sitting under them muttering frustrations to herself because she can't climb the tree.
The deer were in the field yesterday too, whenever we wander down there we can see their trails through the wood, across the field, through the hedgerow and over the track into the distance. We've not seen the hare for a while but then it is hunting season and we wouldn't want him hanging around.
Our friends on the other side of the hill have been visited by a wild boar just the day after they planted some new trees so they weren't very happy about it, although luckily it only managed to dig up one of them it could have been so much worse.
We have even spotted the odd rabbit or two, rare creatures round here.
But yesterday, in broad daylight, Jon saw a FOX chasing a couple of cats up the lane - not ours fortunately. He obviously thought better of it, turned around, cut across our garden and down the field towards the main road.
Although we have spotted the odd fox at night, we've never seen one here during the day, and I was quite shocked to hear that he had been chasing cats. It may explain why our two sometimes come rushing to the back door, hackles up, when we can't seen anything around. They aren't the bravest of cats and luckily they have plenty of hiding places close to home.
They are looking quite interesting at the moment, our cats, with their mohican hairstyles from the anti-worm medicine I rubbed into their necks when we got back from the vet! This new medicine which is absorbed thought the skin, lasts up to 6 months, so much easier than giving them a pill. Figgy is moulting really badly at the moment so the nice vet also gave me some 'cat malt' which helps fur balls pass though their system - he's having problem with fur balls in the throat at the moment - so far though he has refused to eat the food with the malt on it so I may have to persuade him to open his jaws and just accept the malt raw.
This is not a prospect I'm looking forward too, I must admit.
Wednesday, 26 December 2007
White Christmas
St Stéphane
I don't think this is quite what Bing had in mind when he sang that lovely song
White, it certainly was, snow it wasn't but it did look very pretty. This is when it was -10 degrees C.
And this, from another angle
Later on it warmed up to -2 degrees C and the feeding frenzy began. Not us, these little chaps
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I don't think this is quite what Bing had in mind when he sang that lovely song
White, it certainly was, snow it wasn't but it did look very pretty. This is when it was -10 degrees C.
And this, from another angle
Later on it warmed up to -2 degrees C and the feeding frenzy began. Not us, these little chaps
I shall refrain from putting up any pictures of our own delicious lunch. The reason being that I did follow the nice market stall holder's instructions to stuff the neck of the goose. Unfortunately it did look rather, well, how can I put this? Well, actually, erm ..... phallic. (Sorry, Mum)
As we fell about laughing, Jon only looking slightly worried having checked first (?), we imagined people giving theatrical winks in kitchens all over France. Ooh, err, Missus. Lots of nudge, nudge, wink, wink jokes going on.
We had a very nice, quiet and relaxed day, took several hours to eat our 7 small courses the only disaster was the completely defrosted basil sorbet which had been left out of the freezer to soften slightly. Not to worry, I replaced it with an exotic fruit one instead. Now I have to remember to serve the refrozen basil sorbet another day!
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Chilling with blue tits
Ste Lucie
Yesterday's weather: cold, cold, colder
Happy birthday to Vikki x x x x xx
The fig tree outside the kitchen window has always been full of birds. It's lovely watching them, blue tits, great tits, chaffinches, robins - all sorts of small birds come and visit.
Sitting watching them the other day, Mum suggested putting a bird table in the tree. I was worried that the cats might enjoy this as a new playground but Mum seemed to think that they would just ignore the birds.
Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, Jon immediately got up from the lunch table and went to the garage to create a bird chateau for gourmet feathered friends. He duly put it in the tree and we waited for the visitors.
And waited.
And waited.
Aiming to tempt them a little Mum had put out some cheese, bacon scraps and bread for the little dears. I added a fat ball which I bought in the garden centre and some bird seed, interstingly labelled 'Meusli' - well, we thought we would attract the gourmet birds with this house.
A lone blue tit appeared, ignored the chateau and headed straight for the fat ball which it seemed to like very much thank you.
A week later and the blue tit is still visiting.
No other birds, just the one.
I just have this feeling that one day I'm going to look out and find a blue tit bigger than the tree shouting at me to feed him.
Yesterday's weather: cold, cold, colder
Happy birthday to Vikki x x x x xx
The fig tree outside the kitchen window has always been full of birds. It's lovely watching them, blue tits, great tits, chaffinches, robins - all sorts of small birds come and visit.
Sitting watching them the other day, Mum suggested putting a bird table in the tree. I was worried that the cats might enjoy this as a new playground but Mum seemed to think that they would just ignore the birds.
Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, Jon immediately got up from the lunch table and went to the garage to create a bird chateau for gourmet feathered friends. He duly put it in the tree and we waited for the visitors.
And waited.
And waited.
Aiming to tempt them a little Mum had put out some cheese, bacon scraps and bread for the little dears. I added a fat ball which I bought in the garden centre and some bird seed, interstingly labelled 'Meusli' - well, we thought we would attract the gourmet birds with this house.
A lone blue tit appeared, ignored the chateau and headed straight for the fat ball which it seemed to like very much thank you.
A week later and the blue tit is still visiting.
No other birds, just the one.
I just have this feeling that one day I'm going to look out and find a blue tit bigger than the tree shouting at me to feed him.
Thursday, 11 October 2007
Feathered friends and furry ones
St Firmin
Yesterday's weather: Lots of rain!
As an addendum to yesterday's blog Jon has asked me to add that other things that go screech in the night are owls, and there were plenty of them screeching the other night when he was out investigating the cat fight.
Which leads neatly on to one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time - Alan Titchmarsh's programme on BBC 1 last night: The Nature of Britain. The programme was fascinating, well constructed and the photography was just amazing. No, my amusement wasn't caused by the Titchmarsh who has come a long way since Ground Force where he did little other than wind up Tommy Walsh and tease Charlie about, well, her Charlies; I just giggled at the sight of three cats looking all over the house for the birds.
Misty's ears were like radars listening for aircraft, they almost turned a full 360 degrees trying to work out where the noise was coming from. Figaro sat up and looked at the TV but couldn't quite work out whether those flickering images really were birds or not and even Jazz opened an eye to see if there was a snack in view. Not that birds are their favourite snack, they are much to much like hard work to catch when there are dozens of furry creatures and you just have to sit and wait for them to pop out of their holes in the ground.
They may have been more confused because the birds they were listening to were skuas who were busy bombarding the Titchmarsh who had dared to get close and look at one of their babies. It was amusing TV but more amusing cat-watching. They have certainly never come close to hearing anything like a skua but they obviously knew what that noise meant.
Interestingly, when we were seeing images of 7 million screaming starlings doing their incredible evening ballet before diving into their reed-bed beds for the night they didn't bat an eyelid. They obviously realised that they would be severely outnumbered!
Whilst on the subject of birds, I hear on the grapevine that the cranes we saw migrating north at the beginning of March are now heading south again. They don't chatter in the same way when they are heading south so we will have to keep our eyes peeled skyward today. Luckily it is a beautiful clear sky so I hope we may be able to spot them.
Yesterday's weather: Lots of rain!
As an addendum to yesterday's blog Jon has asked me to add that other things that go screech in the night are owls, and there were plenty of them screeching the other night when he was out investigating the cat fight.
Which leads neatly on to one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time - Alan Titchmarsh's programme on BBC 1 last night: The Nature of Britain. The programme was fascinating, well constructed and the photography was just amazing. No, my amusement wasn't caused by the Titchmarsh who has come a long way since Ground Force where he did little other than wind up Tommy Walsh and tease Charlie about, well, her Charlies; I just giggled at the sight of three cats looking all over the house for the birds.
Misty's ears were like radars listening for aircraft, they almost turned a full 360 degrees trying to work out where the noise was coming from. Figaro sat up and looked at the TV but couldn't quite work out whether those flickering images really were birds or not and even Jazz opened an eye to see if there was a snack in view. Not that birds are their favourite snack, they are much to much like hard work to catch when there are dozens of furry creatures and you just have to sit and wait for them to pop out of their holes in the ground.
They may have been more confused because the birds they were listening to were skuas who were busy bombarding the Titchmarsh who had dared to get close and look at one of their babies. It was amusing TV but more amusing cat-watching. They have certainly never come close to hearing anything like a skua but they obviously knew what that noise meant.
Interestingly, when we were seeing images of 7 million screaming starlings doing their incredible evening ballet before diving into their reed-bed beds for the night they didn't bat an eyelid. They obviously realised that they would be severely outnumbered!
Whilst on the subject of birds, I hear on the grapevine that the cranes we saw migrating north at the beginning of March are now heading south again. They don't chatter in the same way when they are heading south so we will have to keep our eyes peeled skyward today. Luckily it is a beautiful clear sky so I hope we may be able to spot them.
Monday, 24 September 2007
Another unwelcome visitor
St Thècle
Yesterday's weather: Mild and mixed
Jon went out this morning for his usual wander round the garden before breakfast, just to see if anything happened overnight.
It never does, but you have to look, don't you?
Until today.
Yesterday, this was a nice green piece of, well, if not lawn then at least it was green and flat. This morning we found this.
There's only one thing that would have done this much damage. We have been visited by a sanglier, a wild boar. It was Sunday yesterday and we did hear the distant sound of Frenchmen participating in their favourite weekend sport, la chasse. Maybe they just flushed this one out yesterday and in our direction. We are quite relieved that we didn't get around to making anything of this part of the garden this year. Next year there will be a swimming pool there, terracing and, it is planned, a nice herbacious border. I don't know whether the boar would dig up a planted garden, I suppose it depends on the plants and their density. I think I'll need to do a bit of research on this one.
Friday, 21 September 2007
Unwanted guests
St Matthieu
Yesterday's weather: Still basking in the sun.
We share our house and land with all sorts of creatures. You may have already met the deer in an earlier post. We watched two young ones, this years' babies we think, practicing their rutting skills yesterday evening. They met head to head and then, unsure what to do next, they frolicked like a couple of little lambs, stopped, looked at each other as if to say (in Tellytubby voices, please)
'Again! Again!'
There are the red squirrels who are feasting on the walnuts as I write this. Only one of the walnut trees has nuts of a good size, that is their favourite, of course. Dozens of birds of various types.
Inside the house apart from us and the cats of course are things I don't like. Spiders of all shapes and sizes, and a ghastly looking creature (can't load the picture for you so the squeamish are let off for today)!
He is a house centipede and I can't stand the creatures. They can be as big as about 3 - 4 inches long (including all the hairy bits) and are usually seen at night rushing around the walls as soon as they realise they have been spotted. They look like a small broom! There is usually one in the bedroom, although Jon found three the other night when I complained about just one. They feed on spiders, flies and other nasty house creatures so I know I should love them really, but am terrified in case one wanders over my face in the night - very unlikely, I am told.
I don't know of any way to deter them. I wonder if they are, perhaps, repelled by lavender or something else I like - if anyone out there knows, do tell please!
Yesterday's weather: Still basking in the sun.
We share our house and land with all sorts of creatures. You may have already met the deer in an earlier post. We watched two young ones, this years' babies we think, practicing their rutting skills yesterday evening. They met head to head and then, unsure what to do next, they frolicked like a couple of little lambs, stopped, looked at each other as if to say (in Tellytubby voices, please)
'Again! Again!'
There are the red squirrels who are feasting on the walnuts as I write this. Only one of the walnut trees has nuts of a good size, that is their favourite, of course. Dozens of birds of various types.
Inside the house apart from us and the cats of course are things I don't like. Spiders of all shapes and sizes, and a ghastly looking creature (can't load the picture for you so the squeamish are let off for today)!
He is a house centipede and I can't stand the creatures. They can be as big as about 3 - 4 inches long (including all the hairy bits) and are usually seen at night rushing around the walls as soon as they realise they have been spotted. They look like a small broom! There is usually one in the bedroom, although Jon found three the other night when I complained about just one. They feed on spiders, flies and other nasty house creatures so I know I should love them really, but am terrified in case one wanders over my face in the night - very unlikely, I am told.
I don't know of any way to deter them. I wonder if they are, perhaps, repelled by lavender or something else I like - if anyone out there knows, do tell please!
Saturday, 11 August 2007
Country matters and meteors
Ste Claire
Yesterday's weather - cool, sunny, windy
Our deer seem to have taken up permanent residence in the field just in front of our house. Mummy, Daddy and baby deer come out to graze on a regular basis, either en masse or one at a time - except the baby, he/she is always accompanied by one of the parents. I expect they will be disappearing again once the field has it's second cut which will probably be some weeks yet. In a normal year we have two cuts, one in June and the second usually about now, but this year the growth is still very green and not suitable yet for hay. It won't be long now before the hunting season is back. Early September will bring all the white van men out with their guns and dogs hunting for anything that moves. We hope that 'our' deer may be canny enough to avoid them but there are so many that it seems unlikely. La chasse is part of life out here and something that we are getting used to. But we don't have to like it.
We don't often see Mr D the farmer but he was counting his cows the other day and we stopped to say 'Bonjour' and chat about the weather (which is about his only topic of conversation). We asked if he had had a holiday as we noticed the house closed up for a few days. He very proudly said that they had had a little holiday of 4 days and promptly changed the subject back to the weather again. We were pleased to hear that they had managed to get away even for that short time. Like all farmers his days are long, especially at this time of year.
The sun is out this morning and it has given the valley a glow that is full of promise. I hope it keeps it today. This weekend we will be trying to stay up to see the meteor showers which should be the best for many years due to the new moon and no light pollution. Sunday night/Monday morning are reported to be the best times to see them but they should be visible tonight too. If only we don't get any cloud cover overnight we should be in for a beautiful display.
Yesterday's weather - cool, sunny, windy
Our deer seem to have taken up permanent residence in the field just in front of our house. Mummy, Daddy and baby deer come out to graze on a regular basis, either en masse or one at a time - except the baby, he/she is always accompanied by one of the parents. I expect they will be disappearing again once the field has it's second cut which will probably be some weeks yet. In a normal year we have two cuts, one in June and the second usually about now, but this year the growth is still very green and not suitable yet for hay. It won't be long now before the hunting season is back. Early September will bring all the white van men out with their guns and dogs hunting for anything that moves. We hope that 'our' deer may be canny enough to avoid them but there are so many that it seems unlikely. La chasse is part of life out here and something that we are getting used to. But we don't have to like it.
We don't often see Mr D the farmer but he was counting his cows the other day and we stopped to say 'Bonjour' and chat about the weather (which is about his only topic of conversation). We asked if he had had a holiday as we noticed the house closed up for a few days. He very proudly said that they had had a little holiday of 4 days and promptly changed the subject back to the weather again. We were pleased to hear that they had managed to get away even for that short time. Like all farmers his days are long, especially at this time of year.
The sun is out this morning and it has given the valley a glow that is full of promise. I hope it keeps it today. This weekend we will be trying to stay up to see the meteor showers which should be the best for many years due to the new moon and no light pollution. Sunday night/Monday morning are reported to be the best times to see them but they should be visible tonight too. If only we don't get any cloud cover overnight we should be in for a beautiful display.
Friday, 3 August 2007
Cleaning
Ste Lydie
Yesterday's weather: mixed but no rain. Warm.
Warning: You may not wish to continue reading this if you are an arachnophobe.
Yesterday afternoon I decided to 'deep clean' the cellar, or cave in French. Unusually in our house, it is the room next to our kitchen which was created many, many years ago from half of the cave space. We use it as a utility room, larder and general store/dumping ground but returning some cheese to the fridge after lunch I noticed a strange smell, so I thought I should give it a good clean. We have occasionally had a mouse in there, not recently since the cats are such good mousers, but you never know if one of the little critters has managed to get in during the night and popped it's clogs, so to speak.
As our house is built into the side of a hill the back of the cave is bedrock and it's full of little holes. I started at the back to work forwards. I must admit that I don't do a full clean in there very often, but we did do one just a couple of months ago. However, I think the entire spider population of France had heard how infrequently I clean the back wall and they had all taken up residence. Ugh.
I really don't like spiders, although I do appreciate the fact that they help keep the fly population down. I was very gentle with them, I hoovered them up into a bagless hoover and emptied them into the garden from where, no doubt they are making their way back 'home'.
Oh, as for the smell, yes I did locate it. It was the hard boiled eggs I had put in the fridge earlier. I forgot to cover them with cling wrap but I have done now and the fridge and cave smell much sweeter.
Yesterday's weather: mixed but no rain. Warm.
Warning: You may not wish to continue reading this if you are an arachnophobe.
Yesterday afternoon I decided to 'deep clean' the cellar, or cave in French. Unusually in our house, it is the room next to our kitchen which was created many, many years ago from half of the cave space. We use it as a utility room, larder and general store/dumping ground but returning some cheese to the fridge after lunch I noticed a strange smell, so I thought I should give it a good clean. We have occasionally had a mouse in there, not recently since the cats are such good mousers, but you never know if one of the little critters has managed to get in during the night and popped it's clogs, so to speak.
As our house is built into the side of a hill the back of the cave is bedrock and it's full of little holes. I started at the back to work forwards. I must admit that I don't do a full clean in there very often, but we did do one just a couple of months ago. However, I think the entire spider population of France had heard how infrequently I clean the back wall and they had all taken up residence. Ugh.
I really don't like spiders, although I do appreciate the fact that they help keep the fly population down. I was very gentle with them, I hoovered them up into a bagless hoover and emptied them into the garden from where, no doubt they are making their way back 'home'.
Oh, as for the smell, yes I did locate it. It was the hard boiled eggs I had put in the fridge earlier. I forgot to cover them with cling wrap but I have done now and the fridge and cave smell much sweeter.
Sunday, 22 July 2007
Apple ducking
Ste Marie-Madeleine
Yesterday's weather: mostly miserable but not too much rain.
Happy Birthday to Jon's Dad, Douglas
Sitting here and looking out of the study window, I see the red squirrels are at the top of the apple tree again. Every now and then they knock, or possibly throw another apple out of the tree. They don't appear to be bothered whether we are in the garden or not. Jon was throwing apples back up at one the other day for quite a while before he got fed up and moved into a nearby tree to sit and watch until we had gone indoors.
This makes walking under the apple tree quite a dangerous prospect just at the moment. If it isn't the squirrels throwing apples we are bombarded by angry flies who are gorging themselves on the squirrel's discards.
We do regret not being able to harvest the apples for ourselves but there are so many and most of them are too small to do much with. The tree is extremely old and hasn't been properly pruned for many a year. It's on the to-do list along with 499 other little jobs!
We have collected some good-sized apples from the tree which caused me to resurrect a recipe for apple scone which had been tucked away in a little book where I have been jotting down recipes since before we married. That makes about 34 years of recipes and the book is falling apart. I should probably add another item to the to-do list: Write up the recipes in a new book before it is too late and we lose them all forever. So that makes 501 jobs for later.
Yesterday's weather: mostly miserable but not too much rain.
Happy Birthday to Jon's Dad, Douglas
Sitting here and looking out of the study window, I see the red squirrels are at the top of the apple tree again. Every now and then they knock, or possibly throw another apple out of the tree. They don't appear to be bothered whether we are in the garden or not. Jon was throwing apples back up at one the other day for quite a while before he got fed up and moved into a nearby tree to sit and watch until we had gone indoors.
This makes walking under the apple tree quite a dangerous prospect just at the moment. If it isn't the squirrels throwing apples we are bombarded by angry flies who are gorging themselves on the squirrel's discards.
We do regret not being able to harvest the apples for ourselves but there are so many and most of them are too small to do much with. The tree is extremely old and hasn't been properly pruned for many a year. It's on the to-do list along with 499 other little jobs!
We have collected some good-sized apples from the tree which caused me to resurrect a recipe for apple scone which had been tucked away in a little book where I have been jotting down recipes since before we married. That makes about 34 years of recipes and the book is falling apart. I should probably add another item to the to-do list: Write up the recipes in a new book before it is too late and we lose them all forever. So that makes 501 jobs for later.
Friday, 20 July 2007
Meet Hubert
Ste Marina
Yesterday's weather: pretty good really. Lovely warm evening.
Yesterday's lunch party went well. I had found a new recipe (lovely James Martin) for salmon, mustard and watercress pasta bake. I couldn't get watercress so we had spinach in it instead but it was delicious, and the tarte au citron went down very well - bottom not too soggy!
We had a very exciting night. We were sitting outside enjoying the warm evening air. The valley was very peaceful and I noticed that we had a visitor trotting along the patio investigating the drystone wall.
At last I found the pooing culprit. Here he is:
Yesterday's weather: pretty good really. Lovely warm evening.
Yesterday's lunch party went well. I had found a new recipe (lovely James Martin) for salmon, mustard and watercress pasta bake. I couldn't get watercress so we had spinach in it instead but it was delicious, and the tarte au citron went down very well - bottom not too soggy!
We had a very exciting night. We were sitting outside enjoying the warm evening air. The valley was very peaceful and I noticed that we had a visitor trotting along the patio investigating the drystone wall.
At last I found the pooing culprit. Here he is:
He spent a good 15 minutes snuffling around the wall, checking all the nooks and crannies and then suddenly became very self conscious after all the photographs I was taking and decided to squeeze himself into a hole and sat there watching us, watching him. I felt like paparazzi!
After a while, Misty came trotting past on her way indoors for 'a little something' (check out The House at Pooh Corner) before bed. She pulled up short and her nose was working really hard until she found the cause of the scent and peered into the wall. She has obviously met Hubert Hedgehog before as she didn't try to shake paws with him, but was very cautious, just letting him know that she knew he was there too.
We are hoping that Hubert is a very hungry hedgehog and will feast himself on our enormous slugs. He does look very healthy and well fed.
Jon and the deer have just passed the time of day together communing in the garden. The local animals are obviously getting used to us being here now and show no signs of concern about sharing our land. The hare has been back basking in the evening sunshine and deer are here on and off all day long. We will have to find a way of protecting them when the shooting season starts in September but for now they are all enjoying the summer.
Saturday, 14 July 2007
It IS cricket!
Ste Madalgaire
Yesterday's weather: Just gorgeous. 27 degrees
Madagascan proverb: You can hold a cricket in your hand but its song will be all over the field
I really hate ladders, so why, you might ask, did yesterday afternoon see me on a ladder up the apple tree?
I was fed up with the family of jays who were up there eating all the apples which are just becoming ripe. We had been sitting in the garden when an apple core dropped on the ground close by. The birds have been enjoying the fruits of our labours (well, we haven't actually laboured very hard with this apple tree) before we even get to see them ripen.
From the study window on the first floor, I can see the best of the apples at the very top of the tree. My ladder won't reach that high so I am sure the jays will be enjoying that crop today.
Whilst doing my usual investigation of the tomatoes and courgettes I spotted a strange green growth on one of the tomatoes which was just beginning to ripen. This tomato is on one of the plants that I am keeping a very close eye on for blight. Closer inspection showed that the growth was a bright green cricket, about three and a half inches long which had it's head buried in the tomato core. I didn't want to disturb it (just call me a coward, I'll confess) so I went to have another look later on. The tomato is now completely hollow, like an apple that has been cored and I couldn't see the cricket anywhere - until I moved the plant! Well, I know how you can avoid slugs eating your plants, but what to do about crickets? I hire Dickie Bird to send him back to the pavillion, I suppose.
Yesterday's weather: Just gorgeous. 27 degrees
Madagascan proverb: You can hold a cricket in your hand but its song will be all over the field
I really hate ladders, so why, you might ask, did yesterday afternoon see me on a ladder up the apple tree?
I was fed up with the family of jays who were up there eating all the apples which are just becoming ripe. We had been sitting in the garden when an apple core dropped on the ground close by. The birds have been enjoying the fruits of our labours (well, we haven't actually laboured very hard with this apple tree) before we even get to see them ripen.
From the study window on the first floor, I can see the best of the apples at the very top of the tree. My ladder won't reach that high so I am sure the jays will be enjoying that crop today.
Whilst doing my usual investigation of the tomatoes and courgettes I spotted a strange green growth on one of the tomatoes which was just beginning to ripen. This tomato is on one of the plants that I am keeping a very close eye on for blight. Closer inspection showed that the growth was a bright green cricket, about three and a half inches long which had it's head buried in the tomato core. I didn't want to disturb it (just call me a coward, I'll confess) so I went to have another look later on. The tomato is now completely hollow, like an apple that has been cored and I couldn't see the cricket anywhere - until I moved the plant! Well, I know how you can avoid slugs eating your plants, but what to do about crickets? I hire Dickie Bird to send him back to the pavillion, I suppose.
Friday, 13 July 2007
We've been blighted and bitten
St Henri-Joel
Yesterday's weather: Started cloudy, ended clear and sunny - 23 deg.
The wettest spring on record here has, unfortunately, taken its toll on our tomato plants. The beautiful big tomatoes I've been nurturing have succombed to blight and I fear we are losing them all. The cherry tomatoes are prolific on the patio and seem to have escaped, although I am keeping a close eye on them. The plum tomatoes also seem to have escaped. Courgettes too, seem to have suffered from the excess rain and although they started well a few weeks ago, they have virtually stopped producing and their leaves are beginning to go yellow. So I will have to go to market this morning to stock up on vegetables.
Jon is taking advantage of a morning without rain to mow the lawn, which is looking very much greener than it has in previous years.
We took a day out yesterday and went to Figeac, a beautiful town to the east of here. We had a good lunch in the old covered market square and had a long time to wander around the narrow streets discovering all sorts of little shops tucked away. Figeac is one of the places we would love to live if we ever have to consider moving to a town in our dotage (some would say that has already come!). It is right on the River Lot and has everything we could need but it still retains a small town feel to it and doesn't seem quite as much of a holiday town as some of those nearer to us. This is probably because it is on the edge of the Auvergne region, one of the most remote areas of France, although it is still reasonably accessible by train, car and plane as good old RyanAir fly to Rodez.
We went to Figeac a couple of years ago for lunch with my mother. It was just a little pizzeria but they had tables set out in a pretty little courtyard and it looked very inviting. Jon and Mum received their meals but mine never turned up. After about half an hour of trying to find someone to bring my pizza, they had to relight the pizza oven and cook it for me as they had forgotten. Needless to say, we didn't go there yesterday!
Ankle biters
Mosquitos have arrived. We've not done too badly so far this year but we were sitting out yesterday evening listening to the radio and despite liberally spraying each other with repellant and burning a citronella candle we didn't escape. We've got a nice strong repellant which also works against ticks (ugh) but even though it is, allegedly, tropical strength, the mozzies don't seem to be averse to it. Avon Skin-so-Soft is the repellant I used to use before the threat of ticks, so maybe I should go back to that - or wear both.
Yesterday's weather: Started cloudy, ended clear and sunny - 23 deg.
The wettest spring on record here has, unfortunately, taken its toll on our tomato plants. The beautiful big tomatoes I've been nurturing have succombed to blight and I fear we are losing them all. The cherry tomatoes are prolific on the patio and seem to have escaped, although I am keeping a close eye on them. The plum tomatoes also seem to have escaped. Courgettes too, seem to have suffered from the excess rain and although they started well a few weeks ago, they have virtually stopped producing and their leaves are beginning to go yellow. So I will have to go to market this morning to stock up on vegetables.
Jon is taking advantage of a morning without rain to mow the lawn, which is looking very much greener than it has in previous years.
We took a day out yesterday and went to Figeac, a beautiful town to the east of here. We had a good lunch in the old covered market square and had a long time to wander around the narrow streets discovering all sorts of little shops tucked away. Figeac is one of the places we would love to live if we ever have to consider moving to a town in our dotage (some would say that has already come!). It is right on the River Lot and has everything we could need but it still retains a small town feel to it and doesn't seem quite as much of a holiday town as some of those nearer to us. This is probably because it is on the edge of the Auvergne region, one of the most remote areas of France, although it is still reasonably accessible by train, car and plane as good old RyanAir fly to Rodez.
We went to Figeac a couple of years ago for lunch with my mother. It was just a little pizzeria but they had tables set out in a pretty little courtyard and it looked very inviting. Jon and Mum received their meals but mine never turned up. After about half an hour of trying to find someone to bring my pizza, they had to relight the pizza oven and cook it for me as they had forgotten. Needless to say, we didn't go there yesterday!
Ankle biters
Mosquitos have arrived. We've not done too badly so far this year but we were sitting out yesterday evening listening to the radio and despite liberally spraying each other with repellant and burning a citronella candle we didn't escape. We've got a nice strong repellant which also works against ticks (ugh) but even though it is, allegedly, tropical strength, the mozzies don't seem to be averse to it. Avon Skin-so-Soft is the repellant I used to use before the threat of ticks, so maybe I should go back to that - or wear both.
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Snakes and ladders
St Florent
Yesterday's weather - very mixed. I am boring you yet?
Today's title is a bit of a red herring as we haven't actually seen a snake yet this year. We did hear one rustling in the undergrowth a couple of weeks ago when I was walking Misty (yes, I walk the cats sometimes). She went to investigate and came back in a rush when it hissed at her. We have Western Whip Snakes here (amongst others, but those are the biggest). We rarely see them but they are quite impressive when we do. Luckily they keep away most of the time. They are black and yellow and grow quite large but are totally harmless. Well, the hiss is enough to scare anyone away as I found one day when I was hanging out the washing a couple of years ago.
As I mentioned the other day, Jon is painting the outside of the house. I've done some of the shutters but I've run out of Hammerite in the nice green so I'll have to source some more in the local Mr Bricolage. Our dilemma is how to paint the upstairs window surrounds as they are very high. We looked at buying some scaffolding but the ground isn't flat enough to get it close to the house, so it looks like it will have to be a ladder, even though neither of us like ladders or heights. The problem is that we can't get a roof rack on our little car and a ladder won't fit in the boot without hanging out another 6 foot and I don't think that would be a particularly good idea. So it's back to the drawing board - unless anyone out there has any (sensible) suggestions? (Abseiling from the roof is not an option).
Yesterday's weather - very mixed. I am boring you yet?
Today's title is a bit of a red herring as we haven't actually seen a snake yet this year. We did hear one rustling in the undergrowth a couple of weeks ago when I was walking Misty (yes, I walk the cats sometimes). She went to investigate and came back in a rush when it hissed at her. We have Western Whip Snakes here (amongst others, but those are the biggest). We rarely see them but they are quite impressive when we do. Luckily they keep away most of the time. They are black and yellow and grow quite large but are totally harmless. Well, the hiss is enough to scare anyone away as I found one day when I was hanging out the washing a couple of years ago.
As I mentioned the other day, Jon is painting the outside of the house. I've done some of the shutters but I've run out of Hammerite in the nice green so I'll have to source some more in the local Mr Bricolage. Our dilemma is how to paint the upstairs window surrounds as they are very high. We looked at buying some scaffolding but the ground isn't flat enough to get it close to the house, so it looks like it will have to be a ladder, even though neither of us like ladders or heights. The problem is that we can't get a roof rack on our little car and a ladder won't fit in the boot without hanging out another 6 foot and I don't think that would be a particularly good idea. So it's back to the drawing board - unless anyone out there has any (sensible) suggestions? (Abseiling from the roof is not an option).
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
It's the WI, Deer.
St Thomas
Yesterday's weather: not as bad as threatened. Warm, sunny with cloudy spells.
First off, I have a sinking feeling. I think it is the birthday of someone I know but I can't for the life of me find my diary with all the birthdays in it. So, if it's you, I do apologise, have a great day and please let me know who you are. And while I'm at it, Happy Birthday to Tom Cruise, Ken Russell and Tom Stoppard (well, why not?)
I have made jam. I know, I know, it doesn't sound very exciting, but it's a first for me. I have been looking for a particular type of plum tree to grow and haven't found one anywhere. It's called a Mirabelle, the fruits are small and orange and very delicious. I have been hankering after one. Then on Sunday I looked up and over my head was a tree groaning with small orange plums. I was very excited (well, as you know, I don't get out much) and we picked a kilo or two of these plums. So, I made jam with them and it is lovely on a slice of walnut bread for breakfast in the morning. The only trouble is that it isn't orange, it's red, so obviously they weren't Mirabelles and I will have to start all over again.
Oh, Elk *
It's only 10 am and we have already had two visitors this morning. One hare and one deer. If you look very hard you will spot him (or her).
Pretty eh? Sorry I didn't get a photo of the hare but I didn't see him personally.
*in joke for one in the know - HT!
First off, I have a sinking feeling. I think it is the birthday of someone I know but I can't for the life of me find my diary with all the birthdays in it. So, if it's you, I do apologise, have a great day and please let me know who you are. And while I'm at it, Happy Birthday to Tom Cruise, Ken Russell and Tom Stoppard (well, why not?)
I have made jam. I know, I know, it doesn't sound very exciting, but it's a first for me. I have been looking for a particular type of plum tree to grow and haven't found one anywhere. It's called a Mirabelle, the fruits are small and orange and very delicious. I have been hankering after one. Then on Sunday I looked up and over my head was a tree groaning with small orange plums. I was very excited (well, as you know, I don't get out much) and we picked a kilo or two of these plums. So, I made jam with them and it is lovely on a slice of walnut bread for breakfast in the morning. The only trouble is that it isn't orange, it's red, so obviously they weren't Mirabelles and I will have to start all over again.
Oh, Elk *
It's only 10 am and we have already had two visitors this morning. One hare and one deer. If you look very hard you will spot him (or her).
Pretty eh? Sorry I didn't get a photo of the hare but I didn't see him personally.
*in joke for one in the know - HT!
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Twitching and, er, (how shall I put this...?) - droppings
Saint Fernand
Yesterday's weather - just worse and worse
We wish we could recognise birdsong. There is such a variety of it here. Of course we know the blackbird, magpie, cuckoo, but the various small birds are more difficult to spot and as we don't know their songs we have to take a guess sometimes. There is one bird with a very complicated and exotic sounding song, we would love to know what it is. Meanwhile we are compiling a list of those we have seen or heard and recognised: hoopoes and nightingales are the rarer varieties we have come across, robins of course, redstarts, bluetits, coaltits, great tits, chaffinch, bullfinch and wagtails are fairly common. There are birds of prey but we can't be sure what they are. Not kites, red or black.
We also have a huge range of butterflies who are probably grounded now because of the rain. On Sunday afternoon we counted at least 10 varieties in as many minutes.
We found a few 'messages' around the garden the other day - I have been trying to find out who (what) left them and enlisted the help of a friend. Unfortunately he requested a photograph, which I duly took and mailed to him. We think it is hedgehog, which will be very welcome as there is no limit to food for him here, the slugs are enormous; unfortunately it may be a marten which is not such a welcome beast, especially if it gets into the loft space at all as they are known to be very smelly. Potential guests will be warned in advance if the marten takes up residence. Meanwhile we are poo-free in the house at least.
Yesterday's weather - just worse and worse
We wish we could recognise birdsong. There is such a variety of it here. Of course we know the blackbird, magpie, cuckoo, but the various small birds are more difficult to spot and as we don't know their songs we have to take a guess sometimes. There is one bird with a very complicated and exotic sounding song, we would love to know what it is. Meanwhile we are compiling a list of those we have seen or heard and recognised: hoopoes and nightingales are the rarer varieties we have come across, robins of course, redstarts, bluetits, coaltits, great tits, chaffinch, bullfinch and wagtails are fairly common. There are birds of prey but we can't be sure what they are. Not kites, red or black.
We also have a huge range of butterflies who are probably grounded now because of the rain. On Sunday afternoon we counted at least 10 varieties in as many minutes.
We found a few 'messages' around the garden the other day - I have been trying to find out who (what) left them and enlisted the help of a friend. Unfortunately he requested a photograph, which I duly took and mailed to him. We think it is hedgehog, which will be very welcome as there is no limit to food for him here, the slugs are enormous; unfortunately it may be a marten which is not such a welcome beast, especially if it gets into the loft space at all as they are known to be very smelly. Potential guests will be warned in advance if the marten takes up residence. Meanwhile we are poo-free in the house at least.
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