New arrivals

Posted by Rosie

I went to the market this morning and came home with three new point of lay hens and 3 turkey poults. The boys have named the hens Nellie, Mrs Black and Pecky but the turkeys will probably remain nameless as they are impossible to tell apart (and destined for the freezer). Scraggy, Scruffy and Shabby would however be good names as they all look rather dishevelled at the moment. But they seem to be settling in well and even ventured out of their pen when the boys left the gate open! I'll try and post up some pictures tomorrow but I have been manic today, getting ready for a party we are having on Saturday and planting the 100 leek and 15 brussels plants I bought today - without thinking that I couldn't plant the brussels until I'd dug an area for them first.

Now it's 11.30pm and I'm waiting for a birthday cake to cool so I can ice it for Ben to take into school tomorrow. I have a long list of things to do over the next couple of days but - "Bake Birthday Cake for School" wasn't on the list. Luckily Simon remembered, but only late this evening!! Which is better than remembering tomorrow morning or not at all I suppose.

Bargain pig and a freak accident

Posted by Rosie

The pig that Simon collected on Saturday is now lots of bits of meat in the freezer. In fact for 3o€ we have got:

• 3 large roasting joints
• 2 pieces of belly to make bacon
• 2 joints to make boiling bacon
• 3 bags of diced pork
• 3 more large pieces of belly pork
• 2 bags bags of chops
• 3 bags of "leg steaks"
• 3 bags of spare ribs
• A rack of ribs
• Half a liver
• A heart
• A kidney
• The 4 trotters
• A bucket full of meat to make into mince/burgers etc
• Some suet

I think that is what you call a bargain.

The pig was a Large White and the resulting meat is much less fatty that the Saddleback x Tamworth weaners we slaughtered last year. This may be healthier but does mean, as we found out tonight, that the meat is drier when grilled and the flavour isn't quite as good. But at that price we are not complaining and with a little extra seasoning and flavouring we are in for some lovely piggy treats over the next few months. Faggots are definitely on the list as well as chorizo, boiling hams and bacon. I've not made bacon before but at 30€ it won't be a major financial disaster if it doesn't work. I'd like to have a go at an air-dried ham as well but I'm not sure the boys would like the parma ham-like result. We'll see if I have the time.

Not only are we a pig less now but also another chicken - not to M. Renard but to a freak accident with a gate. I am not 100% sure which hen it was - the black ones are so similar but I think between the fox and the gate we have lost Mrs Badger and Molly (aka Fat Bird). Tomorrow is market day so I'll go and get some replacements. "You'd better get three," piped up Tom at dinner time "just in case we lose a third one very soon!"

A Game at Last

Posted by Simon

Yesterday we at long last had our first proper game of Boules on our own Boules area - is it a pitch or what? I had spent the morning (nearly) finishing the top surface - though it's needs a tad more work (especially after last night's storm and heavy rain). So as the weather was glorious yesterday we a BBQ in the afternoon and than played Boules and I'm afraid to say I was beaten by Rosie - twice!

I then later had a game with Tom, Ben and a neighbouring 12 year old lad, Guillaume. Tom partnered G, whilst Ben and I teamed up. All the boys did really well. G has played before whereas Tom and Ben had not. Tom played some impressive winning shots which made for an entertaining game. Apart from one or two rather wild shots Ben had a good game, considering he was playing right handed (he is left handed) and found the balls a bit heavy after a while. Tom and G eventually won the game 13-11. It started off very close and then Tom and G went ahead to 9-4. Ben and I made a good come back and to make it 11-11, but in the final game the others won by two points and were the worthy winners. So I think I need to get some practice in before the weekend as Sally is coming over and she plays in her local pub league.

Our lamb is settling in well and we are pleased to say he HAD discovered the sheep shelter in the heavy rain last night - we decided to check at 5am this morning and getting very wet in the process plus we had to shut both cars windows! The two ducks having looked nervous in their new surrounding now, today, definitely look more relaxed. Unfortunately we think a fox caught one of our hens.

I have progressed a small amount with the gite today after first having another clear up as tools and rubbish had mounted up last week. This afternoon I had to order some timber and whilst out got some other bits I needed - including dried milk powder for the lamb - and here's another ahhh picture......

A bit more than we bargained for.

Posted by Simon

Earlier this week I was asked by a friend if I could help him out with collecting 11 sheep as it would be easier to tow a full stock trailer with my 4x4. It also transpired that the person selling the sheep has a pig for sell - at a very reasonable price. So we are going halves on the pig (it will be heading for the freezer very soon) and for helping out we will get one of the lambs when it is ready to leave Mum.

I was going to have to make a pig shelter for the weaners when they arrive in a few weeks, but I decided I'd make it now so the pig we collected today has a shelter. The design is based on a pig ark and I'm quite pleased with it, although moving it proved a problem until the digger came to the rescue. The ark is now being used by 'Sausages' who seems to have taken to it quite well, despite re-arranging all the bedding we put in there for her. Women eh? Never happy with the decor until they have put their mark on it!!

Now I was only supposed to return home with just a pig. However ...... I also came home with "Chops" - a rejected lamb which has to be bottled fed AND, much to Rosie's surprise, a pair of Muscovy Ducks. Now, apparently, called Hilda and Harold - these will be used as breeding stock. Why to Rosie's surprise? Well I have been saying NO to ducks for ages but, come on, these were free. BUT if they ever get into my wildlife pond they will be 'Hilda à l'orange' and 'Peking Harold'!

Oh and Chops now has a Saariogate (surrogate) mother. Ahhhhh!

Reasons to visit Lénault in May - Part 2

Posted by Rosie

Walking.

It is possible to walk straight from our garden onto public footpaths which radiate out in all directions giving anyone interested in walking a large choice of routes. Turn right out of the gate and you drop down into the valley, under the shade of hazel trees alongside the stream. Turn left and a more open walk takes you across farmland with the typical Normandy mixture of arable, orchard and grass. Onward and you can choose woodlands, villages and riverside paths, the choice is yours.

Of course, the paths are there all year round but I think May is when they really are in their prime. The trees are in full leaf, the hawthorns are in blossom and the verges are packed full of wild flowers, ferns and insects. Although the bluebells, cowslips and early purple orchids are all but over for this year, everyday I seem to see a different new flower. I didn't have my camera with me today for the yellow archangel and unknown small vetch (note to self - go and find Wild Flower Book!) but I had snapped these earlier in the month. Not the best of photos, I know, but I need some-one to show me how to take close-ups. Maybe I'll have a go tomorrow and try and get a picture of the vetch, it's very small but a fantastic colour.

Two steps forward....

Posted by Rosie

Ben broke his arm at about 5pm on Sunday and he finally got back home yesterday at 6.30pm, sporting a very fetching knuckle to upper arm cast which not unsurprisingly he finds a bit heavy! He has been really good so far but we do worry he may find three months of not riding his bike or swimming or tree climbing or generally doing what boys do, rather boring. Any ideas for activities that will keep him occupied would be much appreciated.

Boredom could have started today as we dragged him into Vire because we had to go to L'Assurance Maladie Office AND go to the Tax Office AND go shopping AND go to the natural materials supplier. All planned for yesterday but thwarted!

The French Health System works that you pay for medical treatment and are reimbursed via your Carte Vitale BUT, living in France and not working, as is our case at the moment, does not give you automatic entitlement to a Carte Vitale. We were initially covered via an Anglo-French agreement but that entitlement ran out in January and since then we have been running round in circles, jumping through hoops and generally getting very frustrated with French red tape. And to make matters worse without Carte Vitales we cannot claim the equivalent of French child benefit. So today, with everything we hoped we needed we trotted off to the Office of L'Assurance Maladie to try again.

Oh dear - when our number was called it was into the office of "The Really Grumpy Official". Keep calm, keep handing over the relevant paperwork, keep up your best French, keep small boy with broken arm entertained, keep fingers crossed. This time we had everything we needed and our dossier has been sent off to another department who will process our claim. "The Really Grumpy Official" actually cheered up as we proceeded (I think he liked children) and seemed slightly optimistic that our claim would be successful and if so any payments from January would be covered. I sincerely hope he is right because I don't want to think about how much a broken arm will cost.

Tax Office next which is normally heaving but by some strange piece of luck was completely empty so we were in and out in minutes. Onward for shopping. Well we would have done had the French farmers not been on strike and blockaded all the supermarkets. Never mind - just one visit left although this was could to take a while - the natural materials supplier where Simon had lots of questions to ask. The only problem was, the man he needed to talk to was out today on a course. Ahhhhh. Ben might have been happy to get home earlier but we had only managed to do half what we had planned and will have to go back another day. Ho hum - Keep smiling - this is France, two steps forward .........!!

A Break in Proceedings

Posted by (a tired) Simon

It is nearly 2 o'clock in the morning and I have been home about a hour. Having checked the animals and put them to bed - first finding six of the nine hens who had decided to sleep in various corners around the place and putting them in their shed (one at a time) - I am now catching up indoors.

Why so late? Well a friend came round this afternoon and whilst here was interested to see how I'd been getting on with the gite. Rosie, friend and boys all went in the gite. I must admit I was having a Sunday afternoon snooze. On leaving the gite Ben decided, for some reason, to run out. He tripped over the step and we suspected he had broken his arm.

So off we went to the local hospital. Yes it is definitely broken and after the X ray we were told to go to the main hospital at Caen because it was a complicated break. Both bones in the forearm are broken - radius and ulna and apparently the poor mite will be in plaster two to three months.

He had to have a general anaesthetic and the arm re-set. He (and mum) are now staying the night in the hospital. Apart from when he originally fell and just after his operation he was brilliant and typical child was more concerned about when he was going to next get fed, how he was going to open his birthday presents (in two weeks time) and was he going to have cereal for breakfast in the hospital. Oh and cheered up at the knowledge that he was up later than Tom and also would not be going to school tomorrow - sorry today. (Tom is staying over night with friend)

So in the morning my French will be tested as I will have to go into the school and explain what happened to Ben. Nurses, Rosie and Ben were all giving me lessons on how to say 'Ben has broken his arm' this evening, but Rosie knowing my memory has also written it down.

And now I'm off to bed.

Fresh veg en vrac?

Posted by Rosie

Slowly, as the season progresses, I am getting more and more veg from the garden - this was some of my harvest for today - the first new potatoes and early carrots, turnips, parsley, radishes and what is probably the last of the purple sprouting broccoli. Reserves of frozen veggies are diminishing rapidly so this fresh harvest is much appreciated.

A couple of days ago I went to the local organic farm shop to stock up on washing liquid, washing-up liquid and a few other bits and pieces. The lady at the checkout saw what I had and asked if I knew that I could now buy various cleaning products "en vrac"? "En quoi?" I asked. She took me over to the cleaning section where I saw what "en vrac" meant - there were large containers of cleaning products which can be used to refill your empties thus saving both a couple of euros and the need for more bottles. Other organic (bio) shops I have been in also do a range of dry groceries "en vrac" e.g, rice, cereals, dried fruits etc so I hope my local shop will do this soon too. Anything to save a bit of money and reduce packaging gets the thumbs up here.

Gradual progress and a rather late delivery

Posted by Simon

Work on the gite is slowly moving forward, but I can only do so much whilst we are still waiting on prices from builders. Plus I am learning things as I go along. It is also very noticeable that doing the actual work does not seem to take long, but it is the moving everything around that takes the time or going to the builders merchants to get things. I'm sure I'll get into a routine soon.

Anyway I have started putting the beams in for the first floor but have found that the existing beams are not level so that will take some sorting out. Also I have dug up the old stone ground floor on one half of the barn. The other part is just a mud floor so I will not feel so bad digging that out.

This evening I began taking up the old floor boards and was hoping they would be re-usable for something but they are absolutely riddled with wood worm so will have to be burnt instead. I did not realise that they were so bad.

We also had delivery of the top surface sand for the boule area. Now I mention this because it was supposed to be delivered two and half weeks ago. I hadn't paid for the sand and assumed that the builders merchant (not my usual one) had decided not to deliver. Anyway early Thursday morning we got a call apologising, saying they had forgotten to deliver it and did we still want it. Well as I had not had time to order from elsewhere we said we would have it. "Okay it will be with you between 10:30 and 11:00". Fine - so at 3:45pm it turned up. Must be a French 10:30 to 11:00! I have got it sort of levelled and will try (weather permitting) to get that finished over the weekend. And weather permitting I might try have a game - or time permitting or gite permitting.

So next week I'll continue doing the flooring in the gite. Part of the roof needs repairing before I can do much else and with this in mind, hopefully, we'll have some news back from builders. If not I'll have to look at getting the septic tank or rainwater harvesting tanks in. If I can get them in.

New Blog Found

Today we discovered that our proposed gite has started it's very own blog.

So click this link

The Day in the Life of a Gite.

Please do have a look for an alternative view point.

Saintes de Glace

Posted by Rosie

Today is the last of 3 days which the French (and many other Northern European countries) call Les Saintes de Glace. I have heard this expression several times over the last couple of days so eventually asked a friend what it meant. Traditionally, the 11th, 12th and 13th of May are the feast days of three Ice Saintes and frequently the weather is said to turn cold, often with frosts around and just after this time. It is the reason many French people will not plant out any tender plants until after this date and for those gardening by the Moon they will even wait until the first full moon after the 15th. There are a couple of links here, the first in French and the second in English albeit rather brief:

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saints_de_glace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Saints

So - what has the weather been like? No frost as yet but yesterday was cooler and wetter of late and there was a thunderstorm this evening. I planted out the first of my courgettes a few days ago but since hearing about the Saintes de Glace, I have been watching the weather carefully ready to cover them with fleece if needs be. Not least because as the second article explains, with the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar the actual dates for the Saintes de Glace is now May 19th to 22nd!!

It's Official - Work on Gite Started

Posted by Simon

Yesterday I started work on the gite. The first part was to clear out anything stored or dumped there. Although we had sorted it out previously it had been used to put things that we couldn't find a home for. I did have a bit of a surprise at this stage - but more about that later.

We had also used the barn as a place for the dogs. If we were out for a long time and there is food about in the house we put them in the barn (see previous post re Sarri). We had given them bales of hay to lay on but we think they had had great fun pulling these apart and playing in them. This took awhile to tidy up too.

I then gave the whole barn a good sweeping down. I know it is going to get dirty and dusty as we do the restoration works but it is much more pleasant working in an environment not full of hanging spider's webs and old hay and dust. I also started to rip out some of the old timbers.

Today I started digging up the old stone floor and now have a large pile of rocks outside. I want to re-use these for a patio area outside and a friend suggested we use them inside the gite doorways and fireplaces. I would love to re-lay them but they only covered two-thirds of the area but by doing the above is a good solution.

I felt a little sad pulling out these old timbers and stones -it's part of the history of the house. But having ideas of saving some of the timber, worn by the cattle over the years, were soon dispelled when they just fell apart, due to rot, in my hands.

I have timber coming later in the week to do the beams and joists for the upper floors. I am also looking for a local supplier of hemp which I'll mix with lime to make a lime/hempcrete for the ground floors. This will help with the insulation as well.

And the surprise I mentioned earlier - well I found rather a lot of the boys toys up on the first floor. Now I was a little hacked off by the extra work having to clear to these up, especially as they were scattered all around. Then it occurred to me, and later verified by Rosie, in their own way Tom and Ben had already started building. Most of the toys were for them to carry out the work. They had the trolley as a wheelbarrow, their tools, old bits of wood to build things, the quarry to get sand and stone from and the sand pit to mix it all up. Plus they had swept one of the upstairs floors and what a grand job they had done. I obviously didn't stay hacked off for long - in fact I was a bit proud.

Reasons to visit Lénault in May - Part 1

Posted by Rosie

As I was working in the garden this morning I got to thinking how lucky we are to live here and how each month has something different and special to see and enjoy. Therefore, I thought I'd do a monthly blog about some of the best things to see or do in and around Lénault.

At the same time, unbeknown to me, Simon was setting up his camcorder on one of the subjects I was going to write about, the swallows, (les hirondelles) which is why they get a blog of their own and other May joys will have to wait a few days. Click play below and you can admire these most acrobatic of birds building their amazing mud nests.

The swallows arrive quite early here and for me herald Spring in all it's verdant glory. I love the first sight of a swallow, either sweeping across the lawn or resting on a telephone wire after their long journey from South Africa. This year though, came with a small problem for them and us; the gite. Previously swallows have nested in the barn that will become the first gite and as work is to commence in there this week we didn't want to allow the birds in. The door was therefore firmly shut and after trying unsuccessfully to get in for several days they gave up and looked elsewhere, finding the toy shed a perfect relocation home, helped by the fact the boys NEVER remember to shut the door! Now when you go in to get a football or put away a bike it is advisable to duck for fear of being dive-bombed by the several birds undergoing construction work in there.

I can also add that we are planning to add what I think are best described as swallow nest platforms under the eaves of the buildings to encourage more nesting birds. Renovation of old barns into houses has been one of the reasons swallow numbers have declined and it would be a sad May for me when I was denied the excitement of seeing the first sallow of Spring.

So, reasons to visit Lénault in May - the chance to get up close and fairly personal with our local swallow population. But if they're not for you, maybe you would rather have the buzzards soaring on the thermals above us, the cuckoo cuckoo-ing in the valley or the goldfinches feeding on the laburnum tree. Come and see us in May, bring your binoculars and see what birds you can spot.

Field and Fencing

Posted by Simon

I have finished fencing the part of the field plus made and installed a gate. I got slightly behind as the digger developed a fault and would not start. To make matters worse it was in the field at the bottom of a steep slope. The problem was with a wire that the previous owner had just stuffed back into a connector and now had vibrated lose. This then led to a flat battery and then a fuse blowing. The wire is located at the back of the engine and to get to it you have to work from inside the cab. The seat has to be removed then two panels to get to the rear of the engine compartment. There is hardly any room for manoeuvre especially as it was right next to the exhaust, so I had to wait until it had cooled down to make a better repair. Well eventually it was back working, although a permanent repair is now required.

Tomorrow I have to build a shelter for the sheep and then somehow we have to move four sheep from their present field, through the garden, down the track (about 200 metres), left onto the track to the field, through the first part of the field and then into the fenced part of the field -could be a very entertaining time for all!

I'm sure we'll let you know how we get on, when we have recovered!!

New Field

Posted by Simon

Our neighbouring farmer, Patrice, came over to us the other day and asked us if we would like use of a field which is just over a quarter of a hectare in size. Patrice showed us the field which is about 200 metres from us and we were obviously very interested. We had a think over the proposals and after checking out some issues we are now 'renting' a field. Our rent is to keep the field maintained. For Patrice it is too much on a slope and too small for crops and it's not good for his cattle, so now the bramble and other scrub are starting to take it over. We think he has to keep the field reasonably maintained so handing it over to us suits him as well.

One main concern was how long we had the field for. We did not want to spend time and money clearing the field and fencing it to only find he wanted it back in a couple of years or so, but Patrice has assured us that the field is no good to him and he only wished he had thought of 'renting' it to us previously.

This has come at a good time for us as we will be doing building works in the fields that the sheep use, therefore reducing their space. I started work on the field by levelling the track in and cutting the bramble back along the fence line. I have, also, flattened an area to build an animal shelter and will start the fencing tomorrow. We have decided to split the field into two, putting the sheep in one half and over the next few months get the other half cleared and fenced.

I know this has delayed starting the gite but long term it will be a great asset and, as I said before, will help with the problem of reduced grazing whilst we carry out building works.

Under Attack

Posted by Rosie

My worcesterberry bush is under attack by the voracious gooseberry sawfly caterpillar. These evil little critters can completely defoliate a plant in a very short space of time but luckily I spotted them before they could do too much damage ....... this time. I may be winning the battle but not, as yet, the war - I'll be on twice daily checks until this batch are all squashed and then on regular patrols throughout the summer for second or even third waves of attack. They target, as the name suggests, gooseberries as well as currants and any bushes that are hybrids of gooseberries i.e. worcesterberries (gooseberry/blackcurrant cross). With 16 susceptible plants looks like I'll be busy.

On a brighter note, we've had our first strawberries from the polytunnel - only 8 fruits so far but what a pleasant treat they were so early in the season. Outside, the strawberry patch is a mass of flowers so I'm hoping for a good crop this year - I just need to work out how to get to the fruits before Ben does!!