Most of the fruit and veg we grew in the garden has gone over now, so I thought I'd make a little list of my successes and not so successful attemps:
Successful (on varing levels) - carrots (although most are still in the ground, they seem to be ok so far), courgettes (they got powdery mildew on the leaves, but it didn't affect production), potatoes (but not as good as the previous year), onions, mangetout (loads and loads), plums (lots), blackcurrants (lots), greengages, peppers (ok, pleased for first attempt), tomatoes (although I keep forgetting to water them), french beans (after second attempt, so a fairly small crop in the end), pears and apples.
Not so great - garlic (still edible, but small, possibly due to over-enthusiastic watering by surrogate waterer whilst we were away (not complaining, am grateful that someone would do it)), lettuce (second year of trying, bolted again, inedible), basil and parsley (okish, but kept forgetting to water, so could have been better).
Bloody disaster - melons (all leaf and no fruit - gave some of my seedlings to some friends and they had loads of fruit, concluded that ours were not in a sunny enough spot), strawbs (two fruits, enjoyed by birds, old plants and again, not enough sun), raspberries (had a fantastic crop last year, hardly anything this year, I'm been freezing them as we pick them and still barely have a handful, which is a shame as they taste really nice).
The new bed is built for next year and is a quarter full of soil, no doubt it will be full by spring with all the mole hills that we get. Am starting to plan in my head what to plant next year and reading all the gardening books we have. In fact, for my birthday I had two gardening books, one for fruit and one for veg. I also received a proper jam/preserves making pan and a jelly bag holder (for making jellies as in 'smooth jam', not robinsons raspberry square stuff that you put in rabbit moulds for your kids), so I think the country life is affecting me a bit of late. Have been making jam and jellies all summer and today I got the new batch of blackcurrant liqueur underway (ready next year if anyone wants to visit....).
23 September 2009
Smudge, part 2
Smudge is home!!! She came home in the during the night and was waiting for us when we got up this morning. She doesn't look any thinner than when we last saw her (11 days ago), but she's starving and keeps eating and asking for more food. She's been hanging around a lot today, following us about the garden when we've been out and she is now curled up on the sofa. Hopefully she won't disappear off again. I was about to put her food bowls and basket away, glad I left them out one more night.
18 September 2009
Sad news
Smudge, our cat has now been missing for a week. It is Friday and the last time we saw her was last Friday evening. It was not unknown for her to disappear for a good 24 hours or so from time to time, but it would seem that this time she is not coming back.
We have searched everywhere for her, up the road, in the ditches, in the fields, in the gites (she has been shut in them before) and around to our neighbours, but to no avail. It is quite strange as you would expect her to be relatively safe here, compared to a town cat, as there's only one road near us and there's hardly ever any traffic, so it is unlikely that she has been run over. All we can think of is that maybe a fox got her, or maybe one of our neighbours put down poison for other annoying pests (rats, foxes etc) and she ate it.
It is difficult not having a 'body' that we could bury in the garden and say goodbye to, but the girls seem to be coping quite well. Isabella asked for another cat this morning, which in some way seemed a bit quick, but they have been raised to understand 'the ways of the countryside' as it were - ie animals die and it's all part of nature. We often have stray cats hanging around the place and we have to ignore them and let nature take its course, we couldn't possibly take them all in, we'd be overrun. Plus, Adrian shoots pigeon and rabbit, (and used to fish) so they are used to seeing animals being killed for food, they are not sheltered from that kind of thing. Not that we would eat the cat, but we've explained to them what we think might have happened and so far they seem to be accepting it.
It's a shame about Smudge, because she was barely 2 years old, she was one of the local strays, living under our hangar, and quite frankly, at death's door when we took her in. She was tiny and had not been properly weaned, looked like abandoned by her mother, and she fought so hard to survive and now she's gone already. She was a lovely little cat, very sociable and would follow us around the garden and up the road. I think she fed quite well from our guests in the summer too! She made us laugh recently - Adrian shot a pigeon out of the tree in front of the house and of course it fell out to the ground underneath. The cat was nearby and had witnessed this and rushed over to the pigeon before Adrian could get there. Luckily she did nothing to it, but she spent the next half hour sitting under the tree, looking up very expectantly, waiting for more dead birds to fall out!
RIP Smudge.
We have searched everywhere for her, up the road, in the ditches, in the fields, in the gites (she has been shut in them before) and around to our neighbours, but to no avail. It is quite strange as you would expect her to be relatively safe here, compared to a town cat, as there's only one road near us and there's hardly ever any traffic, so it is unlikely that she has been run over. All we can think of is that maybe a fox got her, or maybe one of our neighbours put down poison for other annoying pests (rats, foxes etc) and she ate it.
It is difficult not having a 'body' that we could bury in the garden and say goodbye to, but the girls seem to be coping quite well. Isabella asked for another cat this morning, which in some way seemed a bit quick, but they have been raised to understand 'the ways of the countryside' as it were - ie animals die and it's all part of nature. We often have stray cats hanging around the place and we have to ignore them and let nature take its course, we couldn't possibly take them all in, we'd be overrun. Plus, Adrian shoots pigeon and rabbit, (and used to fish) so they are used to seeing animals being killed for food, they are not sheltered from that kind of thing. Not that we would eat the cat, but we've explained to them what we think might have happened and so far they seem to be accepting it.
It's a shame about Smudge, because she was barely 2 years old, she was one of the local strays, living under our hangar, and quite frankly, at death's door when we took her in. She was tiny and had not been properly weaned, looked like abandoned by her mother, and she fought so hard to survive and now she's gone already. She was a lovely little cat, very sociable and would follow us around the garden and up the road. I think she fed quite well from our guests in the summer too! She made us laugh recently - Adrian shot a pigeon out of the tree in front of the house and of course it fell out to the ground underneath. The cat was nearby and had witnessed this and rushed over to the pigeon before Adrian could get there. Luckily she did nothing to it, but she spent the next half hour sitting under the tree, looking up very expectantly, waiting for more dead birds to fall out!
RIP Smudge.
12 September 2009
Wasps!
I think I'm going to name this year 'Year of the Infestations'. First rats and mice, then bees, ants and flying ants and now wasps (not to mention the brits, but we bring them on ourselves).
They're not really wasps actually, they're known in French as 'Frelons' and they are evil little bastards. Born angry. They're like hornets only nastier. Anyway, we always get some around the place, especially late summer, but the last couple of weeks they've been a lot worse than ever. They bang on the windows at night trying to get into the light and make a right racket. They have been flying around outside the house and some of the gites a lot and then a few days ago Adrian sussed out their nest site. The roof of our house is not all on one level and where it drops down between levels there is a stone wall, just outside the roof window of my parent's bedroom and above the girls bedrooms (which are on the ground floor).
The pompiers (fire service, who deal with this kind of thing) were called on Friday morning and we were advised that the local pompiers would call back sometime to make an appointment to check it out. Oh yes, and it would cost €100,00. An hour later there are two pompier guys on the doorstep, ready for action (with the frelons, not with me).
After shutting all the windows and doors, we had to give our remaining guests the orders to either remain indoors or evacuate to the other side of the garden for the next hour. The eldest pompier made the younger guy suit up and climb up onto the roof and spray some powder stuff into the wall and over the frelons. They were going mad all over him, but he was so well covered he could hardly see anything and the other was shouting directions from a distance. He couldn't see the nest because it is so far into the wall cavity, but they think it was quite new and therefore not too big and then they reminded me how wasps like to eat wood, especially oak, which just happens to be what holds up the roof (so far), so it was good to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Anyway, they didn't charge us because they said it wasn't our fault we had the frelon nest (when is it anybody's fault?) and the monies charged go straight to the tax man anyway. We were told to keep away from that part of the front of the house for the next three days or so because of annoyed dying wasps flying about, but they seem to have disappeared already (hope so, don't like to speak too soon). I went down that way earlier today to get some green beans because I thought it was safe, and then got completely freaked out when a large bee flew out at me!
They're not really wasps actually, they're known in French as 'Frelons' and they are evil little bastards. Born angry. They're like hornets only nastier. Anyway, we always get some around the place, especially late summer, but the last couple of weeks they've been a lot worse than ever. They bang on the windows at night trying to get into the light and make a right racket. They have been flying around outside the house and some of the gites a lot and then a few days ago Adrian sussed out their nest site. The roof of our house is not all on one level and where it drops down between levels there is a stone wall, just outside the roof window of my parent's bedroom and above the girls bedrooms (which are on the ground floor).
The pompiers (fire service, who deal with this kind of thing) were called on Friday morning and we were advised that the local pompiers would call back sometime to make an appointment to check it out. Oh yes, and it would cost €100,00. An hour later there are two pompier guys on the doorstep, ready for action (with the frelons, not with me).
After shutting all the windows and doors, we had to give our remaining guests the orders to either remain indoors or evacuate to the other side of the garden for the next hour. The eldest pompier made the younger guy suit up and climb up onto the roof and spray some powder stuff into the wall and over the frelons. They were going mad all over him, but he was so well covered he could hardly see anything and the other was shouting directions from a distance. He couldn't see the nest because it is so far into the wall cavity, but they think it was quite new and therefore not too big and then they reminded me how wasps like to eat wood, especially oak, which just happens to be what holds up the roof (so far), so it was good to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Anyway, they didn't charge us because they said it wasn't our fault we had the frelon nest (when is it anybody's fault?) and the monies charged go straight to the tax man anyway. We were told to keep away from that part of the front of the house for the next three days or so because of annoyed dying wasps flying about, but they seem to have disappeared already (hope so, don't like to speak too soon). I went down that way earlier today to get some green beans because I thought it was safe, and then got completely freaked out when a large bee flew out at me!
11 September 2009
The things they say...
Here are some lists of wonderful things our guests have said and done this year (this is a work in progress, I can't remember it all at the mo, I'm sure I'll be updating it):
Stupid things said:
'Do you have hot running water?'
'There's a red truck.' 'Yes there is. Well spotted' I reply. Eventually I figured out that this woman with an affected posh accent (her kids were broad yorkshire) was trying to tell me that it was blocking her exit from our property. Then I had to convince her that the truck was in front of the private entrance/exit to The Cottage and she needed to use the main entrance/exit where she had come in through the previous day. Took some persuading.
'There's no hot water.' 'Have you let the tap run?' I reply. 'Yes, I let it run a bit until it started getting warm, then I switched it off and came to see you.'
'There's a cockroach in the gite'. No, just a regular bug.
Things I don't feel the need to know about:
The couple in their seventies telling me about their sex life.
Things people say and do to make us think that they've done the cleaning:
The afternoon before they leave: 'I'm just off to do the cleaning now so that it will be all nice and clean for you tomorrow.'
'We've done the cleaning, I followed your little note on the fridge door, done just what you say'.
Someone goes back into gite just as they are leaving: 'Oh, I've just mopped the floor and now it'll be all dirty again'.
Pour blue stuff down the toilet.
Stupid things said:
'Do you have hot running water?'
'There's a red truck.' 'Yes there is. Well spotted' I reply. Eventually I figured out that this woman with an affected posh accent (her kids were broad yorkshire) was trying to tell me that it was blocking her exit from our property. Then I had to convince her that the truck was in front of the private entrance/exit to The Cottage and she needed to use the main entrance/exit where she had come in through the previous day. Took some persuading.
'There's no hot water.' 'Have you let the tap run?' I reply. 'Yes, I let it run a bit until it started getting warm, then I switched it off and came to see you.'
'There's a cockroach in the gite'. No, just a regular bug.
Things I don't feel the need to know about:
The couple in their seventies telling me about their sex life.
Things people say and do to make us think that they've done the cleaning:
The afternoon before they leave: 'I'm just off to do the cleaning now so that it will be all nice and clean for you tomorrow.'
'We've done the cleaning, I followed your little note on the fridge door, done just what you say'.
Someone goes back into gite just as they are leaving: 'Oh, I've just mopped the floor and now it'll be all dirty again'.
Pour blue stuff down the toilet.
01 September 2009
Don't they realise how hungry we are?
Quite often when our guests go home, they leave yummy and useful foodstuffs behind that they can't be bothered to take home with them, or are unable to. Such as jars of pasta sauce, pasta, tins of toms, rice, sugar, oil, ice creams, chocolaty cereals, fresh fruit and veg, plus enough foil and cling film to last me to next year and plenty of toilet roll too.
Well this year we've had a right bunch of tight wotsits in and so far most of them have left nothing, and what slim pickings have been left include: 2 rolls of recycled toilet roll (defintately NOT soft, not strong, but unfortunately extremely long), half a small packet of whole wheat pasta, half a box of ready brek, half a box of bran flakes, a jar of sweetcorn, a tin of chickpeas, a tin of lentils and a marrow not far off half a metre in length. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for anything, and we'll eat what there is, but it's not exactly a christmas hamper of goodies is it? And what's a girl supposed to do with 19 inches of fat marrow I ask you?
Post script, a week or so later: Some more guests have just left, and I found in their fridge, oh joy of joys, half a bar of chocolate! (Although I'm having trouble with the concept of leaving half a bar of chocolate behind. Why?). And then I went upstairs - oh horror of horrors - more recycled toilet paper. Some kind of cruel joke I think.
Well this year we've had a right bunch of tight wotsits in and so far most of them have left nothing, and what slim pickings have been left include: 2 rolls of recycled toilet roll (defintately NOT soft, not strong, but unfortunately extremely long), half a small packet of whole wheat pasta, half a box of ready brek, half a box of bran flakes, a jar of sweetcorn, a tin of chickpeas, a tin of lentils and a marrow not far off half a metre in length. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for anything, and we'll eat what there is, but it's not exactly a christmas hamper of goodies is it? And what's a girl supposed to do with 19 inches of fat marrow I ask you?
Post script, a week or so later: Some more guests have just left, and I found in their fridge, oh joy of joys, half a bar of chocolate! (Although I'm having trouble with the concept of leaving half a bar of chocolate behind. Why?). And then I went upstairs - oh horror of horrors - more recycled toilet paper. Some kind of cruel joke I think.
Peace at last!!
Last week-end meant the end of being fully booked, and much as I would like to be permanantly fully booked (in the gites) and much as I have enjoyed the season this year (we have had some lovely folk in), it's very nice to have the place (almost) to ourselves again. Unfortunately, the last week was brits only - for the first time since the beginning of July and we had a couple of families in with not the nicest of kids and it was not such a nice atmosphere in general as it has been over the summer, with a good mix of brits, french and other europeans. So it felt like we ended on a bit of a bad note and quite frankly, I was glad to see the back of some of them!
We have so far booked a record 63 weeks, (previous years have been 45/46/47 weeks) which I am very pleased about, although our income has still been crap, but we'll work on that for next year. I was not prepared for such a good response to our advertising from the french/europeans, so I'm going to be sorting that side of things out now and hopefully find ways to improve the income side of things for next year.
Isabella goes back to school on Thursday - at last - only nine weeks off! Georgia will also be starting then as well, which I'm having a major stress about, worrying about how she'll cope (and possibly how I'll cope, I'm sure she's going to be upset). Still, I think once she's settled, she'll have a good time and it's about time she started making some friends of her own age and learning french.
We have so far booked a record 63 weeks, (previous years have been 45/46/47 weeks) which I am very pleased about, although our income has still been crap, but we'll work on that for next year. I was not prepared for such a good response to our advertising from the french/europeans, so I'm going to be sorting that side of things out now and hopefully find ways to improve the income side of things for next year.
Isabella goes back to school on Thursday - at last - only nine weeks off! Georgia will also be starting then as well, which I'm having a major stress about, worrying about how she'll cope (and possibly how I'll cope, I'm sure she's going to be upset). Still, I think once she's settled, she'll have a good time and it's about time she started making some friends of her own age and learning french.
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