The English Paysanne

A moment from the week at La Singlarie The arrival of 30 chicks

The field ready for a rest The cows ready to move The green grass waiting to be ate After a few weeks the cows will be looking less tatty Through the winter period the cow have been confined to the same now completely muddy patch of  field with a access to the hanger for their hay which has been given morning and night. Now after five months with the grass growing and fields beginning to dry out they were moved over the road to our top field.  Happy cows free to wander and eat grass, happy farmer J for not having to feed them twice a day, happy me for not having to vacuum and sweep up the hay that attaches itself to clothes and hiding in wellies and boots and those pesky seed heads that when washed in a load with 'normal clothes' you find  wedged in your underwear - not very comfortable.

Some weeks or maybe that should be days are quiet here, if the rain is pouring outside jobs can't be done and inside ones need to be found. Other times it gets very busy with everything needing to be done at the same time, this week is one of those. It has been wet and cold a bit of relief form not worrying that I am so behind in the veggie patch as I think its probably too wet and cold for little seeds to go in the ground. No planting this week, farmer J has promised to help next week moving manure and rotivating it in. Fence posts are waiting to be pointed, wood needs to be cut up and piled neatly to be seasoned ready for winter, weeds are growing under the pigs electric fencing that needs cutting. A list is on the horizon, farmer J loves his lists I don't!  The start of a week the next pig to go went with butchering, packing and sausages made and packed this morning only to do tomorrow is slice and pack the bacon.  The piglets have been separated from mum so now w...

Sadly the team farmer J was on for the village commune elections didn't get in. They managed to get 30% of the votes but the traditionalist won. The hope of making Najac a dynamic living village will have to wait six years for the next elections. There will be no second voting next week, the Maire has a new team of counsellors done and dusted.

farmer J top left, running for Maire Suzanne Deleris in the red coat and the opposition In each commune if France today it has been polling day, we had our first vote after being here nearly ten years and being asked to go on the electoral register back in December last year by two ladies who wanted to discuss Najac. We later found out by attending  a meeting the following week this was the beginning of a new party wanting to bring Najac out of the dying village that it is. What we thought was a public meeting wasn't. It was the coming together of like minded Najacoise. It was a long meeting where my brain switched of at around10.30pm trying to understand the local accent (and french). Being invited to the next meeting (farmer J seemed to have some good points he put forward - I had kept quiet) declining with excuses of time / language etc it wasn't until a few weeks ago that we had a visit (or three) from different members asking for farmer J to go on the list of can...

A moment from the week at La Singlarie Dinner for two

The time has come to get going on the veggie patch. Yes it is a mess I know, forgotten over winter and left uncovered, so behind in getting it ready and seeds to be sown  all day today I dug and weeded, the pigs were grateful at tea time with a supplement of greenery to their diet. The only non weeds growing in the patch are broad beans and garlic, planted back in October. So far they are doing well although there are obvious signs of winter unwanted tenants - rabbits. War may be declared, bring it on bunnies. May just need a few days for my back to recover though.

 Monday was spent at the spinning and weaving group I belong to, a workshop on mixing and carding coloured wool.  With my 100g pack of colours I wold not normally choose - orange,/apricot, black and dark green with a bit of light blue and abergine thrown in I carded away and  managed to spin a hank of wool, enough for a little something but not yet sure what.  With longer days and Spring nearly here a collection of eggs are building up, still waiting for fair weather neighbours to return who buy eggs on a regular basis.  Blossoms are now on the trees and bushes, its quiet yellow around with wild flowers popping up all along the verges and fields.  An afternoon spent taking photos of the gites by farmer J. I was the one making up the beds, setting tables, moving furniture around and tidying as one of the websites we advertise on  has changed its photo sizes or something technical like that this means the photos that were on that site w...

A moment from the week Lumber jacking  La Singlarie style with an order for five trees 

A errand run to town with shopping and lunch included today. We went for a pizza in the centre of Villefranche passing the talked about water feature which in my opinion still looks pants. I wonder if the Marie will get re voted in at the end of the month when municipal commune elections take place all over France. don't embroider but you never know when you may start. I Was allowed to go to Emmaus where I found some lovely used  off cuts , jute material and a few embroidery cottons. I don't embroider but you never know when you may start. Bargain of the shopping trip was a huge cabbage, €1,30 and 3kg of carrots for € 2,50. Guess what were eating for the week!

In between our top driveway and the small road that cuts between us and our top fields and woods we have a stone bank which since we moved in nearly ten years ago has been left to its own devices. Slowly over the years a few changes have been made, daffodils being planted, a large tree falling down, a pampas grass dyeing after a very cold winter two years ago and with brambles taking over a chunk of it it was time for drastic cut and tidy up. Slowly over the years ivy has started to take over enough to hang over the wall and take hold on and in between the stones, a trailer full was cut and pulled off you know when you think a job won't take to long it always takes a lot longer! Finding a photo from the spring of 2006 was a bit of a shock and embarrassment that we have left the wall so long before a trim. Now it the stone has been exposed with the feature in the wall, which we are not sure what purpose it was built for, it has a ledge in part of it...

 Walks are now being enjoyed over fields and in woods without the worry of being shot, hunting season has finished with fishing now started.  Warmer days with no rain towards the end of the week means the mud is drying out, everyone is happier at the thought of spring nearly here.   Daffodils are coming out with the first cowslip spotted this week.   Look what turned up in the poly tunnel, four tiny baby rabbits. I wasn't allowed to 'look after' them so wrapped them under straw for the night in the hope mum would find them. In the morning they were still there but we did find a opening of a burrow on the donkeys side of the tunnel so i put them at the beginning of it and they soon run down the hole. I have had the talk of rabbits in the poly tunnel + veg = no veg but they were so cute. I know I will be cursing them when the lettuces are chewed but as yet nothing has been sown in there so they may leave before anything green starts to grow -...