Country (nearly) teenagers

Posted by Rosie

In less than 2 weeks we will have a teenager in the house. About 16 months after that we will have two.  How did THAT happen?  

So what do (nearly) teenagers get up to on on  Friday afternoon in Normandy, when they are lucky enough to come home early from school?  Do you know what?  I don't know!  They came home with a friend who is having a sleep-over and soon after arriving they changed out of school clothes into old home clothes (thank goodness) and muttered something about secret camps and exploring, before disappearing out of the door.

Was I worried when they hadn't come home after a couple of hours?  No! You see this is what I did when I was their age and this is what our country (nearly) teenagers do.  And I used to go out alone at their age and certainly without a mobile, where-as I know their friend has a mobile and and I also know that they know all our neighbours and had they needed help they could have knocked on any door without any problems.

Mind you they left their presence known before they skedaddled off:

Shoes just left where they were taken off:

And a table covered in chocolate powder, school books, milk and Babybels that somehow did not get put away:

They finally came back just as it was getting dark having thumbed a lift from Simon who was on his way home ... which gives me a vague idea about where their secret den may be, especially as their friend mentioned the spring they had seen.  I should have been a detective ;)

I am also guessing that they had a good time, if the state of the clothes they lobbed in the wash are anything to go by (and the rosy cheeks of their friend):

Afterwards they watched a bit of TV and are now playing some game that involves moving all their furniture in their rooms ... which is resulting in bits dropping though the floor and INTO my wine!!!  Oh well, it beats them sitting in front of a computer screen all evening and will hopefully wear them out so they go to bed at a reasonable hour.  Am I hoping for too much, do you think?

Boys' Camping Week-End

Posted by Rosie

Simon has planned to take the boys camping in the summer holidays but when-ever Simon could go, the weather was awful and when the weather was good, Simon wasn't able to go. However last week-end Simon was able to go AND the weather was good so the three of them headed off for the weekend.  They went near Coutances about 2 kms from the coast and next door to what Simon calls a "hidden gem" of a climbing site ... so I have been banned from saying where it is!

I stayed home to mind the animals and bid farewell to gite guests so it was a real boys' weekend and I only have the photos as any record of what they got up to!

High tide was early in the morning when it was hazy but already warm.  A bit of haze wasn't going to stop the boys heading off to surf the waves!

 

Waiting for the big one ... I rather suspect they would have had to wait all day looking at that millpond!

There was enough breeze to fly a kite though (note the reposing feet that are Simon's!!)

 

There were mackerel for dinner (bought not caught).

And sausage baguettes for breakfast the next day!  Apparently there was an argument about which jam to buy so Simon bought sausages instead.  Good call I suspect!

  

And then to the quarry next door for a bit of rock climbing.  

This is Tom heading up ...

And this is Ben, a bit higher!

 They came home happy, tired and slightly grubby.  

Looks like it was a good week-end then!

PS - whilst my lips are sealed as to where exactly they went climbing, for those of you who enjoy this activity, there is some excellent climbing to be had at Clécy, just down the road from us!

Butterfly Boy!

Posted by Rosie

Butterfly

ˈbʌtəflʌɪ/

noun

a nectar-feeding insect with two pairs of large, typically brightly coloured wings that are covered with microscopic scales.

I have mentioned on the blog a couple of times recently how good the butterflies are this year in Normandy. A mild winter obviously benefited them and we have been witness to their dainty beauty all Spring and Summer.  At the moment the greatest magnate for our winged friends at Eco-Gites of Lenault is the herb garden where the mint and marjoram are both in full flower.  Not a day passes when I don't find 5 minutes just to sit down there and watch their antics.

Tom is also very fond of butterflies and moths and a couple of years ago successfully hatched  an Oak Eggar Moth from a caterpillar which he blogged about here.  So when he saw all the butterflies in the herb garden he was fascinated ... and then announced he wanted to catch one.  I have to say I felt his chances were slim but I had obviously not accounted for his calm approach, patience and sheer determination.  
 

Calmly does it ...

Several flew off long before his had got anywhere near them, others nearly landed and then suddenly one brave butterfly alighted gently on his finger and stayed long enough for Tom to get a real close up view of it and for me to snap this photo.  

Tom with a Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Then it was up and away and back to the more nutritious flowers for the Tortoiseshell butterfly that had briefly made friends with Tom.  It may only have been a fleeting moment but it was very special and one Tom will not forget.

For other butterfly related posts you may want to read:

A Prickly Problem
Silent Sunday - July 27th
Butterflies Galore but no Ladybirds
Swallowtail Butterfly 

Have you ever caught a butterfly or have you a butterfly story you would like to share?

Water Fight!!

Posted by Rosie

Up until this week the boys had a large paddling pool which kept them cool and occupied in hot weather and which Tom blogged about here.  Sadly though, it has sprung 2 leaks and whilst we were able to fix one the other has proved to be fatal.  We are on the lookout for a new pool but in the meantime Plan B has been put into action:

Ingredients for Plan B

• Children, preferably in swimming costumes

• One hoepipe

• Water pistols

• Numerous bottles, pans and other water holding utensils

• Hedge to hide behind/attack from (optional)

• Plants nearby to be watered (optional)

Method

• Remove all washing from clothes line

• Switch on tap

• Watch from a safe distance!

 
Do you have any interesting or unusual ways that your children keep cool in hot weather?


 

Le Lac de la Dathée

Posted by Rosie

Simon has been away for much of this week, dog sitting at some friends' house which meant when it came to my birthday on Saturday, he wasn't here.  No worries, we simply arranged to meet up at the house from where we could walk around the nearby Lac de la Dathée.  With the 3 terriers Simon was looking after as well as Poppy and Saari we were a bit apprehensive that we might lose some of the dogs but actually, except for our 2 sneaking off at one point to raid a bin and one of the terriers trying to outrun a cyclist, they all behaved really well.

The Lake is a flooded reservoir and the walk around it is just over 6kms long, with strategically placed signs showing how far you are from the barrage at any given point.

Our start point - 6.1kms to go!

Lac de la Dathée

Beautiful views all round the lake

 
Of course it was not all walking - there were trees to be climbed:

How high will they get?

 And water to swim in (if you are a dog):

A very happy Poppy

Our aim, however, was to walk all round the lake so boys were brought down from trees and dogs persuaded out of the water and our journey continued.

On the barrage so 4.2kms to go!

Our canine friends - Saari, Poppy, Gallette, Gimly and Beth

Along the way we saw some interesting and even weird sights:

For example we have absolutely NO IDEA how this fish came to be wedged half way up a tree!  It did however remind me of this Einstein quote:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

Flying Fish?

Sadly, the many alder trees around the lake are under attack by a ferocious non-native pest.  The caterpillars of the alder flea beetle (a relative of the Colorado beetle that can decimate potato crops) are so numerous that many of the leaves have been stripped back to their skeletal veins.  They may look pretty but it must be damaging to the trees.

Alder Flea Beetle larvae

This triffid like plant caught our attention - it is in fact a member of the umbelliferae family, a large group of plants which includes carrot, cow parsley and hogweed amongst many others.  I think this may be angelica but I am not at all sure though so perhaps some-one more knowledgeable can correct me if needs be. 

An emerging umbelliferae

Nearly home!

If walking is not your thing Le Lac de la Dathée is also good for bird watching, fishing (you will need a licence), cycling, sailing and rowing (there is a boating school) or simply enjoying the scenery with a picnic.   It is about 40 minutes from Eco-Gites of Lenault and well worth a visit.

Have you got a favourite lakeside watery walk you like to do?

Seven Years

Posted by Rosie

Seven years ago today, June 21st 2007, we brought the boys over to France to see for the first time, the place that was going to be their new home.

They were rather small:

And the house and gite to be were rather different:

Our house then

The gite to be

On that day, for the first time, we allowed the boys to head off for a short walk in an unknown place, totally on their own, down the public footpath that leads from our back gate. We told them to stay together, to not go far and to not be too long.  It seemed like an absolute age that they were gone but they came back safe and sound and agreed they would like to live here! It was the beginning of a great seven years.

In those 7 years they have had a wonderful time here at Eco-Gites of Lenault.  They have:

• seen animals mate (playing trains as it was known back then!), be born and die;
• held new born animals;
• eaten the freshest of fruit and veg from our own garden;
• eaten meat from animals we have reared;
• had more freedom than they could ever have had back in Kent;
• met with hundreds of guests and volunteer helpers from countries all over the world who have visited or stayed here;
• made dens, collected more sticks and climbed more trees than you could think possible;
• messed around in the stream;
• got muddy on a regular basis - very muddy!
• seen red squirrels, deer, hares and buzzards etc on a regular basis and
• become bilingual!

Not a bad seven years and not a bad place to have your childhood don't you think?
I wonder what the next seven years will hold?

 

A place to call home

No snow toboggan

Posted by Rosie

It was Ben's birthday recently and last weekend we wanted to do something to help him celebrate.  Having recently written about thrill seeking in Normandy we felt we should give the birthday boy something new to get his adrenalin pumping. But what?

Horse riding - he's currently doing this at school

Mountain biking - nope - not thrilling enough for him

Car rally - not old enough

Kayaking - been there, done that.

Rock climbing - another one he's done and to be honest it was a bit wet.

Via Ferrata and zip wire - could do but he has already done this.

Tree top walks - well this was a possibility but Ben had other ideas.  Simon had picked up a leaflet recently about the Luge at Souleuvre.  The what?  Ah well, luge is the French for toboggan and last year AJ Hackett who run what can best be described as a thrill centre at the nearby viaduct of Souleuvre opened a railed toboggan.  So for Bens' birthday we went:

No snow tobogganing!  

Click to make bigger

1 km of track and speeds of up to 42 kms an hour.  Suffice it to say - one go was not enough and I fear we may well be back here again very soon.

At least the boys didn't quite fancy (yet) doing some of the more daring things also available at Souleuvre:

• The Flying Fox Zip Wire  -a 400m zip wire for 1,2 or 3 people, reaching speeds of 100km/hr

• Top Swing - the highest swing in France at 61m 

Bungy jumping at Souleuvre

• Bungee Jumping - throw yourself off the 61m viaduct with just a piece of knicker elastic to save you.

Are you a thrill seeker?  Would you have a go or have you already bungee jumped?  If you do fancy having a go at any of these activities, The Viaduct de Souleuvre is just 1/2 an hour from Eco-Gites of Lenault.  Me - no, I like to keep 2 feet firmly or terra firma and was quite happy to act a chief photographer and walk the dogs! The valley has some lovely paths for walking or cycling and the countryside views from the top of the viaduct are stunning.