tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31549094191055759912024-03-13T05:00:54.539+01:00Debbie's Delectable DelightsDebbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-65677527388252278852017-05-23T10:07:00.000+02:002017-05-23T10:07:17.820+02:00Spring!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, spring has definately sprung here. We have flowers everywhere and chicks starting to make an appearance. The raptors that nest in the niches of our house have fledged and the swallows are back to dive bombing and chittering like crazy. My black elder is looking magnificent with its raspberry pink blooms. May have to put in a second one as they are so beautiful.<br />
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The irises are magnificent this year, but each time I get a flush of flowers it rains.... so they turn slimey and wilt. Bit annoying. Keep checking each morning and taking heaps of photos as they bloom.<br />
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Clovis is nearly two and is starting to calm a little.... a very little. Getting better at obeying and even though he bounces a lot, he will sit when asked. He is just too full of energy. I still think he is the most beautiful poodle boy on earth and we have lots of cuddles. When Wayne is away he sneaks onto the lounge at night to snuggle with Guy and I while we watch tv. So cute.<br />
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All the veg are in and this year the potager is fenced so hopefully the fruits of my labours will get to be eaten by us not the deer! Unfortunately we had very hard frosts mid May, so we have lost most of the fruit that had set on the trees. Still a bit there, but not a lot. Might be another lean year for the jams and jellies.<br />
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Apricot hatched one chick, and then abandoned her nest to rear the one baby. I put the eggs under another hen, who hatched one chick, but then didn't look after it. So unfortunately the second chick died at 3 days old. She is still sitting on eggs, so hopefully this week we will have more chicks. I will take them from her at 2 days old and give them to Apricot to raise. Apricot is a fabulous mother and teaches her chicks well.<br />
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Two talks coming up in next few weeks. One on medicinal plants that have deadly side effects, and the other on Roman era medicinal herbs. Will be working on the Roman herb garden this week and making sure it is fully stocked before the talk. My own herb garden has expanded rapidly and is doing well. The chickens benefit from fresh herbs in their diet and in their nesting boxes, and from less insects in their coop. We benefit from tasty additions to meals.<br />
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My borders along the boundary fence are coming along. I increase them gradually as I have the plants to fill the space. Metre by metre it is creeping along the wall and framing the terrain. Last week I put in over 60 plants that I had grown from cuttings or divided from other plants. I have a few trays of seedlings which will go in over the next few days to fill in the gaps. Lots of lupins, poppies, zinnias and other pretties.<br />
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The beautiful rose that Wayne gave me for our wedding anniversary this year is flowering and looking lovely. It is a Pierre de Ronsard, so big lush dense flowers, but unfortunately no perfume. Not a huge deal for me as they just look so gorgeous.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-18971840034396093162017-04-10T22:19:00.001+02:002017-04-10T22:19:16.426+02:00Magnolias, Hellebores and other Pretties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes, yes, yes.... a long time between posts. Sort of lost the will to post for a while as life was too busy and stressful. Am not promising regular posts now, but hopefully a few a month.<br />
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My garden has come along in leaps and bounds. Have planted trees and shrubs along the boudary wall, as well as more bulbs in the orchard. My vision for the terrain is coming together slowly but surely.<br />
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One of the things I loved when in the south of the USA was the magnolia trees. They also grow well in parts of Australia. Finally found two types that will grow well here and managed to buy one of each last autumn. We had a hard winter with temperatures well below zero and freezing winds for weeks on end. I was worried that I would lose most of the newly planted trees, but thankfully most of them came through ok. The magnolias seem to have really established themselves well and were covered in buds as soon as the weather started to warm up. Both of them have been flowering the past few weeks and looking gorgeous.<br />
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My eucalyptus is doing well also and is now twice my height. Not bad for a tree that was less than a metre tall 18 months ago!<br />
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The bulbs of tulip, daffodil, jonquil and crocus that I planted over the past few years are flourishing and make the orchard and garden beds look magnificent. My niece was pleased to see a photo of the "Claudia" tulips in flower - her namesake.<br />
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Chickens are doing well and am collecting a few eggs a day. There has been a change of President in the chicken coop too.... Nougat was ousted in favour of Garlic being the new head of state. I am going to have to seperate out Garlic for a few weeks so that Nougat can become the boss again. I don't want my pedigree hens mating with an unknown heritage mixed breed rooster. My fault for keeping Garlic as a pet instead of eating him (as is the case with all the other excess roosters that hatch).<br />
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We finally have new neighbours behind us. They are a lovely couple who moved from the Paris suburbs and are learning about having a stone house in the country and a big garden. Their cat is a gorgeous black longhair, very delicate and elegant, and they have a shitszu who is a real character. Clovis loves to play with him as they are the same age.<br />
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This years plantings have commenced, and I now have an area dedicated to my herbs and medicinal plants which is nice. It is closer to the water butts and the chicken coop, so easier to maintain and to use the herbs for the chooks and for us. Have added a few new herbs and am hoping to enlarge it further as I source other ones to add.<br />
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No other news for the moment. Will promise to get the camera out a bit more often and take some more photos to post.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-29903811883490103002016-03-24T12:24:00.001+01:002016-03-24T12:24:32.700+01:00Officially SpringWhat a long, wet miserable winter this has turned out to be. Not particularly cold, but really, really wet.<br />
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We have had flooding around the village and at times wondered if we would be cut off by the water. A few times it rained so heavily and with such strong winds, that the water was forced around the windows and doors and into the house. Miserable.<br />
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It would have been better to have had a good snow for a few days or a heavy frost for a few days. This kills off the bacteria in the soil and the pests that overwinter in the soil, and leaves it clean and ready for the next years plantings. I am hoping we do not get over run by doryphors and other nasty veg eating bugs as a result.<br />
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One good thing with all the rain is that it has refilled all the lakes and rivers and our well has more than enough water. Last summer was so dry and hot that the river dried up, and the lake was down to almost no water. Everyone's wells also dried up (except ours, which I think is the deepest in the village) and irrigation of crops was difficult due to lack of water.<br />
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I had taken some incredible photographs of the flooding, as well as all the spring bulbs flowering in the orchard..... unfortunately, becuase I now run windows 10, all my photos are unable to be downloaded from my camera, and so are unusable. I also cannot save documents or change anything in my documents. A message telling me that I do not have the authority to save/change etc comes up any time I try and do anything.<br />
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This problem has been happening since I "upgraded" to windows 10. <br />
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I really regret ever deciding to download it and wish I had my old windows back.<br />
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Wayne has been trying to fix the problem, but every "fix" that someone suggests on the message boards does not work.<br />
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So I now have a very expensive piece of equipment sitting on my desk that is useless to me. Cannot do my work on it and can only use it for emailing and browsing internet.<br />
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Thank you windows 10 for ruining my computer.<br />
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Moving on to nicer things.... I have redesigned the potager and am in the process of grassing over half of it. Will be planting more closely and using other techniques picked up over last year to see if it makes a difference. <br />
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Planting the rows of veg more closely means they can be mulched more efficiantly and there is less water loss through evaporation. Also less space for weeds to sprout, and hence less labour in keeping "clean". Labour = time, and time saved in potager is time available to do other work.<br />
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So far I have planted another few dozen strawberry plants, 29 asparagus plants and nearly a dozen red cabbage. It is too cold to start anything else yet, so will hold off on other veg for another month. I do have heaps of flowering/ornamental plants to put in though, so will be working on them over next week or so.<br />
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Over winter I purchased two Daphne plants. One the classic <i>odura</i> and the other a pink variety that I had never seen before. They really should have been put into the ground by now, but have kept them in pots near back door so I can smell them as I go in and out of the house. The pink one has just about finished flowering and has a sweeter perfume, whereas the <i>odura</i> is still flowering strongly and has the lovely lemony tang to its perfume.<br />
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For my birthday and our wedding anniversary I received iris rhizomes. I love irises and peonies, so it was a perfect gift. They are planted up, and have started sprouting now. Cannot wait to see the blooms. They are <i>germanica</i> and <i>siberica</i> irises, so are showy and lush. I have blacks, white with blue edging and a purple/pink in one spot, and have planted some blues and creams and pinks in another spot.<br />
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My project in early winter was planting out some saplings along the stone wall which borders our land. They are well established now and looking good. I put in a mulberry, cherry, eucalyptus, buddleia, eglantine and a few other ornamental shrubs. In between I places bulbs, Japanese anenomes, hostas, and a whole heap of different coloured rudebekkias. Over the next few weeks I will put in some dahlias and other tubers to fill in the gaps and give a show of colour and flowers all year round.<br />
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The chickens are laying well due to the mild weather. I have more than enough eggs for us and all our friends. At some times I have had up to 3 dozen eggs in the fridge! Am hoping that my dwarf hen Apricot waits till we have reconfigured the inside of the hen house before going broody. I have designed a brood box that will be in place permanantly, and can be used to isolate chickens at other times if need be. Apricot tends to brood two or three clutches each season, so it will see a lot of use each year.<br />
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This years crop of kittens has already started. A litter has been born nearby, so we are waiting to see how many wind up here when they are weaned. They will be going straight to the cat shelter as we cannot have any more cats, and it is better if they find homes early before they go wild and untouchable.<br />
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Sorry, no photos. As soon as I can find a solution I will post more frequently and have plenty of images to share. <br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-76973014812609272102015-12-14T18:30:00.000+01:002015-12-14T18:30:28.670+01:00Working hard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I know. I am terrible at updating my blog. It is just that life keeps getting in the way and so I have no time to sit at the computer.<br />
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A short time after my last post I received an urgent request from someone I know to take over from her at her job. After a lot of discussion and deliberation, I have taken it on and am now even more busy than before. But you can't really knock back paid work when on offer can you.<br />
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So I spend my weekday mornings working in garden, looking after the poultry and cats and doing all the usual household tasks. Then the afternoons are spent teaching english at a local school and tutoring kidlets in english. We have had a good giggle thinking about the fact that there is going to be a whole generation of French children who grow up speaking english with an Australian accent.....<br />
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As it is more academic than what I was doing before, I need to prepare lesson plans and do a lot more prep work. A lot of fun though and the kidlets are mostly really good. A few challenges, but nothing I can't handle.<br />
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Guy is not coping well with my working afternoons. He is such a stress boy and spends all the time I am away from home ripping his fur out. He looks very moth eaten and scruffy. Have tried everything to calm him down, but he is so attached to me that he can't cope with me being gone for any amount of time. At least when working in the garden he can see me, but when I drive off he falls apart.<br />
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Eric. Well he is his usual self and really doesn't care much so long as food bowl is full and he has a warm spot to sleep.<br />
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Poor Sophie is getting very old and starting to show her age. I have a feeling she will not last the winter. It will be sad, but at least the last few years of her life have been very comfortable and she has had a good quality of life with us. <br />
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McKinnell is growing up and turning into a very handsome young cat. He is starting to fill out and keep some weight on now, which is a good thing. Still an absolute sook and cries for cuddles and attention, but with a lovely nature and personality. A real talker too. He loves to follow me around "helping" outside and meowling the whole time.<br />
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The hens are doing really well and all my chicks from this year are at the layer stage, so we have plenty of eggs. Nougat still hates Garlic, some things never change. Garlic is still my sooky boy and loves his cuddles, but is getting way too big to pick up for very long. He is magnificent and much bigger than Nougat. I keep telling Nougat to stop picking on Garlic. Someday soon Garlic is going to realise he is the bigger rooster and put Nougat in his place.<br />
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My duckling is growing well. Not big enough for Christmas dinner, so it will live a while longer. It is best friends with the dwarf/legbar hen and they spend all their time together. Really cute to watch them.<br />
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In september I visited a Chateau that is famous for its gardens with the garden club. The Chateau de la Bourdaisière. Absolutely fabulous! Incredible gardens with all sorts of flowers, but specialising in tomatoes and dahlias. We had the special lunch menu where everything was tomato based which was really good and very interesting. You normally don't think of tomatoes as a dessert fruit, but the tomato sorbet we had was lovely.<br />
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I am loving the glossy black tomatoes, and am going to try and grow them next year. Will also be trialling a new way of staking the plants. They had them attached to tripods, which were much more sturdy than the single stake that most people use. Shall see what happens next year.<br />
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The school I am working at is only 15minutes away, but most of the kids did not know me beforehand. Now I am known by all of them, to the point of not being able to go anywhere without one of them coming up to me and trying to talk in english. Cute, but some days you really want to remain anonymous...lol The stories I could tell after such a short time.... there are NO secrets when children are involved. I should be writing them down so I can write a book afterwards. The secret life of French families, or somesuch title.<br />
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All the staff are really nice and have been very welcoming and helpful. I think I am very lucky to have such a lovely group of people to work with. It really does make a huge difference. We always have a nice chat and quite often a good laugh over something. Helping my french enormously as well.<br />
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We are spending Christmas here this year. Our roof is being replaced and work is due to start at any time after 25th december, so we need to be onsite ready. It will be good to not have to worry when we get storms. Normally we are frozen in place each time the wind gusts, waiting to hear the insidious drip drip of leaks, or the crack and clatter of another tile breaking/turning to dust - or mud during heavy rain.<br />
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Personally, I am fine with staying home and curling up in front of the fire with the cats and a good book. I also have 2 really nice teas to enjoy, so I am quite content.<br />
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Speaking of books, my kindle has died. I was devastated! Mind you, as Wayne said, it has seen A LOT of use over the years that I have owned it. It has also travelled all over and is probably more well travelled than most people. Luckily all my books are archived so I can access them still on my new kindle. After a month, I received a new one for my birthday which was wonderful. It is already bulging with titles and getting a good workout. Still trying to get used to the new way of using it though. No buttons like the old one, just touch screen controls. Sometimes I am wondering why it won't go to next page, only to realise that no matter how many times I press the side it won't work... you need to touch the screen. Sigh.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-31488455118646450232015-08-02T12:41:00.000+02:002015-08-02T12:41:03.732+02:00Summer<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZjD5WhtN6wJt2NUr6I79QeMAZ6v4fhd4gDRRHhPa4aIMh0C4JJWSxR-HNVWWkpS5dVgNNmyBXcNvI-j23agZQYJaIleNb-FLyCiCTZEXlL7r0YVwf4i-AmJJlBNGCUxjhCJnw-a9hzc/s1600/mums+trip+2015+106.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZjD5WhtN6wJt2NUr6I79QeMAZ6v4fhd4gDRRHhPa4aIMh0C4JJWSxR-HNVWWkpS5dVgNNmyBXcNvI-j23agZQYJaIleNb-FLyCiCTZEXlL7r0YVwf4i-AmJJlBNGCUxjhCJnw-a9hzc/s400/mums+trip+2015+106.JPG" width="400" /> </a><br />
Wow! Time flies when you're having fun........<br />
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A long silence due to being too busy to spend time at my desk.<br />
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For end of May and June we had family visiting. Did the usual sightseeing and touristy things, as well as lots of relaxing in the garden. The flowers in my borders were magnificent this year. A real pleasure to just sit and admire them all and watch the bees and hummingbird moths feast themselves. I won a prize at garden club in May for this lovely rose.<br />
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Spent a lot of time cuddling the chicks too..... to the point where one of them is super tame and just wants to be picked up and cuddled all the time. A little rooster with a HUGE personality. We have named him Garlic (he loves raw chopped up garlic above any other treat) and will hang on to him for a year or so to fertilise his clutch mates. Luckily he is from our nieghbours hens, so unrelated to mine.<br />
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Another little rooster from that clutch will go back to our neighbour. His nasty rooster was killed by a dog in early july, so his girls have been wandering around a little lost and almost stoppped laying.<br />
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I have two lovely hens - a legbar, and a legbar/araucana cross from the same clutch. They will stay with me and be Garlic's girls.<br />
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The day they turned 12 weeks, Apricot chicken hatched a second clutch. Six in this one - but she was sitting on 15 eggs!!! I had given her 7 eggs to sit, but the naughty girl was stealing the eggs from the other hens and rolling them in to her nest to sit on. By the time I realised what was happening it was too late. No one else had a broody that I could put the eggs under, so they had to be thrown. At least they fertilised my nectarine and peach trees and didn't go in the bin.<br />
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So now I have 6 little puffballs running around. Looks like 2 legbars, 1 dwarf/legbar, 1 araucana/legbar and 2 marans. The legbars are hens (thank goodness for autosexing!!!), but not sure on the rest. Am hoping the dwarf is a hen as they make excellent broodies. Any roosters from this clutch will go to the freezer at 12 weeks or so.<br />
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We have had horrendous heatwaves here for all of July and most of June. Really difficult to keep water up to the veg, and the crops are suffering everywhere. The river is almost dry, and even the wells are drying up, and that never happens here! We did get a few millimetres of rain last week, but that was only because Wayne had fitted new guttering to the <i>arrier cuisine </i>and <i>cellier</i>...lol. It actually rained before he could get the pieces glued together which is typical contrary weather. I am hoping it will rain on us again in next few days as he is fitting downpipes to the back of the <i>atelier</i> and garage..... would be nice to get some water in the water butts.<br />
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My veg are suffering, but hanging in there. Have been picking heaps of tomatoes, but nothing like my neighbour who has irrigation up to his. Photos from his tomato patch used here as much better looking than mine. The deer have been into my potager stealing all the fruit and veg for the moisture. Then they rub their antlers against the tomato plants and the plants wind up broken. Grrrr. Have no strawberries as they have stripped the plants of leaves and fruit. No matter what I use as detterant, they are so desperate for liquid that they are willing to risk anything.<br />
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Aside from visitors, chickens and gardening, I have been completely inundated with preserving the fruits and veg from the <i>potager </i>and <i>verger</i>. Everyday is spent cooking or prepping in one form or another. Not the most enjoyable task in teh extreme heat, but it must be done, and we will enjoy the benefits all through winter when eating our own produce.<br />
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I have developed a new jam for this year. Rhubarb and vanilla. I love rhubarb and could eat it every day, but it doesn't preserve very well as compote and freezer space is precious. So I now have a few litres of this jam sitting on the shelves. Some of the rhubarb did go into the freezer to make compote and fruit tarts over winter, but I did not have room for the (nearly) 10kilos that I picked. <br />
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McKinnell has settled in well, and has a new nickname "The Apprentice". He follows Sophie around and helps guard the property. So funny to watch. Still a really sooky boy who just wants cuddles and attention all the time. Only real problem is that he dribbles when happy.... so you have to be prepared to get a little damp when having cuddles.<br />
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Well, enough time sitting at computer.... back to the <i>potager</i> and kitchen for me.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-51406133058729394532015-05-17T14:26:00.000+02:002015-05-17T14:26:32.156+02:00Chicks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What a difference a month makes!<br />
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No sooner had I written that none of my hens was showing any inclination of going broody, than the dwarf hen decided it was time to hatch some babies.<br />
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I tested her out for a few days first to ensure she really was broody, and not just sitting in the brood box for the sake of it. When I was sure, I replaced her eggs with some Maran, Legbar, and Araucana eggs. Eight in total, which I thought was a lot for such a tiny hen not yet a year old.<br />
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I marked my calander for 21 days and began the anxious wait.......<br />
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Sure enough, day 21 the first two chicks hatched. Followed during the next 24hours by three more. I waited another two days, but no more hatched, so removed the eggs and shells and cleaned up her brood box. When I broke open two of the remaining eggs they had poorly developed chicks that had not gone past about week one.<br />
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So now I have three Maran, one Legbar and one Araucana chicks. Super cute and all I want to do is spend time watching them.<br />
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The broody hen is doing a fabulous job and is extremely ferocious towards anyone (or thing!) that comes near. She is resigned to the fact that my hands keep appearing and replacing food and water, but is not happy about it. Equally resigned to the fact that I keep stealing her babies to cuddle and check over each day. I want them to be reasonably tame, so daily handling and talking to is essential.<br />
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One of the Maran chicks was attacked by the rooster in its first day of life. It is now short an eye, and part of its top beak has broken off. So far, after nearly a week, it is still going strong and growing. If it shows any signs of suffering or of not thriving it will have to go to chicken heaven, but till then it can grow and enjoy life.<br />
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I will have to share these chicks with my neighbour. He was the owner of the Marans whose eggs my hen clutched. That is fine. For a first attempt we have done well in getting five chicks. He would like a new rooster, so we are crossing fingers that we have one rooster and the rest hens. Only time will tell.<br />
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The chicks above are (from left) a Legbar, Araucana X Legbar, and Maran.<br />
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Here is another photo just so you can squeee!<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-13057176920537786752015-04-14T11:11:00.000+02:002015-04-14T11:11:27.974+02:00Flowers.... finally<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Spring is such a beautiful season here. The sun shines - even if it is not really warm - and the birds start to return from their winter migration. Bulbs poke green spikes through the still cold soil, and finally flowers start to appear.<br />
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The tulips are magnificent this year. All the (hundreds) of bulbs that I have transplanted are starting to flower and the borders are a blaze of red and yellow. There are still hundreds of tulip bulbes to be dug up and transplanted to a better position, but that will have to wait till after they finish flowering now.<br />
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This year I have hyacinths and anenomes in the borders also. The hyacinths are so pretty and smell lovely. I think the anenomes will be better next year. A bit sparse and spindly this year. I have a few different types of daffodils and jonquils now in the borders. These ones are especially pretty with their apricot centres.<br />
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In the orchard the fruit trees are flowering and the air is filled with the intoxicating aroma of blossoms. I love walking through the orchard and seeing all the blooms and knowing that we will have fruit again this year. Although, in the case of the cherries, it is never a sure thing. I have masses of blossom on the tree, but we need good weather and conditions to have fruit in may/june. So far we have not had any fruit from this tree in teh three years we have lived here. I am hoping we don't get storms, high winds or any other disasterous conditions in the next month or so.<br />
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My rhubarb has come back to life and is growing very fast. Will need to start picking soon! Yum!!!<br />
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We have a little visitor at present. A young male cat came in very battered and unwell. He is absolutely adorable and just wants to be loved. I am looking for a home for him, as I simply can't keep him. Three cats is enough! (Four and I am officially a crazy cat lady....) He follows me around begging to be picked up and cuddled. I was trying to take photos in the garden, and he kept putting himself between me and the flowers. So I took a few snaps of him too.<br />
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This is the "I am so cute you must stop what you are doing and cuddle me" pose.....<br />
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My girls are laying well and we have plenty of eggs to eat at present. None of them seem to be interested in sitting on the eggs though, which is a nuisance. Will have to get a Chinese silky hen to hatch my chicks I think.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-88761324141335900042015-03-08T19:30:00.000+01:002015-03-08T19:30:10.358+01:00Spring Eggs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our araucanas (Ginger and Marmalade, otherwise known as the velociraptor sisters) have reached maturity and winter has ended, all in the same week.<br />
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I have had two araucana eggs this week. Lovely olivey green coloured shells. <br />
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Also our dwarf hen has laid two eggs this week. We are laughing because her name is Apricot Chicken, and she laid pale apricot/pinky coloured eggs.....<br />
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The legbar egg is full sized as they have been laying for a while now. The araucanas should get bigger as they develop. Am hoping that Apricot's eggs don't get any bigger as they are already huge in comparison to her tiny body! She is smaller than a bantam, but her eggs are much bigger than bantam eggs.<br />
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We have had a glorious weekend of sunshine. The lawns have had their first mow of the year, and everything has just sprung to life. <br />
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I have bulbs forcing their way through the ground everywhere, and pink and white violets flowering under the trees in the orchard. My daffodils are looking splendid in teh sunshine. Bright and gorgeous and they scream "springtime".<br />
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Must get out and take some photos next week to capture it all.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-87487672399032272832015-02-18T20:06:00.001+01:002015-02-18T20:06:25.943+01:00Perce-neige<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, at the risk of jinxing us all over here..... we haven't had much snow this season. What snow we have had fell at the same time as the snowdrops started showing and continued till they were blooming.<br />
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I call that an aptly named flower!<br />
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They look so pretty as their foliage is really dark green and shows up beautifully against a white background. The flowers themselves are laced with lime green, so you can see the delicate pattern nicely in comparison to the snow.<br />
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A bit hard to get a really good photo as had no inclination to lay on my front in the snow to get down to their level... sorry, some things I just do not do.<br />
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Since then we have continued to have cold weather, but no good snowfall. A lot of <i>neige fondu</i> and ice, but not much else.<br />
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Our neighbour has been tidying up the hedgerows around the farm and carting huge tractor loads of branches back to the field behind his house. Any wood that could be kept for heating the house was put aside, but there was still a huge alount of branches and "bits". Today all the grandchildren were visiting, so we had a bonfire at dusk. <br />
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There is something lovely about standing around a blazing fire when it is really cold. A very primordial and primitive sense of peace and enjoyment. Your front is hurting from the heat, and your back is aching from cold. It is essential to turn around every now and then to allow the back to defrost before facing the flames once more. The flames leap and soar higher and higher, before dying back to smouldering coals.<br />
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Staring glassy eyed into the flames is essential, as is holding your hands out closer - even though it is already too warm where you are standing. The children occupied themselves throwing twigs and corn stalks onto the fire, while the adults just soaked up the warmth and ambience. Chickens pecked at the ground at the limit of the heat.<br />
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All too soon it was over, and time to lock the chickens up as the sun set.<br />
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Life in the country is good.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-46445907841740472202015-02-01T13:24:00.001+01:002015-02-01T13:24:42.913+01:00It's cold outside!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, whilst we haven't had much snow so far this season, we have had lots of ice and rain.<br />
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Sounds counter intuitive. Ice and rain at the same time. I can assure you it does happen, and it makes life interesting.<br />
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Most mornings have seen the<i> terrain</i> looking like it has been gilded in crystal. Everything is frozen and glinting in the morning light. Really beautiful. Then it rains all day and everything turns soggy and grey.<br />
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Quite a few days we have had <i>neige fondue</i> (slushy snow) falling, which melts as soon as it hits a surface. Leaving slushy, wet, boggy mud everywhere. Really not nice to try and walk in.<br />
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The chickens spend most of their time roosting in their insulated hen house. Sophie spends all day in her heated bed - venturing out only for food and calls of nature. The boys, well they spend all day curled up in their baskets in front of the fire. .... What can I say, it is a tough life for the animals here. <br />
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I am itching to get in to the orchard and prune the apple trees, but need a few days with no rain, and temps above freezing. Somehow I don't think I am going to get this for another few weeks. May have to just bite the bullet and prune them anyway... then hope like crazy that they are ok.<br />
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With the weather being unsuitable to garden with, I have spent some time dreaming and browsing the seed catalogues. Quite easy to pass hours in this fashion! (Almost as addictive as Pinterest!!!!) I have been working on bedding layouts and thinking what I will add to the borders this year. I want a certain look, so do need to think about it and plan it out slightly. Like with all things garden, it will evolve at its own pace and take a few years to get there, and there will be changes made as things do better than expected - or worse and need replacing.<br />
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My vision for the garden is lots of shades of green and grey foliage with shades of blues and pinks in the flowers. So it should be a nice mix. I love striking foliage, and have planted <i>chardons</i> (ornamental artichokes) last season. They are doing well and have actually weathered the heavy frosts better than I thought they would. My penstamons are also a lovely soft grey colour with pale purple flowers and complement the other bolder greens in the beds.<br />
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This season I intend to plant up troughs of herbs for the chickens as well as for our use. Have been reading some very interesting information on beneficial herbs for chicken keeping, and trying out the dried herbs over winter on the flock. They love it, and are super healthy. In fact, I am getting an egg almost everyday, which is not normal. My breeds normally don't lay in winter at all. <br />
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You can see the girls - and Nougat the rooster - above. Waiting for breakfast. Dinner is checking out the white platter, expecting it to have her warm drink.... When it is freezing (most mornings), I boil the kettle and give them a hot drink first thing. By the time the boiling water thaws the bowls and plates, it is drinking temperature. They love it! Line up and all have a drink, then they take turns standing in the hot water warming their feet. Very funny to watch. Ginger and Apricot are standing on the tree root watching and waiting for me to stop taking photos and pour out their hot drink. Neither of them misses anything that goes on.<br />
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Ginger is getting quite friendly and likes a back scratch and pat before bed. Her sister, Marmalade, is getting comfortable with being touched, but prefers to be scratched under her wings. Apricot hates being touched and is still super flighty. Light Lunch is in lay, so she just wants to be left to sit and do her business in peace. Nougat is a bossy, greedy little bully. Instead of letting the girls eat first and looking after them, he spends his time chasing them away from treats and then chasing them to fulfill his teenage lusts..... Hopefully he will settle as he gets older.<br />
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They have a cut down fir tree to play and shelter in for winter. We have so many birds of prey here that they need something to hide in if they fly over. It is also a good spot for them to shelter and to search for bugs.<br />
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Window boxes and hanging baskets are on the agenda this year. I had such good success with my trial ones last year, that I intend to do a few more this year. Orders have been placed for the petunias, and work will commence end of march on this project.<br />
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I want to replace the pampus grass in the (huge!) pot beside the front door soon. It is a little too cramped in the pot, so will put it in the ground. Don't comment and tell me it will take over please.... it is too cold here and they do not get massive and encroach on the whole garden like in Australia. My only problem then will be finding something equally dramatic to replace it in the pot. Would love to fill it with lemongrass, but it does not tolerate the winter here, so will not grow as big and majestic. Still thinking of a solution for that one. Watch this space.....<br />
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Well, the cats are raising their noses and sniffing the air, and my mouth is watering from the aromas pouring from the kitchen. Time to take the turkey out of the oven and feast.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-87269108770751209772014-12-22T22:58:00.000+01:002014-12-22T22:58:27.612+01:00Busy time of year.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wow! It just seems like yesterday that I made my last post, and here it is two months later.<br />
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I had heaps of catching up to do after my recuperation, and have been so busy that time has just flown by. In fact there are still things that I am behind on.<br />
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October saw the death of one of my chicks. I had purchased two dwarf chickens (not bantams) as my "mother hens" for next year. The sweetest of the two was still a bit too young to cope with being outside in the cold and unfortunately she died. I was a bit sad as she was the one that liked to cuddle. A lovely little personality and quite tame as well.<br />
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Two weeks later my rooster took ill. He was quite often a bit "off colour" as he ate anything that he could fit in his beak. Bees, rubbish, you name it. If it could be swallowed - it was swallowed. He developed sour crop and could not be saved. Unfortunately he was very much a "don't touch me" kind of rooster, so by the time I could touch him, he was too weak and sick to survive. A real shame as he was a superbe rooster and absolutely enormous. I have a replacement, but he is just not quite as good as my original. Nothing wrong with him, but the first one was a hard act to follow.<br />
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November saw heavy frosts starting to hit and everyone racing to get ready for winter. The garden however was still in full flower, so I am still now - in december - doing my autumn pruning! Another week should see it done for the year.<br />
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We spent a weekend weather proofing and insulating the hen house. It really is a chicken palace now! I use the deep litter method, so it is very cosy inside. The mice think so too..... grrr. They are so bold that they don't even move till you get right up to them. Have been putting mint in the house which mice hate, but it only lasts a few days to a week and has to be redone. I will get rid of them though! If all else fails, I will lock Sophie in there overnight.....<br />
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The spare bedroom is now much better organised and more user friendly for my sewing projects. Cannot wait to start making a few new outfits. Same with the office. I had a major sort out and reorganised a lot of things and now have a good work space for my craft projects as well as desk space for working. Much nicer and easier to work there now.<br />
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Guy and Eric are loving our new heating. The wood pellet fire is fabulous and they think it is just for them. There is now a basket in front of it and they take turns curling up in it and basking in the warmth. Think I might have to get a second basket so they can each have their own. Sophie, meanwhile, has discovered the joys of a heated bed. We have a heating pad in her bed in one of the outbuildings. It is on a timer and turns on around 17h30 and off around 08h30. Between those hours she is not to be found outside. In fact, she demands dinner at 1700h and then goes to bed! In the morning she stays in bed till it starts cooling off, and quite often is still in bed late in the morning. Very funny when you go looking for her and call out for ages, only to go into the <i>dependance</i> and see a little furry head poking out of the cat bed all blinky and fuzzy eyed.<br />
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We planted a new apple tree this weekend, part of the plan of getting ready to replace a few fruit trees which are very old and not fruiting very well anymore. It will bear fruit in about three years, so that will be just in time for the current old trees to be fading out. Gradually over the next few years we will replace some of the older fruit trees and rejuvenate the orchard. Will be nice to have eating apples as well as the current cooking and cider apples.<br />
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Our neighbour has been in hospital the past few weeks. All ok now and he is back home, but his chickens have meantime moved out and decided they prefer to live chez nous. I was feeding them whilst he was unwell, and combined with the fact that they have always wandered in when the gate is open and visited our <i>terrain</i>, they now think I am their owner. They follow me around everywhere and if they hear my voice they come running (have you ever seen chickens run flat out? Funniest thing you have ever seen!!!). After the fruit tree planting saturday I was digging up the parsnips and the last of the carrots and beetroots with the assistance of his flock. Really funny to have a flock of chickens poised attentively around you waiting for a juicy worm or bug to be unearthed. Had to be careful not to tread on one of them if I stepped backwards! Afterwards I was trying to put them back in their coop, but it was more like a Keystone Cops or Benny Hill episode than anything. I am tempting them through the gate and closing it, to turn around and walk back to the house, only to find more chickens to herd towards the gate, shepherd through, close, turn, more chickens..... repeat repeat repeat. The cheeky beggers were walking in the gate and along the fence a bit (till behind a tree and out of sight), then flying back over to my side again whilst I was busy getting their flock mates through the gate. All in the freezing cold without my coat on. I was not a happy bunny, but had to laugh as it was so ridiculas.<br />
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The photo above was taken by Wayne on his iphone. Me wrangling the neighbours chickens with the assistance of Sophie. She loves chickens, and always helps me feed, lock up etc every day. Mind you, she is also quite fond of sampling any tidbits I throw out for them as well...... <br />
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Anyway, Christmas is coming quickly and hopefully things will slow down a bit. We are celebrating on Christmas Eve with our neighbours (French celebrate Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day) which will be lovely. We are sharing the food preparation and it should be a great night. The 25th we will be recovering quietly at home, and gathering strength for the Orphans Picnic on Boxing Day which we are hosting. (Casual potluck for friends in our group who are not travelling to family for the fetes.)<br />
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Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and look forward to having more time in the New Year to blog more frequently. Best wishes!Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-17546158185276175382014-10-05T12:03:00.002+02:002014-10-05T12:03:59.467+02:00Back on track<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Phew, what a month!<br />
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Surgery went well, and I have been recovering slowly but steadily. Thank you for the lovely emails with get well wishes.<br />
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Not a lot of news to report. Have spent my time resting and not being able to do anything, so the garden and house are a bit neglected and in need of some TLC. Oh well, not the end of the world. All will be back to normal soon.<br />
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I borrowed heaps of books from the library, thinking that would keep me occupied for the month.... then two days after coming home from hospital I passed out and gave myself a bad concussion...... so could not read, watch tv/dvd's or anything interesting. Typical! lol<br />
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One thing I have been doing this past week is working on cross stitch designs for Christmas ornaments. A piece of graph paper and a pencil is all you need. Have started making some, and they are coming together nicely. You can buy some of the ornaments and my jams, jellies and chutneys at the Chez Tante Mabel Christmas market which will be the last weekend in november. Stay tuned for more details closer to the date.<br />
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I had grand plans of crocheting, stitching, reading and watching a few films on dvd over the past month. All that has happened is that the cats have had lots of snuggle time and the dining table is still covered with everything I planned to occupy myself with. <br />
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At least we have had some lovely sunny days, which has meant I could sit outside for half an hour each day and bask in the sunshine with Sophie. She has been very happy to have me sit and stroke her and just spend time with her. <br />
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It is starting to feel like autumn now. The leaves are falling from the trees, the nights are cooler, and we have fog and mist in the mornings and a heavy dew. We have actually run the heating a few times to take the chill off the air in the house! <br />
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Our neighbours did the vendage this weekend. I was very disappointed to not be able to join in. Will have to wait till next year. It is hard work, but very satisfying and it is lovely to be out in the vines at this time of year.<br />
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I love this part of the year when everything is starting to hunker down ready for winter. The garden is lovely and the woods are bursting into gorgeous warm colours just as the temperature drops. There is a special feel to the air that just makes you impatient for the cold weather to arrive so you can bundle up in jumpers and scarves and walk for miles enjoying it all.<br />
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The chickens are starting to get ready for the cold weather too. Eating a lot more and heading in to bed earlier each night. They start waiting at the gate to the chicken palace at about 7pm, and if I am not there by 7.30pm they take themselves to bed. Very funny and cute. Strawberries and tomatoes are their favourite foods, and I make sure I hand feed them something every day so they are happy to be approached and be near humans. The rooster doesn't like to be patted, but the girls are ok with it.... well, I think they put up with it rather than like it to be honest.<br />
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This week sees the start of getting back into my usual routine, so I will have more interesting updates next time.<br />
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Thank you again for all the good wishes emails.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-56044639972887929822014-08-22T12:45:00.000+02:002014-08-22T12:45:27.587+02:00end of summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Already, in mid august, we are experiencing the end of summer. Far too early! We can only hope that the warm weather and sunshine will return for another few weeks.<br />
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Our normally scorching summer days have turned balmy. The nights are cool.<br />
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The swallows are gathering to fly south to Africa.<br />
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Apples are ripe and dropping from the trees.<br />
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Everyone is left feeling rather disappointed and deflated. After a long, wet and miserable winter (even though not as cold as usual), we have had a very short summer.<br />
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All signs are pointing to another long winter, and a cold one at that. We shall see what happens.<br />
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Most of the sunflower fields are already faded and waiting to be harvested, but there are still the odd ones which have bright sunny flowers. Even on a dull and grey day they are beautiful and give a much needed splash of warm colour.<br />
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Annoyingly, my tomatoes are not yet ripe. I have the fruit in abondance, but not enough sun to ripen them. We may be eating a lot of green tomato pickles etc this year. Worst thing is that I will have to buy tomatoes to make sauces and preserve for winter. Feels really wrong to do that somehow when I have such a big<i> potager.</i><br />
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The chicks are doing well. We have enough eggs to not have to worry about buying them. I would like a slight surplus, but that will happen when I enlarge the flock.<br />
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I was very excited last night when I was making us a light snack of eggs on toast for dinner, and we had double yolkers! What a bonus!<br />
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OK, enough time spent inside, there is work to be done in the <i>terrain</i>. <br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-5736639932271165802014-08-16T11:26:00.002+02:002014-08-16T11:26:41.577+02:00Rooster<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once again I have not been sitting at my computer as too much to do outside. Apologies as photos and updates very overdue.<br />
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Well, we have our rooster now, and he is lovely. Still doesn't have a name. Can't quite decide what to call him. Would love to call him Roger the Dodger as he spent the first few days dodging the girls.... but we have too many Rogers in the village, so it would not be tactful if I had to explain the joke behind his name .... hmmm. Was thinking of calling him Bordeaux - as Coq au Vin is a bit of a mouthful. We shall see what happens.<br />
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Whilst the girls are pretty shades of browns and coppers (with mullet hairdo's!), he is striking in white, grey and black, with tiny hints of coppery brown. Still a bit of growing to do, so we are waiting to see how big his tail gets and what form his comb will take.<br />
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The girls are laying pretty much everyday. Beautiful pale blue eggs like jewels. Have had one full size egg so far, the rest are "training" eggs and a bit on the small side. They are very happy and content in their coop. No more attempts to explore the <i>terrain</i>, so their wings have not needed to be clipped.<br />
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Sophie loves the chickens, but unfortunately the rooster is not so fond of her visiting them. If she gets too close he gets a bit stroppy and fluffs himself up and runs at her. Would be interesting to see who came out the victor in that battle! Both are little warriors.<br />
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Our freezer is filling with veg ready for winter. Haven't started preserving yet, but will have to start soon. Hasn't been a fabulous year for the crops as too wet, so everything is late and some things not doing too well at all. Still no aubergines and the capsicums are only just fruiting.<br />
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One thing that is thriving is the <i>sureau</i> and berries in the hedgerows. Have made one batch of elderberry jelly, but will have to make more to sell. Also have a batch of syrup put up ready for winter. The blackberries are ripening, so will go foraging for them monday and make up some blackberry jelly. Also a few kilos for the freezer. Rosehips on the <i>eglantines</i> seem to be coming along nicely. Am keeping an eye on them so I can harvest for eglantine jelly in a month or so. I detest the texture of rosehip jam, far too gritty for me. The jelly is the same lovely perfumed flavour, but a much nicer texture.<br />
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My jams and jellies are now available to buy at Chez Tante Mabel at Fondemoulin. Hopefully they will sell well there and benefit both Bev and I! <br />
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The apples are nearly ready for picking. This year we are trying to get a group together to take all our apples to a professional cider mill to have them crushed and pressed. You need a lot to do this, and no one has enough on their own. So if we club together it should work well. Also, the more varieties of apples in the mix, the better the flavour of the finished product. Win for all!<br />
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OK, time to go and make rhubarb compote. I have a bountiful supply of rhubarb, which is fabulous. I could eat rhubarb every day with no problem.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-24172054268164894962014-07-23T16:14:00.000+02:002014-07-23T16:14:10.279+02:00Les Poilus... and other things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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No, these are not<i> Poilus</i>, these are cupcakes....<br />
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Realised that I forgot to post an image from the decorating workshop that I went on a month or so ago. It was heaps of fun and I learnt so much. <br />
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Things have not slowed down for summer. I seem to be busier than ever. Luckily it is school holidays and I have the extra bt of time to cram in my tasks....lol<br />
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The garden is looking fabulous! Will have to take proper photos soon to post. These ones are just snapped on my iphone.<span id="goog_936244897"></span><span id="goog_936244898"></span> I have flowers everywhere and the orchard and <i>potager</i> are looking fabulous too. The wildflower meadow is coming along slowly, thanks to Jean's unfortunate plowing incident just when it was ready to flower.... let's not talk about that though. Hopefully next year it will be fully established and look wonderful.<br />
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Unfortunately I lost the battle with doryphore beetles this year. They have decimated my potato plants. Hopefully the potatoes will be ok, but the plants are almost gone. Very annoying. I went out every day and removed the eggs and beetles, and then when that didn't seem to be working I tried dusting them with flour ( a remedy from an organic website). It seemed to slow them down, but did not stop them. So I don't think I will get the same massive yield as last year.<br />
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The chooky girls are doing well. Completely at home in their chicken palace. They have taken to following me around inside it and "helping" me weed etc. The paler one has a fondness for pecking my toes.... she is the cheeky one and has a very bold character. The darker one is slightly more timid and skittish. Yesterday we went out and bought our new heating system and a whole heap of hardware items for the next months works. When we got home it was 7pm and first thing I did was go out to collect the washing off the line..... only to be met by a chicken.... outside the chicken pen. The lighter one had decided to have an explore, but could not get back in. Needless to say I have no strawberries now as she feasted on them all day...hmmm.<br />
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The cats are all spoilt and content. Sophie has not been battling everything that moves, so has been looking good the past few weeks. The boys are loving our new memory foam overlay on our bed. They also think it gives the best nights sleep!<br />
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At present I am working on a project along with a few others in the village. We are putting together an exhibit about the villagers who went to the First and Second World Wars, and including the British SAS soldiers who were executed by the Nazis and are buried here in the village cemetary. One of the team has done a huge amount of work tracing teh genealogy of the French soldiers and finding as much information as possible about each of them. My job is to translate all the information into english and then to research the SAS soldiers and produce profiles on them.<br />
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<i>Les Poilus</i> is the name given to the local soldiers who went to fight. It has been interesting to learn about the lives of these men (and sometimes boys) who lost their lives and are now commemorated on the War Memorial in the village centre. So many of the names are still to be found here, and they really are still remembered by the older villagers. One of the first stories I was told when we moved in, was about Clémentine who rode her bicycle over the Vichy line taking messages for the Resistance. Her family owned our house. There are still members of the family living nearby and the cemetary is full of those that have already gone to "pastures green".<br />
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As part of the project, I am going to London next week to conduct further research in the National Archives and the National Library. Hopefully I will come across some interesting images to display in the exhibit as well.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-22122791956607124812014-06-18T11:06:00.002+02:002014-06-18T11:06:52.203+02:00Chicks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My chickens are finally here. So happy.<br />
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I have the 2 girls now, and the rooster arrives in a few weeks. He is still a bit young and needs to learn how to be a big boy before coming to live with us. Mind you, the girls are still quite young and have a bit of growing to do as well.<br />
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They have settled in fabulously. Loving their new coop, and letting me have little pats each morning. Hopefully they will be quite tame and will sit for lots of cuddles and pats before too long.<br />
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Sophie is happy too. She has missed having chickens to guard. Yesterday she made her inspection and then sat outside the door purring. I could swear she was smiling.<br />
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The breed is Legbar (lays lovely blue eggs) and they come from Anne over at Arbes et Abeilles. Fabulous plant nursery, and chickens too!Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-1245978099122320732014-06-14T19:51:00.000+02:002014-06-14T19:53:02.135+02:00and suddenly there were bees!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was going to do a post about the wild orchids growing in the terrain today..... but as sometimes happens, another topic came to the forefront.<br />
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Last tuesday I had a very busy day. Wayne had to fly to Sweden, which meant a train at "ugly o'clock" in the morning. I drove him to the station, stayed in Poitiers for a little shopping, then returned home in time for a quick lunch before working that afternoon at the museum. Of course, being a busy day, it did not stop there. I had to go home from museum, finish off some light summer trousers I was sewing, so that I could wear them the next day on a trip, then I had a council meeting to attend. You are starting to get the picture that I hardly had time to think, let alone sit for five seconds and breathe.<br />
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In between getting home and gobbling down some dinner, before rushing back out to the <i>Mairie</i>, my neighbour knocked on the door. He had been strimming along the drystone wall that runs along the boundary of our place and his, and on our side he ran into a bee swarm......<br />
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Literally walked right into it - with strimmer running - and bees trying to guard their queen from the nasty invader.<br />
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Luckily he was not stung, although he did do the crazy bee dance trying to wave them away whilst backpedalling very fast.<br />
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A friend of his is an apiarist, and was very happy to come and collect a healthy swarm of bees. So he came and placed a beehive beside the angry mass of bees and gently smoked and coaxed them into moving house. As it was late in the day and the bees had been upset enough already, the hive was left in place till early next morning to enable them to calm down and settle in.<br />
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Bright and early the next day (again! another 5:00am start - eek!) the beekeeper arrived and gently loaded the bees into his van for their trip to a new home. I waved them off, then went on a coach trip to Beauval Zoo... but that is a story for another day.... <br />
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I have been promised a jar of honey when it is ready to be collected, and suffice to say, whilst I am happy that my garden is so appealing to the wildlife I would rather not have bee swarms to deal with - or snakes dropped on my feet for that matter (are you listening Sophie?).<br />
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Not many photos as I was not willing to get too close to all the action. I am super allergic to bees!<br />
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It seems that every time I have a really busy day, some other drama arrives to cap it off. No one can say life in the country is boring!<br />
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Just because, a photo of my baby boy Guy. Isn't he gorgeous!Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-67178603350518772822014-06-09T15:33:00.001+02:002014-06-09T15:33:10.865+02:00Windowbox<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just a quick post with an image of the <i>cellier</i> window filled to overflowing with petunias.<br />
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Everything is just looking so beautiful at present, and I am super busy keeping it looking that way, whilst still advancing the garden works, and keeping up with other chores.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-90370559531391400482014-05-31T10:41:00.000+02:002014-05-31T10:41:15.389+02:00Spring!Well spring is finally fully here and my flowers are blooming beautifully.<br />
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I have pots with petunias billowing out and draping everywhere. Lovely big purple and white, or raspberry and white blooms. <br />
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My pansies have finally flowered too! They did nothing last year and I was really disappointed. This year they are a mass of flowers and so pretty.<br />
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The peonies are nearly finished, but have been magnificent! My favourite flower.<br />
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One thing which has me really excited is the amount of elder flower this year. Am looking forward to late summer and to making jelly and syrups. I could not survive winter here without <i>gelée du surreau.</i><br />
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I have heaps of borage plants in the garden. The bees love them and that area is always alive with the sound of buzzing. The plants themselves are quite attractive, and the flowers are a lovely blue. Borage flowers taste a bit like cucumber, and make lovely decoration for cakes or in salad. I was fascinated by this little white and blue spider who was happily living on the flowers.<br />
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One of the downsides of springtime is that all the small animals are out and about..... Sophie has been bringing me her spoils of hunting and displaying them in front of the<i> arriere cuisine</i> door. Much as I love her, I wish she wouldn't kill the <i>lerots</i>. They are super cute and completely harmless. Mice and rats I have no problem with her killing. She is, after all, a farm cat. <br />
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Yesterday she was making her calling noises to alert me to the fact she had something for me... I could not find her at first, then eventually saw she was under the car. Her behaviour was a bit peculiar, and I was wondering what was up..... till I saw she had caught a snake and was proudly bringing it to me. Hmmm... Thanks, but no thanks Sophie. I called out to Wayne who came and quickly dispatched it whilst I distracted Sophie and told her what a big brave girl she was and thanked her for my "present". <br />
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Oh well, at least the snakes here are nothing compared to what we grew up with in Australia........<br />
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No photos as did not think you would like to see a "spiflicated" snake..... you're welcome.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-51925342853117423112014-05-05T12:30:00.000+02:002014-05-05T12:30:59.903+02:00Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Long time between posts..... sorry about that. There is this little thing called life, which keeps interfering with my leisure time...lol<br />
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This weekend was the annual <i>Marché aux Fleurs et vide grenier </i>in the village. <br />
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Lots of interesting stuff to look at in the <i>vide grenier </i>(trash and treasure or white elephant sale), but nothing that grabbed my eye. ...Actually, that is not true. There was some gorgeous furniture - but Wayne would have had kittens if I had asked him to lug it all home... no transport as we had walked in to the village. Hmmm. So I bit my tongue and did not even ask. Yes, I know, you cannot believe that I showed such restraint. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.<br />
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Actually, I did say how gorgeous the furniture was and he said, we shall think about it while we walked around. Knowing full well it would be snapped up before we had completed one row. I could have insisted, but let it go.<br />
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Aside from that, the <i>marche aux fleurs</i> was good. Not fabulous, but I found everything that I wanted. I have about 10 tomato plants sitting under cover waiting for the <i>Saints des Glace </i>to pass. This year it is the 11, 12, 13 May - depending which region and which one of the saints you are waiting for. Basically it is the date that signals the end of frosts, and you can start planting out your more delicate and frost tender plants. Of course, it is not an accurate science, more a rough guide, so you still need to check the meteo before planting.<br />
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One thing which was great was the cupcakes on sale by Bev and Paul from Chez Tante Mabel. Absolutely gorgeous confections, which tasted as good as they looked! <br />
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I had a vanilla cupcake for lunch, and bought four to bring home and enjoy. They are almost too pretty to eat, but I shall enjoy one with a cup of tea in a few minutes. Cannot wait.<br />
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Bev does incredible edible artworks. I love going over to Fondemoulin for afternoon tea, and always hope she has her lemon drizzle cake on the menu. Her decorated cakes are beautiful. And of course, they are all delicious!<br />
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Paul is no slouch either. He makes the hand made soaps they sell, and is a dab hand at carpentry. I love checking out the doll houses and furniture that he has. Simply gorgeous. I want a doll house for myself, they are so lovely.<br />
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Anyway, enough about yummies. On to work. We have spent the past four days demolishing the rabbit hutches and pigeon house. For something that looked so rotten and ramshackle, they certainly were a lot of work to tear down! I could not believe how many nails had been used. Seems that the person who built them, and then repaired them later, subscribed to the theory that if one nail was good - four nails were better! Phew!<br />
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All is looking good and the fence posts for the chicken coop are up and the concrete is setting, ready for more work this weekend. <br />
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My veg are nearly all planted. The peas and beans are well and truely out of the ground, as are the potatoes. We shall see how many kilos of potatoes we get this year...lol Still eating last years crop, and think they will see us almost to the new crop. Only a few bags of green beans in the freezer now, and one bag of leeks. All the peas are long gone, along with the spinach, carrots and parsnips. I have a bag or two of kale still on hand, and one drawer still has fruit. A few jars of tomato purees and sauces still left, and a few jars of apple compote. All in all, I think I managed to stock just enough to see us through winter and to the growing season. I am quite pleased with it, so aim to reproduce the same quantities this year.<br />
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Our fruit trees have flowered and you can see tiny fruits. We are hoping that we don't get a bad frost or storm and lose all the cherries this year. If all goes well we will finally get to taste them in a month or so.<br />
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One thing which is a bit annoying is my resident mole. I think I actually have two in residence. One at each end of the land. Will check on them today and see if they have gone. I poured used kitty litter down the burrows last night. Last time that got rid of them <i>tout de suite</i>!<br />
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The flower beds are coming along fabulously. Thanks in large part to lovely friends who keep giving me cuttings, bulbs and divisions from their gardens, and to my favourite nursery - Arbres et Abeilles. I never seem to come home from gardening club empty handed......<br />
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OK, enough typing. Time to have my cup of tea and cupcake, then get out in to the garden and make the most of this glorious sunny day.<br />
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<i>A bientot!</i><br />
<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-20171198365029658222014-04-08T18:42:00.001+02:002014-04-08T18:42:49.787+02:00le chat caché<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Could not find Eric today. Looked everywhere, and was starting to worry that he may have followed me outside to get the post this morning..... he is petrified of outside, so would have panicked and run off.<br />
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Went in to the bedroom for something and realised I had not made the bed that morning.<br />
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Guess where Eric was.....<br />
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Yes, you guessed it. He was hiding in the rolled back quilt.<br />
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All that could be seen were two little ginger paws peeping out of the end.<br />
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He looked super cute and cosy in there, so did not have the heart to evict him and make the bed..... I know I am a sucker for a cute kitty face..... so I just lifted the end slightly so I could take a photo, then quietly left him to snooze away the day in his warm tunnel.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-12025872036435215292014-03-17T22:09:00.000+01:002014-03-17T22:09:15.829+01:00Chicks!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our chicks are hatched, and just need to grow big and strong and then they will come to live <i>chez nous</i>.<br />
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Can't wait! They are super cute, peeping away under the heat lamp. This is a legbar chick. Very pretty chickens when they have their big girl feathers. I am getting two hens and a rooster. Hopefully they will do as nature intended and I will have a small flock in a year or so.<br />
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Had a visit today and tried to get a photo. Unfortunately, the chick does not know how to keep still so a wee bitty blurry.<br />
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Oh well, just nice to see them when so small.<br />
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Have been fairly quiet on the blogging front as the weather has been spectacular, so I have been making the most of it and gardening. We are due for a cold snap end of the week, and some rain. I don't mind though as rain is vital to the success of my plantings and the continued growth of my new lawn.<br />
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My veg seeds have all been sown, and are little green sprouts in the mini <i>serre</i> (glass house). I should be able to start hardening them off next week, and then start sowing my next lot of seeds. The <i>terrain</i> has been plowed, and I just need to go over it with the cultivator to make it finer grain and then the potatoes and carrots etc seeds can go direct in to the ground.<br />
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Flowers and shrubs are gradually being added to the bedding areas, as well as hundreds upon hundreds of bulbs. Hopefully we will have flower beds that are interesting year round when finished.<br />
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In the meantime there is no shortage of garden work and house renovations to be getting on with whilst I await the arrival of my chicks.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-33901327335031083312014-02-24T19:12:00.000+01:002014-02-24T19:12:46.059+01:00Eggs a plenty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, I have had a nice break from blogging over the festive season and into the new year. I am not in to all these new years resolutions etc, so no hardship to take a break from all of it.<br />
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The cake did make it to the UK intact and was enjoyed after Christmas. Phew!<br />
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Things have been a bit busy around here the past few months. I have been doing a few hours a week at the village school, and with my other usual committments it has been a whirlwind of activity. School holidays this week, so I have been back to my old schedule and catching up with friends.<br />
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Today was gardening club, and it was great to see everyone and talk gardens. It was also gloriously sunny, so a pleasure to be out and about.<br />
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Our gardening club, Les Amis du Jardinage, meets at a local <i>pépinière</i> called Arbres et Abeilles (trees and bees). It is a lovely nursery near Civray and in a very pretty spot. They have a website also www.arbres-et-abeilles.eu and you can check out the dates for upcoming workshops and gardening club meetings, as well as order your plants. There are bee keeping courses available, and gardening accessories. Anne, the owner, also has chickens. One of my favourite animals!<br />
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Luckily I had the fore thought to email Anne a week ago and ask if she had any eggs available for eating.... you do need to specify this as she also has eggs for hatching.... could be an interesting mix up... So today I came home with a dozen lovely fresh eggs. Half brown and half blue. Yes, blue!!!<br />
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One of the chicken breeds that I am keen to own is the legbar. They lay the most pretty coloured eggs you have ever seen. A pale tourquise blue colour. Gorgeous. ...and yes, before anyone asks... the insides are normal looking - not blue...lol<br />
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First thing I had to do was take them out of the egg carton and put them into an antique dish filled with straw. They looked so lovely, I could have quite happily made them an ornament for the dining table.<br />
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Unfortunately, our neighbours' chickens were killed by a stray dog, so we have not had nice farm eggs for weeks. These blue eggs, whilst very pretty, will be eaten not admired. <br />
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Well, maybe they will be admired for a few days, then eaten.<br />
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I cannot wait till my hens and rooster are big enough to come live here. Can you imagine eating these beautiful eggs every day. What a joy to enter the coop each morning and find these gems waiting for you to collect.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-16786895050657500582013-12-20T15:49:00.001+01:002013-12-20T15:49:42.764+01:00Christmas cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I did it. And it has snowflakes.<br />
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A lot of frustration, and wondering <i>WHY</i> I chose a square shape (tricky business), but in the end it all came together.<br />
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Mind you, the kitchen is coated in icing sugar dust, and the cats are walking through sneezing and looking disgusted. No appreciation for things that are not tummy rubs, cat food or warms....<br />
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Lets all hope it tastes good, and travels well! It is going to London with us next week, so here's to no sudden braking incidents on the way...lol<br />
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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year where ever you are in the world next week.<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3154909419105575991.post-26788491753942032002013-12-12T18:34:00.000+01:002013-12-12T18:34:18.422+01:00Atelier<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This afternoon I did something which I have wanted to do for a long long time.<br />
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No, I did not run amock in a garden centre with an unlimited budget!..... I went to a cake decorating workshop.<br />
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What a great way to spend the afternoon! We had so much fun and finished the session with mince pies and mulled wine and a cup of tea. Lots of laughter and chatting as well as exploring our artistic side in icing.<br />
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Before I went, I had said I wanted to do snowflake patterns, but after seeing a cake with holly on top changed my mind and wanted to do something similar. A girl<i> is</i> allowed to change her mind.<br />
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We started with fruitcakes made by Bev,<br />
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and she took us through covering them with marzipan,<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0gImSX9wHMarcHct38b1wCT6PR7E1VMtU3DOl6NDaN6zVu7I2udyxw5xULgGX-Ge-TqdwxaIayHVadFwEREqFle1eBNmP3i7DhK6FOTxcI2FGC_Z85MgO8IF2KVdxxmoofXQyas1bUE/s1600/dec2013+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0gImSX9wHMarcHct38b1wCT6PR7E1VMtU3DOl6NDaN6zVu7I2udyxw5xULgGX-Ge-TqdwxaIayHVadFwEREqFle1eBNmP3i7DhK6FOTxcI2FGC_Z85MgO8IF2KVdxxmoofXQyas1bUE/s320/dec2013+022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
then sugar paste, (modelled expertly by Janice),<br />
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and then decorating with sugar paste.<br />
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Lots of sticky, sugary fun.<br />
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Aren't we a clever bunch?! Three completely different ideas starting with the same basic cake and icing techniques. <br />
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Bev is running classes at her home this week and next, so book in quick. A great Christmas present for a family member or friend, or just a nice treat for yourself. You can find her at <a href="http://www.cheztantemabel.com/">www.cheztantemabel.com </a><br />
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Classes will also be available next year with other themes (ie; Easter etc). Check out her website, some of the cutest things ever can be found there.<br />
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My holly decorated cake will be raffled to support the Combined Services Support Group this saturday lunchtime in Fenioux at Café des Belles Fleurs. Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18155268363192728576noreply@blogger.com2