Strangely for this early in the year, I have had guests in one of the gites, not holiday makers but French floorers who were working nearby during the week and staying from Monday to Thursday. They were nice lads and left the place pretty clean and even brought in logs for me one evening.
My son and his friends have booked their ferry tickets to come for their usual visit in June and my good friend June will be here just before and stay on for a few days after their visit too. All the accommodation will be needed for these eight people so I can't book in any Workaways during this eleven day period. I have, however, just accepted two Mexican Workaways for just after I return from the UK in April, so hopefully we'll get some gardening done as it will be just the right time of year for planting and sowing again and the start of the frequent strimming.
One of my best friends has moved into a sheltered housing apartment, brand new and beautifully appointed. When we chatted last she sounded really happy and I'm glad to think she's safe and has help if she needs it in the future. Another very good friend is in Tobago and Skyped me today from there to show me the beautiful sunshine over the rainforest and beach - you can go right off people! I haven't been to Tobago for years and if I get the chance next year I may well take off for exotic climes in spite of the stuff I wrote in my last blog post.
At my visit to the allergologue, Dr Amicel, she tested me for allergies to bees and seven other things including, dogs, cats, pollen etc - I reacted to them all. I have now had blood tests and will then return to her towards the end of April, when I'm back from the UK, for the verdict. My rheumatologist appointment with Dr Mobuchon, resulted in me having to order a special sort of steroid, difficult to obtain here, for injection into my wrist area. It has now been a week and still not received at the Pharmacy so I just have to wait to be contacted.
I recently collected five advertised blueberry bushes which are rooted and in big pots. The previous owner is changing the use of her land where they were and sold them on. I am looking forward to the summer harvest but I've never grown them before so hope they are easy. I haven't been lucky with fruit here, apart from gooseberries, strawberries and rhubarb of which I get kilos. All fruit trees were ravaged by my goats who escaped into the field next to where they should have been. My raspberries and redcurrants are usually eaten by the birds before I get a chance to pick them. I know that netting them might solve this problem but never had a problem with greedy birds eating my raspberries in Gloucestershire and I think they may be my favourite fruit. I love the way you can just place them on your tongue and press them onto the roof of your mouth to enjoy the gorgeous flavour. I've also succumbed to a couple of plum trees which are waiting to be planted too.
Great to report that eleven chicks survived the power cuts and travelling around and are now thriving in the brooder.
They are very cute! Here they are crowded into a bowl for the few minutes it takes me to clean out their brooder.
We have had a mouse infestation in the studio over the garage. I was recommended to buy a particular sort of mouse traps and they have proved very effective.
Maggie and I are working our way through everything emptying, sorting, chucking out, disinfecting, steam cleaning and putting back. There is so much to do that we are doing it in parts, moving everything away from an area, dealing with it all and then moving on to the next part. It has taken about ten hours so far and we are about 25-30% of the way through.
The two sheds in need of re-felting have had the attention of Dan who has done a good job on replacing the roof and the felt, he's also managed to get the pond pump working again without losing water, fixed the basin outlet in one of the cottages, been shopping for materials, shifted various furniture and bee hives for me, blocked up a mousehole, cut shelves to size, sawed wood for kindling, siliconed round a basin, found and replaced a chop saw blade, fixed the chicken gate, mended a wheelbarrow, took the trailer to the tip, etc etc.
Everywhere Spring flowers are blooming. The daffodils are from under my sitting room window and the other blooms are in my garden or village.
In addition to the plants which I have just collected from the blueberry bush supplier - primulas, pansies and primroses just waiting to be planted out into the garden - I now have a quite different sort of plant to care for.
A friend brought me a buttermilk plant. It consisted of a jar of white liquid with solids in the base. I now have to feed it every day by removing the liquid to a jug in the fridge, washing the curds with cold water, putting them back into a clean jar and topping up with milk, putting the lid on very loosely and then storing it in the warm and dark until the next feed. I use buttermilk in my bread making every other day and have just used the first harvest for today's loaf and rolls. I can't wait to try the results.
My lamb, Raoul, is doing well and running and springing around the fields with his mother, Martha. I'm pretty sure that Lisa is not pregnant. A friend has promised me one of her last year's ewe lambs so I will now have another potential mother for next year. They have been enjoying the really sunny days we seem to get two or three times a week.
The weather is very mild some days - up to 20°C and in the polytunnel it's up to 45°C. The seed trays I have sown in the polytunnel are also in plastic covered shelves and are being kept so warm I've had to open the doors.
Thirteen of the trays have seedlings growing strongly, so yesterday I took the two trays with broad beans and planted them out in the raised beds. I also put my white onions into an adjacent bed and my back knows how long it took me, really bent over as I couldn't find my kneeling pad.
Yesterday I went to a Tupperware party - did I just write that? Yes, a Tupperware party! I used to sell Tupperware back when my children were very small, thirty years ago, and had/have boxes of it. It was a great afternoon at Nicole's and I met new people and got reacquainted with those I hadn't seen for a while. We had delicious chocolate cake, profiteroles and a very good chicken dish which was cooked in one of the containers being sold. I got the recipe for this and will definitely be making it myself. We didn't used to have wine at the parties I did, and that was a positive change!
The plan this year was to increase my bees and to this end I came back with these in the back of the car. Maggie has been busy painting to protect them from the elements.
The usual tasks have been going on too, cleaning out the garden hens means more good stuff for the compost bins on the field.
My Book Group, renamed Social Group, and now should really be renamed again, Lunch Group, is meeting next week again in the Auberge de Guerledan at Caurel where we have a good meal in cosy surroundings and mention the books we have been assigned in between mouthfuls! One of the books this month is this one, which I enjoyed.
The second book was Sacrilege by S J Parris which I am not enjoying quite as much. I have borrowed it on a friend's Kindle and must try to finish it to return it to her.
Last weekend was the Trail de St Nicolas du Pélem, with runners doing 26 kilometres and coming through my hamlet. Here are some of the runners coming past the end of my drive, with mud splashed up the backs of their legs as it was not a good weather day.
This is the chappie who I have written about before, who does long walks around the area with miscellaneous animals. He stopped and chatted for a few minutes and was harnessed to two huskies on long cords - if it had been snowing they could have pulled him along.
Starlings have been sitting everywhere along the lines crossing the village. There have been hundreds of them on the wires.
Three things I like:
1. Hearing the eleven successfully hatched chicks cheeping in the brooder in the kitchen.
2. Crossing so many things of my To Do List.
3. Living here in Brittany - always.
Great to report that eleven chicks survived the power cuts and travelling around and are now thriving in the brooder.
They are very cute! Here they are crowded into a bowl for the few minutes it takes me to clean out their brooder.
We have had a mouse infestation in the studio over the garage. I was recommended to buy a particular sort of mouse traps and they have proved very effective.
Maggie and I are working our way through everything emptying, sorting, chucking out, disinfecting, steam cleaning and putting back. There is so much to do that we are doing it in parts, moving everything away from an area, dealing with it all and then moving on to the next part. It has taken about ten hours so far and we are about 25-30% of the way through.
The two sheds in need of re-felting have had the attention of Dan who has done a good job on replacing the roof and the felt, he's also managed to get the pond pump working again without losing water, fixed the basin outlet in one of the cottages, been shopping for materials, shifted various furniture and bee hives for me, blocked up a mousehole, cut shelves to size, sawed wood for kindling, siliconed round a basin, found and replaced a chop saw blade, fixed the chicken gate, mended a wheelbarrow, took the trailer to the tip, etc etc.
Everywhere Spring flowers are blooming. The daffodils are from under my sitting room window and the other blooms are in my garden or village.
In addition to the plants which I have just collected from the blueberry bush supplier - primulas, pansies and primroses just waiting to be planted out into the garden - I now have a quite different sort of plant to care for.
A friend brought me a buttermilk plant. It consisted of a jar of white liquid with solids in the base. I now have to feed it every day by removing the liquid to a jug in the fridge, washing the curds with cold water, putting them back into a clean jar and topping up with milk, putting the lid on very loosely and then storing it in the warm and dark until the next feed. I use buttermilk in my bread making every other day and have just used the first harvest for today's loaf and rolls. I can't wait to try the results.
My lamb, Raoul, is doing well and running and springing around the fields with his mother, Martha. I'm pretty sure that Lisa is not pregnant. A friend has promised me one of her last year's ewe lambs so I will now have another potential mother for next year. They have been enjoying the really sunny days we seem to get two or three times a week.
The weather is very mild some days - up to 20°C and in the polytunnel it's up to 45°C. The seed trays I have sown in the polytunnel are also in plastic covered shelves and are being kept so warm I've had to open the doors.
Thirteen of the trays have seedlings growing strongly, so yesterday I took the two trays with broad beans and planted them out in the raised beds. I also put my white onions into an adjacent bed and my back knows how long it took me, really bent over as I couldn't find my kneeling pad.
Yesterday I went to a Tupperware party - did I just write that? Yes, a Tupperware party! I used to sell Tupperware back when my children were very small, thirty years ago, and had/have boxes of it. It was a great afternoon at Nicole's and I met new people and got reacquainted with those I hadn't seen for a while. We had delicious chocolate cake, profiteroles and a very good chicken dish which was cooked in one of the containers being sold. I got the recipe for this and will definitely be making it myself. We didn't used to have wine at the parties I did, and that was a positive change!
The plan this year was to increase my bees and to this end I came back with these in the back of the car. Maggie has been busy painting to protect them from the elements.
The usual tasks have been going on too, cleaning out the garden hens means more good stuff for the compost bins on the field.
My Book Group, renamed Social Group, and now should really be renamed again, Lunch Group, is meeting next week again in the Auberge de Guerledan at Caurel where we have a good meal in cosy surroundings and mention the books we have been assigned in between mouthfuls! One of the books this month is this one, which I enjoyed.
Last weekend was the Trail de St Nicolas du Pélem, with runners doing 26 kilometres and coming through my hamlet. Here are some of the runners coming past the end of my drive, with mud splashed up the backs of their legs as it was not a good weather day.
Starlings have been sitting everywhere along the lines crossing the village. There have been hundreds of them on the wires.
Three things I like:
1. Hearing the eleven successfully hatched chicks cheeping in the brooder in the kitchen.
2. Crossing so many things of my To Do List.
3. Living here in Brittany - always.
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