Friday evening "Chez Nous"

Posted by Rosie

Simon is currently in the other room, shouting at the television. Actually he is shouting at the referee of the rugby match he is watching on the television but he is still shouting!! I'm afraid I can't get excited about rugby so I'm on here catching up with blogs and planning what to sell at the "Vide Grenier" in the next village at Easter.

A Vide Grenier is a car boot sale and they are very popular in France. I'm planning to do a cakes and produce stall as the French seem to love English produce - cakes, biscuits, sweets, jams, pickles and any produce from the garden. April is notorious for being an empty month for fresh produce but I may have rhubarb, spring cabbage and purple sprouting broccoli. Tomorrow I'm going to sow some more seeds to try and sell on as seedlings.

Oh 'eck - he's shouting again - not sure quite why but I'm off to see what preserves I've already got and what others I can make. Now where is my recipe for lemon curd?

Long Time No Blog

Posted by Simon

I have been in the UK for 10 days, five of which I was helping a friend coppicing, as I did last November (see Back Home). As the boys had half term here (2 weeks) I took Tom with me and Sally (my sister) looked after him whilst I worked. We took the ferry over on the 11th February.

For the first day Tom and I caught up with old friends and neighbours and did a few jobs we had to get done. Tom was keen to see the dinosaur bones at the Natural History Museum so on the Friday we caught the train to London then a bus to South Kensington (I know the tube is quicker but Tom wanted to go on the bus). We looked round the dinosaur display and Tom was fascinated but it was not long before interest waned. So after quickly looking at the life size model of the Blue Whale ("that big?") and other animals we headed to the science museum.

Here I 'lost' Tom into his own little world. It was a pleasure to watch as he played and studied his way around the kids zone and Launch Pad. He had a great time watching, playing and learning, but I think his overall favourite was the water section in the 'The Garden'. But all too soon we had to get home and sitting at the front of the top deck on a double decker bus really made his day (I remember the fun of those first bus rides?).

We then went up to Cambridgeshire to stay with Betty, an old family friend, and caught up with her news. Sally met us there to pick up Tom. We all had a lovely time and Betty cooked one of my favourites for Sunday lunch - boiled bacon. On the Sunday I then went off to work for a week whilst Tom had a great time with his Aunt in Derbyshire. He went rock climbing, to the Magna Science Adventure Park and The Heights of Abraham to name but a few activities he did.

After a hard weeks work I met up with Tom and Sally, at another old friend's place, on the Friday evening and stayed over night before getting the ferry back to France last Saturday. The journey made quicker as we met up with a local family we knew and their small boy - so he and Tom played.

Back home and having sorted myself out I'm now carrying on with the boule/play area and preparing another hedge laying course.- but more of these later.

And once again many thanks to everyone who put Tom and I up, fed us and looked after us. It was lovely to see so many friends. Oh, and sorry Jon next time I'll not drag you round so many shops!!!!

Companion Planting

Posted by Rosie

Last year, overall the veg patch did really well but there were a few notable exceptions. The onions hardly got any bigger than shallots and one patch of kale and brussels didn't put on any decent growth. Now I think I may have the answer.

I was reading a book this evening about Companion planting called Tomatoes love Carrots. I've known for ages that certain plants can help others grow either by repelling pests or by other less well understood methods but I never investigated it further. So, as I read I took a few notes. "Brassicas i.e. cabbages, kale, brussels etc hate strawberries" and "Onions hate beans." What is right next to the poor kale and brussels? The strawberry patch. What was next to the onions? Broad beans.

Call it co-incidence, I don't know, but I have spent this evening drawing up a plan of what I will grow where this year, taking into account what grew where last year and what likes or dislikes other vegetables. I will report back in the autumn (if I remember) as to how things did - especially the onions as I almost decided not to grow them this year. Now, can I put onions next to the strawberry patch .......?

I MUST resist, I MUST resist

Posted by Rosie

Ben and I made raisin flapjacks today which will mature in the tin until Tuesday when Ben's friend is coming over to play. His mum loves English foods and so far I have introduced her to the joys of marmite sandwiches, sponge buns, oatmeal biscuits and given her a jar of horseradish sauce. I hope she likes the flapjacks and more importantly I hope they make it to Tuesday - I mean would she really notice if there was one less?!

And look what the sun brought out today.

Glorious Gardening Days

Posted by Rosie

The last two days have been glorious and I have got on with loads of seed sowing. The drying box is full to the brim with seeds trays and the borders of the polytunnel are filling up fast. If the weather holds tomorrow I need to get in broad beans and do more digging. And there were signs of spring everywhere - I took these photos whilst walking the dogs:

Shoots of wild garlic which I can't wait to be big enough to forage. They make such a great risotto with leeks.

Catkins - some of Nature's first flowers. But YOU try explaining to a 5 year old that they are flowers - take it from me - mine doesn't believe me!!

Where-as snowdrops (perce-neige) really are flowers. As a child I learnt this little poem about them and I have never forgotten it:

I like to think that long ago,

there fell to earth some flakes of snow,

that liked this dull grey world of ours

so much, they stayed as snowdrop flowers.

Anon

Oh dear - I've just checked the weather forecast and there is snow then rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow!

Update on a Thief

Posted by Rosie

Flippin' dog! I put her out for a constitutional last night and she didn't come back in. Where was she? Yep - in the veg patch. So, today I set off to find where she'd got in and it looks like there is one likely hole round the far side. She's one determined dog. I did try to block the gap but need to find something more suitable than the fallen branches I had to hand - plus I got a huge thorn in my knuckle for my troubles. Oh yes - when gardening later I found dog paw prints in the compost heap. Honestly!!

I found this information on a Siberian Husky website and as Saari is half Husky it makes sense:

"The nature of a well bred Siberian is cheerful, often mischievous, and energetic. Siberians that are properly bred and socialized love people and need human companionship to be happy. Their independent nature leads some to label them stupid but nothing could be farther from the truth! Siberians are problem solvers and accomplish amazing feats when they are determined to do something -- such as escaping their kennel or yard to do some exploring! Never, never underestimate a Siberian Husky’s intelligence and determination!"

Thief

Posted by Rosie

As any gardener will testify, all gardens have their fair share of pests. Here my list of "bad guys" runs something like this - caterpillars, moles, pigeons and the dog. Yes - you did read that right. Saari has decided that now there is no maize to steal from the local fields she needs something else to supplement her meagre diet. The odd egg found in the barn is OK but a bit sporadic. However, the veg patch is full of tasty "Choux Lapin" (a type of kale fed to the sheep). Initially she was happy to simply chew the stalks that were left after the sheep had all the leaves but of late she has taken to eating the whole plant, in situ, just leaving the thickest part of the stalk. And if that isn't enough she has trampled my late leeks in doing so. (AND it gives her terrible wind) Grrrrrrr.

Therefore, Simon and I have been out fixing a gate across the gap where she could get into the veg patch. It seems to have stopped her for now but I wouldn't put it past her to find another way in ........

Joyeux Anniversaire

Posted by Rosie

No prizes for guessing how old Tom was today then?

Not being a big party boy we just had a quiet week-end with Sally, his aunt, and 2 other friends here. We had lunch in a local pizza restaurant and Tom was extra pleased when his pudding arrived complete with a candle and everyone in the restaurant sang "Happy Birthday" (which for some reason the French always sing in English.) As for presents, he has already stuck his glow-in-the dark stars on his ceiling, we have taught him the rudiments of playing draughts and he has gone to bed wearing his new watch. How grown up our little lad is becoming! Tomorrow we had better watch our step; he has a finger-print kit as well!

Thank you everyone who sent cards and presents, they were much appreciated and thank you letters will be sent in due course. Ben, who gets very jealous of other people's birthdays, did however, sum up this part of the celebration beautifully. "Well I'm glad it's not MY birthday 'cos I don't have to write thank you letters!"

Snow

Posted by Rosie

It was all gone by lunchtime but was lovely while it lasted!

Chickens

Posted by Rosie

Back in July we bought 6 young chicks as meat birds. 4 have already found their way into the freezer and on Monday the last two joined them. We had bought two different type of birds as a bit of a taste/size comparison. Three were brown (which all turned out to be cockerels) and three were white (which all turned out to be hens). The man on the market said the browns would be smaller and tastier, the whites larger but less tasty. Well he was right about the size but Simon and I both agreed that we preferred the taste and texture of the white birds. So when we re-stock a bit later in the year white's is what we'll get.

And talking of re-stocking I bought two new point-of-lay hens today. They seem to be settling in fine and as yet no-one else has picked on them. Plus when I went to feed them this evening there was a very late-laid small brown egg in one of the boxes. I would be very surprised if they were laying already (especially after the stress of moving) so it was more likely to be some-one else coming back into lay. 5 eggs in total today after just one yesterday but 6 the day before that. It's amazing how quickly you can build up an egg mountain this way - anyone for an egg curry?

Too cold to dig

Posted by Rosie

I knew it would happen. You get a mild(ish) spell in January and get on great guns digging the veg patch, planning as you go along what will go where and almost tasting the first tomato of the year. Then February arrives and WHAM - you are hit with another cold spell. The ground is too hard to dig and spring suddenly seems a million miles away.

So I am sitting here with a glass of raspberry vodka and consoling myself that unlike friends, I am not out in the barn lambing tonight. Instead I thought I would add a picture taken last summer in the garden. Which reminds me - I must re-sow some sweet peas soon as the mice ate the first lot I planted!

Brrrrrrrr

Posted by Rosie

I know that as I type this there are people all over England and in parts of France struggling to get to work through the heavy snow that fell last night. So did we get any snow here in Calvados? Did we heck. Not a flake. Pas de flocon. And it doesn't even look like there is any snow in the sky.

As for later in the week it's may ..... or may not snow depending which weather site you look at. BBC Weather says Yes, France Weather says No and Meteo France says Maybe. And if you look on the Meteo France weather map for today everywhere around us has snow, just not us. Instead it is flippin' cold, rock hard underfoot and I'm back to breaking a thick layer of ice in the sheep's water again. Brrrrrrrr.