Skip to main content

This week


We have had a mixed bag of weather this week with rain cloud and sun, when the sun was out it really warmed up.

Monday we left La Singlarie early driving to Toulouse to move out and clean Miss F's apartment along with her boyfriend. She's now back here for the summer with her worldly belongings dumped in her brothers room. After cleaning we met up with Master C and his girlfriend to go for a farewell meal as they depart for the summer, Master C has now left to work in Scotland for three months, Coralie his girlfriend goes to New Zealand (they were suppose to be both going but as we are British living in France he couldn't get a working holiday visa) and Florian leaves the end of June teaching scuba diving at Corsica. Miss F is home to sort out her getting into the real world - a job. (with a bit of weeding and gite cleaning in between)



Pig moving again proved a little slow. It took two days to move this group of five, they were so laid back. The last one I pushed up the hill as farmer J held the electric fence gate to shut them all in.


The lonely big white duck has stayed close, joining the old birds at times. I have tracked down some older birds but they are a bit ugly like this. Also hoping I can persuade farmer J we need a few khaki Campbell's ( which are not completely non money making as they supposedly produce quiet a few eggs) watch this space.

The mice didn't find the peas I grew in drain pipes, now planted in the veggie patch, probably a starters course for the rabbits.

Farmer J started to weed the extension of the patch. Before it can be rotovated the many docks and nettles need to be removed which is proving to be hard work  the ground is very compacted making those long roots firmly in bedded in the ground.


While having to complete the dog poo collecting task in the garden I nearly scooped this snake up - think it may be time to visit the opticians. This is the first grass snake that I have seen so near the house (and hopefully the last as I don't do snakes)


Today was Mothers day here a lovely day of a lay in with no animal feeding, a trip to the market at St Antonin Nobel Val with a drive out finding a lovely relaxed cafe on the edge of the Aveyron river for lunch and the weather stayed dry.

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