Perce-neige

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.

I call that an aptly named flower!

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.

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.

Since then we have continued to have cold weather, but no good snowfall.  A lot of neige fondu and ice, but not much else.

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. 

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.

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.

All too soon it was over, and time to lock the chickens up as the sun set.

Life in the country is good.

Busy time of year.....

Wow!  It just seems like yesterday that I made my last post, and here it is two months later.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.....

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.

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 dependance and see a little furry head poking out of the cat bed all blinky and fuzzy eyed.

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.

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 terrain, 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.

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......

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.)

Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and look forward to having more time in the New Year to blog more frequently.  Best wishes!

Poitiers, City of Churches

Yesterday we had a treat.

One of our neighbours has lived here all of her life, and in fact her family has lived in the same house for generations.  She works for the city giving guided tours to all age groups.

What she doesn't know about Poitiers, is not worth knowing....

She very kindly offered to take a few of the neighbours on a guided tour in the afternoon. Something that we all jumped at!

We walked around a small section of the city for over two and a half hours and she had us captivated for the whole time.  Incredible stories and fascinating "extra" information that is not usually found in the books about Poitiers.  It was fabulous! 

In fact it was soo good that I forgot to take photos most of the time.....ooops.

The top picture is from Notre Dame la Grande.  The sculpture is fabulous, and having been restored fairly recently, it is in great condition. 

Poitiers is known as the city of churches as it has so many of them.  Below is a detail from another cathedral we visited.  It is undergoing restoration, and looking beautiful in the late evening sunshine.

Jeanne d'Arc is one of the patrons of this area of France, and statues commemorating her life and deeds can be found everywhere.  She is also a popular subject for stained glass windows.  This one dates from more modern times, but is still very beautiful.

As it was late in the day and the sun was low in the sky, we had beautiful views of the stained glass in the churches.  An added bonus was the wash of colour across the floors from the windows, and the somber interiors and darkened aspect.  Very atmospheric!

Neige!

Yes, it is finally snowing here.  I don't know who is more excited... the neighbours kidlets or me....

I love when it snows.  The world goes all quiet and peaceful and there is such a special atmosphere.  Everything ugly and harsh to the view disappears under a dusting of white.  It is like a return to childhood.  The anticipation, butterflies in the stomach - waiting for the moment when the world is completely changed into something magical and unreal.

One of my great pleasures is to go for a walk, camera in hand, and watch the transformation.  My eyes are constantly watching for the traces of the small animals normally hidden from view.  Finding the path taken by a badger, marten or other wild creature is almost as exciting as seeing the animal itself.  Those lovely little prints through the pristine snow are a delight to find.  I know, I am a bit strange.  Wayne shakes his head in disbelief that I have a book on animal scat and traces.  My theory is that if you want to understand and really know the environment that you live in, it is essential to learn about things like poo and paw prints.  It goes hand in hand with living in the country to my mind. Nerdy I know, but very very interesting....lol

Monday morning the cats and I spent hours glued to the windows watching the transformation of our neighbourhood into a snow fantasy.  Every few hours I ran outside with the video camera (new toy) and filmed the progress of the house turning from a typical maison Poitevin into something from Hansel and Gretel.  You know what I mean.... the frosted eaves and fairytale garden coated in a layer of snow, with smoke curling lazily from the chimney.

Tuesday afternoon saw my garden become the venue for a heated snowball fight between a neighbourhood 4 year old and myself.  No comments about picking on someone my own size.... this kidlet was an expert at snowballs!!  After nearly collapsing with laughter at his antics in the snow, his Mum and I retired to the comfort of the salon and a cosy armchair each in front of the cheminee.  Well deserved mug of tisane in hand - of course.

Today is a half day for all schools.  As it is every wednesday.  Another snowball match has been scheduled with the neighbours kidlets for 1300hours.  May need to have a few cups of full strength coffee before then I think...lol.  Yesterday at a routine checkup, the doctor asked about my exercise habits, and was puzzled when I burst out laughing.  Had to explain about the championship snowball battles every day while the snow lasted.  She had a good giggle over that and her only comment was that I was obviously getting enough exercise running from the neighbours kidlets.  Hmmm.

Seriously (?) though, the snow does change the whole outlook of people as well as the area.  On monday evening one of the neighbours arrived home with his wife.  Their young adult daughter drove in at the same time.  Within seconds of exiting their vehicles the father had commenced pelting his wife and daughter with snowballs.  A hilarious snowball fight ensued for about half an hour.  All three dressed in business attire and the women in high heels!  It was fabulous to see them having so much fun, and to hear their laughter echoing down the street.  What a great way to let off steam after a hard day at work!

I cannot imagine the heat and humidity being suffered by our family and friends in Australia right now.  My world is too full of fluttering white flocons de neige and crisp cold air.... and we have another 2 weeks of minus zero and snow to come.... YOUPI!!!

The photo at top was taken in my neighbours garden about three hours in to the snow.  The pic of our house was only one hour in to the snow.