Christmas in Calvados

Posted by Rosie


The gite is already booked for New Year but it is not too late to book a Christmas break here at Eco-Gites in Calvados. Throughout December we are open for bookings of 2 nights or longer giving you the perfect opportunity to enjoy a bit of festive French Noël. During your stay you can visit one of the many Christmas markets and concerts that are taking place throughout the region, then return and snuggle up in front of the wood-burner (wood and kindling supplied) with a glass of mulled wine. For lovers of the outdoors there are miles of footpaths you can explore, starting straight from our gate and some excellent wildlife to be seen. Other Winter attractions include ice skating at Caen, Christmas shopping at both the plentiful local shops or the bigger shopping centre of Mondeville at Caen and no queues at places like the Bayeux Tapestry!!

From December 11th there will be a decorated Christmas tree in the gite and all guests will find a festive welcome pack to greet them on arrival. We cannot guarantee you a white Christmas although as I write this it is already white outside after snow fell 2 days ago and last year we had snow from Dec 17th ......... so you never know.

So, why not pack your snow boots/walking boots, book a ferry or train and take the opportunity to stock up on some wine and champers to continue your festive celebrations once back home? For further details about the gite and for a booking form either visit - www.eco-gites.eu or email us at bookings@eco-gites.eu or telephone 0033 231 09 27 51.

Joyeux Noël

Are you sure it is only November?

Posted by Rosie

Because this was the scene here this afternoon!! Sleet had been forecast but much to the boy's joy it fell as snow - they are currently in the bath warming up after a manic bout of wet snow tobogganing. At least some-one enjoyed it ..... all the animals looked rather less than pleased and I had great fun (not) pushing barrows of pig poo out of the pig pen through a mixture of liquid mud (it had rained VERY hard last night) and slushy snow.

The kittens are decidedly unimpressed with this strange white stuff and so have taken up residence in their favourite position in front of the fire. This time Foggy has even purloined a cushion for extra comfort. I feel the mice of Eco-Gites may well be safe tonight.

I should be but I'm not........

Posted by Simon

............sitting on a ferry?

Why?

Well firstly I did set the alarm clock to the correct time to get up - 06:15 - unfortunately I forgot to turn the alarm on!

Secondly I woke up at 6am - decided I could have 15 minutes more sleep. Went back to sleep. Woke up - think that's a long 15 minutes but alarm has not gone off. Go back to sleep. Check clock. No it can't be 06:35. It is.

Thirdly get up - rush around and finish packing. Have a cup of tea, shave etc. Decide no time to eat breakfast. Throw 2 cats out. Finish packing car. Get final bits and pieces together. Throw cat out again who has sneaked back in. Chase cat around kitchen table, trap cat and throw out having shot through the door again. Quickly shut door and go.

10 minutes later than planned leave home. Still plenty of time but not to fill up car with diesel. Get to first town about 15 minutes from home. Yes, there is time to fill up with diesel.

Wallet? Wallet? I didn't pick said wallet up - Oh dear me thinks - well something along those lines.

40 minutes later than planned leave home with wallet. 1 hour until ferry departs and a 50 minute drive. And you are suppose to check in 45 minutes beforehand.

You can then guarantee you get behind the slow moving vehicle - I did. You can also guarantee the road work traffic lights will just go to red as you get there - they did. And of course now being one hour later it is rush hour and you can guarantee there is an accident on the Caen ring road - there was.

And of course the ferry left on time - without me. Au revoir ferry and I'll get the next one.

It's a Cat's Life

Posted by Rosie

Anyone would have thought that there were no mice to be had at Eco-Gites by the looks of Fumée and Foggy .....................










THERE ARE PLENTY OF MICE OUTSIDE DEAR KITTENS!!!

November Weather and Wildlife

Posted by Rosie

Over the last week I think we have had every sort of November weather possible:

• Very wet and very windy but mild
• Clear and frosty but warming up in the afternoon sunshine
  
• Cold and drizzly
• Cold and foggy

I have no idea what tomorrow will hold and I think it has confused the wildlife as much as me. I saw a wasp today whilst clattering the recycling into the local bins and collecting windfall apples for the pigs this afternoon I saw a buttercup!

Today, walking the dogs back up the valley I saw Nature at work in all her horrific glory - both myself and the dogs heard desperate screaming to our right and saw a bird of prey (a kestrel I think) carrying away a smaller bird which was emitting all the screams. However, Lady Luck was on the side of the smaller bird this afternoon and the kestrel lost it's hold enabling the now released prey to fly off. A short chase and the bird took refuge in the brambles leaving the kestrel empty clawed and hungry for now.

Finally, wildlife of a less welcome nature - Mice. At last we seem to have reduced the influx of mice into the house, having blocked the tiny hole where the gas pipe comes in from outside. Henry caught one mouse in the kitchen a couple of days ago (it must have taken up residence before the hole was blocked) but since then there has been no sign of any rodents and the cheese is still on all the traps. Long may we remain mouse free. I like wildlife but not in my kitchen thank you very much.

Allez Le Bleu?

Posted by Simon

Possibly not a very 'green' excursion but the boys rugby club were selling tickets for the Autumn Test between France and Fiji at 20 Euros each including the coach, so I decided to order some. Unfortunately the club forgot to mention one important aspect of the trip - it was for 'les enfants'. We decided the boys are still a little young to go and it was a very long day. A bit disappointed I then looked on the internet but only the most expensive tickets were left.

Then by chance I saw that someone was selling four tickets for the match and I put an offer in, which, after a very minor haggle, the deal was done. The match was in Nantes - a three hour drive from here - and Sally and her friend, Pippa, came over for it.

Saturday was a very wet and windy day - in fact it did not let up all day and night. We picked up our friend, Ian, (where we had a delicious lunch) and then drove to Nantes. A good drive down except for the last 4 to 5 miles - which took an hour therefore we missed the first 5 minutes of the match. Not helped by the French parking techniques and ability.

Otherwise we had a great time. The stadium was fantastic, the atmosphere was brilliant, especially with the band near us, and the match was okay considering the weather. Our seats where just far enough back to avoid the rain (unless a strong gust blew) - a few rows in front of us were all soaked through - with a good view and at a good price.

All too soon it was over and time for the drive back - all of us dreading the thought of getting out of the car park. But I have never got out of an event car park so quickly and we had a good drive home.

And all that for 80 minutes (well 75 minutes) of good entertainment

One Man's Rubbish ......

Posted by Rosie

...... is another one's car load of potentially useful stuff :-)

Neighbours who are moving have been offering us all sorts of things they don't want to take with them and today Simon came home with the 4x4 full of potentially useful bits and pieces. Others may have thrown out old plastic jerry cans but for us they are valuable water containers; there was also a large mouse-proof metal box already in place in the polytunnel giving me somewhere safe to store seeds and anything else my rodent friends like to try and eat. Other treasures included watering cans, buckets, 4 oil lamps (no idea if they work but they look lovely), 3 small chicken feeders, a folding garden table, plant canes and some useful little plastic boxes that will be great for fruit and veg harvesting. There was also the parts of 2 strimmers which Simon may be able to make into one working machine - hopefully. The bits are in his workshop and he will no doubt be tinkering with them soon.

A few things were of no use to us but all in all we saved a good haul from otherwise ending up in landfill. Thank you D and C for thinking about us.

Windy or What?

Posted by Simon

For the last couple of days wind has been howling across here - as in the UK - and yesterday was the worst. I went round the place to check for anything that could be blown away and if there was a remote chance, this the item was either put into barns, non windy areas or weighed down. And the chimney we had built on the gite seemed fine.

So I went back to pottering in my 'den' - us men do - and a little later I was wondering what Rosie was up to. It was quite noisy whatever it was. Then I heard Rosie shouting for help. The boy's trampoline had taken off and was now in the sheep's field - upside-down. The sheep were rather bemused watching Rosie and I trying to get the safety net off and holding it all down at the same time. A couple of gust caused us some concern as the net was picked up in the wind but eventually we got the net off and away, although the trampoline itself is still in with the sheep.

Well, as someone pointed out, we could end up with some woolly jumpers!

A Publicity Poster

Posted by Rosie

OK - time for a blatant Eco-Gites publicity post. I have designed a small (A5) sized poster to promote the gite and was wondering if any of you kind blog followers had somewhere you could put it up? Local noticeboards, work place staff-rooms, toddler groups, libraries etc etc. If you think you could help please send me an email (rosie {at} eco-gites {dot} eu) and I'll email you a copy. If your printer is terrible like mine, I can post you a good quality copy (thanks to a friend who has access to a better printer than me).

And now for a pretty picture of the play area taken just before the heavens opened .......

Soda Bread

Having watched the bread making on River Cottage last week I decided to try out my own soda bread. I got off to a good start. No buttermilk or stout! So adaptations had to be made to the recipe. I used milk and added a little yoghurt, some cider vinegar and baking powder.

I then decided to cook it in the wood burner embers instead of the oven. I loosely wrapped the dough in foil and popped it in the wood burner. It took longer than the recipe said to cook but both Rosie and I have now munched our way through half the loaf. Rosie with thick chocolate spread on it and me with raspberry jam. And it's suppose to accompany the soup!

The cooking technique will need to be worked on next time. The base was getting cooked before the top so I opened the foil up and this helped. Next time I'll do this from the start and I think it will then cook a more evenly. Otherwise not a bad effort - definitely one to do again. I'm sure it will be delicious dunked in the soup - if it lasts that long?

French Fungal Foray

Posted by Rosie

Yesterday I was privileged enough to have a French friend take me on a fungal foray and show me his best hunting grounds - if only because he is moving house next week and won't be able to forage there any more!! We were on the look out for Bay Boletes and Ceps (Penny Buns) but the day did not start well. It was raining cats and dogs and it seemed that everywhere we went, some-one else had got there first. No matter, we moved to another part of the forest and soon found what we were looking for. To be honest though, my friend's basket filled far quicker than mine and I know I must have missed loads as they are so well camouflaged in the leaf litter. Twice I stopped to check where my friend was and when I looked down there was a mushroom right at my feet.

At the end of the day we had a sizeable haul and I could say that my first fungal foray had been a success, HOWEVER - would I would be confident enough to go alone because there are other boletes that look similar but are poisonous and whilst I could see the differences yesterday with a friend to guide, on my own, would I manage it? But I do have the pharmacies to fall back on - you can take your mushrooms there and the pharmacists are trained to recognise and advise you on their edibility.

For supper last night - fried potatoes and ceps. Yum ........ and we are still here to tell the tale!

Fireworks and Bike Park

Posted by Simon

Last night was the 5th November and, thanks to some friends getting us some fireworks, we had a mini display for the boys, with a bonfire as well - but no Guy. We have to get low noise fireworks as Ben does not the loud bangs, therefore we had a set of 18 Standard fireworks and they were not too bad. Even the Catherine wheel spun - wow.

And it had to happen! Ben asked for his bike saddle to be lowered this morning - apparently safer for jumping well landing actually (but not so easy for cycling up hill) and a mini balance beam and jump have now been constructed. This follows our visit to the bike Park in Sherwood Pines last week. Ben has already mastered the beam and is now developing his jump technique. He is already asking for a higher jump. Plus both boys are trying to go no handed - not whilst doing the obstacles, I hope! Umm....perhaps I ought to go and check on them.

Autumn Leaves

Posted by Rosie

The leaves around here are finally showing some good Autumnal colours, although with today's windy weather they may soon be blown away. But did you know that there are 2 factors that have an effect on Autumn leaf colour; the tree species and the Summer weather?

Some trees just give better colours than others e.g. the maples and cherries will always give stronger colours than ash or sweet chestnut. However, with all trees the intensity of the Autumn colour will be all the more after a hot, sunny Summer. Leaves contain three main pigments; chlorophyll, anthocyanins and carotenoids. Chlorophyll, the well known green pigment we learnt about in biology classes masks the other two for most of the year but as the tree absorbs the chlorophyll back into itself in the Autumn these other two pigments show through - anthocyanins producing the red colours and carotenoids, the yellows. All through the Summer these pigments were working hard as the leaf equivalent of sun-cream. So, after a long hot summer the leaves will have produced more of the sun protecting pigments and we will reap the benefits with some excellent Autumn colour.


Here ends the biology lesson ...... enjoy the Autumn leaves :-)

Bother

Posted by Rosie

Simon and our HelpX friend worked hard today on clearing out the barn. The hay is now in there, not in the side barn where the door whips open at great speed when it is windy, potentially doing a passer-by a nasty injury. Loose hay has been bagged up and the stuff too dusty to use as feed put in bags to scatter in the duck pen when it gets very slippery. Rubbish has been recycled or taken to the tip and generally it is looking very tidy. There is also space for the car so I don't need to scrape the windows on frosty school run mornings. Well it could were it not for this .....

UK trip and beyond

Posted by Simon

Before being subjected to having to dress up as a Halloween 'mummy', beset with all the problems of the toilet roll splitting, drooping and tangling up with everything and, therefore, looking like......... well looking like someone who has for some bizarre reason has decided to wrap themselves up in toilet tissue - um!!!, I had taken the boys to see Sally (my sister) in Derbyshire, near Matlock, for a few days.

We had a great time - except for Ben having a 24 hour bug thing - and fitted it lots of things. We went bouldering on Black Rocks and mountain biking down a disused quarry rail track (now a pathway) - well Tom and Sally did I took Ben back to a warm house.

The next day we went to Magna , which is a mini science museum in an old steel works in Rotherham. Although we had a great time and it was (or should have been) a really good day out we were a little disappointed that quite a few of the experiments were not working and I felt it all looked a little tired and some of the displays needed renewing/updating. Nevertheless it was a brilliant day out and very educational for the boys.

Tuesday started wet so we went swimming and in the afternoon to Sherwood Pines (forest) on the bikes again. We had a great time and there is a downhill trail and bike park with jumps etc which we played on - getting very muddy (especially Ben) in the process. On the Wednesday after a trip to the shops and the park we drove back to Portsmouth, via a visit to a family friend, and the overnight ferry.

Back home it was back to rebuilding the old bakery as the weather permitted plus other jobs and walking the dogs. Then it was help get ready for Halloween and of course the Halloween dinner. Also another helper as joined us for a few days so I had to plan some work for him.

Therefore, today we built new and much needed replacement compost bins - out of wood that were the old joists in the barn (now gite). The old bins were a temporary affair and have done well to last three years plus we now have three bins which make it much easier for turning the compost every now and then.