Skip to main content

Storm in a tea cup





Well it was a bit bigger than that filling buckets with rain water. Starting Saturday evening with a wind arriving, the sky turning grey with a few large spots of rain. A huge crash of thunder and flash of lightning coincided with farmer J seconds before hand unplugging the equipment in our butchery, it could of been expensive!

We had just finished processing two pigs having a lot of meat in the cold room and freezers.Electricity left us followed by 30 minutes of torrential rain, it was like someone throwing buckets of water down. Hail stones fell, water gushed every where in such a short period of time.

Luckily the generator came into good use, priorities decided - cold room, freezers and electric fencing for the pigs. Damage could of been worse Sunday was spent gathering the gravel of our drive way, removing the mud and stones washed down on the road from the pigs. Water flooded through the bottom wall of the unused part of our gites building so that will need attention very soon. Farmer J cleared the road where a tree have fallen. It was a busy morning for chain saws they could be heard all around.

Power came back Sunday afternoon thankfully in time for an evening meal with friends. How you miss electricity when you haven't got it. I have yet to look to cosely at the damage in the veggie patch, I think it may be a bit upsetting.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2ENJ093 - FRANKLIN

Eight years ago today Franklin came into our family, a rescue dog from the SPA in Rodez we drove to see if they had a dog to re home. He had been there a month after being left tied to a bin in the town centre, chosen because he didn't bark, he came to us to say hello and was completely different from the dog we had lost days before Christmas. 120 Euros he cost, a young boy still a pup, very thin but with a look of take me home please. A collar put round his neck, forms completed, cheque handed over and a kiss from the manager and he was ours. Five minutes down the road in the car he threw up. Five minutes in the house and he had weed up the settee and collected an assortment of treasures including socks, toilet roll inner tubes, tissues and soft toys all placed in a pile under the table and garded. He ate at an amazing speed, fearing he would loose it to our other dogs. Then he started to bark, he has a fine bark on him. He barks for his tea, when a visitor arrives, the

Parisot lake

As it is a holiday today here in France (Bastille Day) we took the afternoon off an popped over to Parisot lake for a walk with Sorrel. It has all changed, since the lake was emptied and cleaned up this year you can now swim in it, as well as inflatable toys to play on, a life guard, bikes to hire, a new fenced in play area for small people and a total spruce up. But there is a price we were charged! 3 euros an adult, which I guess is OK if you are using the facilities but Sorrel didn't fancy a dip. The cafe is still open but that would of been too much for Sorrel to cope with being so close to people and music so we opted for a bench to sit on in the shade before walking around the lake. Sorrel opted for being Billy no mates and laying by herself, if be it for a short period of time before bikes and people went by. We are now waiting for the free firework celebrations over the chateau tonight - if we can stay up that late.😃

Lavender

One plant that does grow well around the gites and garden and that I don't seem to be able to kill is lavender. In the summer the bushes are swarming with bees, hummingbird moths, butterflies and other flying insects, lot of holiday photos have been taken by keen photographers, some setting up chairs and waiting for ages with big cameras and lenses waiting for the right moment and right insect to land. It does give a lovely show and smell as well, its picked and placed in vases in the gites by guests. Its very tactile and difficult to pass without a rub of a flower that's if you like the smell. I think its very much like marmite you either love it or hate it, a smell of memories of grans and old aunts who use to get given Yardley's old lavender smellies for presents. I like the smell but it can be quiet overpowering, especially when this year I have finally been able to save the dried flowers. Previous years other things have got in the way and its bee