The week just gone

The chickens have been laying an abundance of eggs, changing there laying spots to keep us on our toes.

In the middle to haymaking the weather changed unexpected it caught out a lot of farmers, a short heavy shower put farmer J back a day needing to re turn the grass to dry it out.

Not as much hay has been produced this year unlike last but as we still have 19 big bales leftover we will have enough even covering a couple of months should the cows need feeding earlier this year or later into the spring.

The veggie patch is looking weed free (more or less), I am enjoying my time caring for it catching a few hours here and there although this week has been a tad hot for me.

I'm impressed with the shallots and onions I planted not so of the Jerusalem artichokes that have reappeared, and I thought I had removed all those tubers.

The first home produced meal of summer. lettuce and herbs for a salad, new potatoes, rainbow chard and french beans went with a rib of beef, with berries for a summer pudding. A belated Fathers day meal as Miss F wasn't around last weekend in Toulouse preparing for her last exam, she now has a masters in Art. Five years in french schooling she managed to conquer the language followed by five years at University she is now ready for the real world. Well done Miss F, we are proud parents.

On the hottest day, Saturday farmer J decided to clean the hanger out of cow poo. It was needed to be done before this years bales are put away. With a lot of the moving being done by the tractor the difficult to get to bits of edges and corners had to be done by hand, literally as it was easier to pic it up than use a fork, It was very hot sweaty work as me and miss F helped. Now its emptied the rest of the hanger needs to be tidied to make way for the bales of hay to be stored.

I made a batch of cherries soaking in sugar and alcohol. In the supermarkets here a special alcohol for steeping fruit in can be brought cheaply, not to be drunk neat its a bit disgusting in the past we've made eau du vie which is also good, especially with prunes.

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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...

The English Paysanne

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