Rain – Again

It started raining around midday and hasn’t stopped and we’ve already had 30 mm of rain. Still I should count myself lucky as in the south of Aquitaine there has been a hailstorm that left up to 30 cm of hailstones. It’s totally annihilated some of the vineyards in the area and washed out fields of maize.

Today’s rain has come after yesterdays 14 mm that saturated the ground so sadly my new vegetable area has been inundated again.

The ditch can’t cope so has overflowed.

And the field is flooded.

The bottom of the field.

A picture for ‘G’, your hard work last year is holding up well, the ditch is full but it’s still not flooding over the top as last year.

And this says it all; this was taken at the bottom of the new wood field, thank goodness both skin and the plastic clogs are waterproof.

A’s Week

I’ve been a trifle sad today, I always am when I’ve had to take my children back to the airport but I’ve had a wonderful week catching up with 'A' again. He shares my love of the news and information and being a student has more time than me to read around. I also love having my children here because it brings me up to date with what they think is important in this world.

So we’ve had late nights talking about his year in Singapore and what he hopes to be taking next year and watching videos and the days have been filled with bits and pieces. Going out a few times and pottering round the farm the rest.

We spent a morning going to see the baler and hay turner and OK’ing them.

We spent a day mowing lawns and planting some stuff then 'A' clipped the hedge for me. It’s the first time it’s been fully clipped in well over a year. I tried back last year but it was just too much for me so I’m really grateful that he’s done it.

We’ve had the first of the alpine strawberries that are now fruiting prolifically; the coin is a one-euro coin.

We’ve also built and hung some of the wall units.

Now there is only the corner unit and it’s 2 adjoining ones to go. They would have been done but once the corner unit was built it was obvious that it can’t be fitted round the new electrics and I will have to buy some battens this week and fix it to the wall on those. 'A' has then spent time loading the finished cupboards and generally clearing spaces.

The rest of the time has been spent just ‘hanging out’ or whatever the current phrase may be. I count myself so luck not only having wonderful children but also being able to spend time with them in what is a very restful situation.

Elderflower Time

Time with A is slipping by really fast, catching up with all he’s been doing over the last year and discussing the options he’s hoping to take next year but we’ve still been getting on with a few things. A couple of the wall units for the kitchen are now built but I didn’t have suitable screws and plugs to put them up. So today was a trip to get them that we combined with a quick visit to the place selling the baler. The baler is there and it looks fine, a bit of paint worn off as you would expect with used farm equipment but the rest looks fine needing nothing more really than making sure all relevant pieces are oiled and greased. It is being delivered tomorrow along with the ‘turning over’ thing. He also thinks he will have a suitable cutter next week too so hay making here I come.

Today was dry and sunny so an ideal day to pick the elderflowers for elderflower cordial. I made some last year using a recipe from Self Sufficientish and it was really nice. It uses Citric Acid, which you now need to ask for at chemists in the UK since drug addicts now apparently use it. I think it’s the same here too; so I eventually plucked up courage last year and went into a chemist over in the Lot and eventually came out with 90 grams of the stuff. When I need some more I’ll feel a lot more confident going into my local chemist and asking now.

The bush, there is only one in my hedgerow, is flowering prolifically this year so I decided to pick with A’s help (he’s a lot taller than me – well all my children are and have been since their early teens), a few more flower heads and give Hedgewizard’s recipe for elderflower champagne a go. There are still plenty of flower heads left plus some still to flower so there should also be lots of elderberries too this year.

A Productive Rainy Day

I was hoping to get the front lawn mown today, its getting on for 6 inches high in some places and plant the last of the garlic, but around 10 am, well before the grass had dried sufficiently to be mown, it started raining again. Time for a change of plan.

My son A, has finished his university course out in Singapore and is arriving at the weekend for a visit so I though I would get some bread made so I didn’t have to do that next week. I decided that if I was making up 500g of bread flour I might as well make up 2kg. It doesn’t take that much longer and the oven only has to heat up once.

I got the dough mixed and on its first rise and started on the next project when the ‘phone range. It was Ann to tell me that as Regis had been unable to get on with his work today because of the rain he’d rung round some local contacts about the fencing and hay making equipment. Ann and Regis are such good friends I would be really struggling without their help as I just wouldn’t have the local knowledge or contacts.

The guy who has the post machine it turns out doesn’t hire it out or do work for other people but he may know someone who does so Regis is awaiting a telephone call tonight about that after which he’s going to talk to someone else who might know a direst supplier for the 500 odd fencing posts I’m going to need. So nothing actually sorted but very definitely in progress.

He then contacted the guy who has one of the old style small balers sitting rusting in his field. The guy had said that he wasn’t using it any more and had received hundreds of enquiries about it but wasn’t selling it; so there it will sit and rust. So plan B was to visit a business near Villeneuve that sells second hand agricultural equipment and that Regis would be at my place at 13:30 to take me there.

The project I’d started was a cherry cake that required an hour and a half cooking time. Since it was already 12:30 the cake went on hold. I’d decided on cherry cake as I still had some glace cherries I’d made last year so it was time to use them up before this years harvest. Well I hope there will be a harvest; I found just one fruitlet on the Reine Claude and one on the normal plum, one of the sour cherry trees has no cherries this year along with the nectarine. The sweet cherries seem to have a few fruits and there is one sheltered sour cherry that has a reasonable amount at the moment.

I’d decided not to use the food processor today and set about creaming the butter and vanilla sugar by hand. I’ve not done that since school cookery lessons and had forgotten that it was reasonably hard work, well at least until the butter had softened quite a bit. Thankfully I’d not added the flour before Ann called so it could safely wait until my return. I still can’t get over how yellow the mix was using my free range eggs

The trip to Villeneuve took place in a heavy downpour which wasn’t too bad in its self, the only problem was when we were on a piece of road that was only tarmaced yesterday; it was noticeably slippery.

At the dealers, my luck was in; while he didn’t have a baler there he had one coming in next week and I have first option on that. Apparently a lot of the old equipment suitable for small farms like mine is being bought up and shipped for sale on Poland where there are far more small farms so I’m quite lucky. This baler was used last year so hasn’t spent the last 10 years rotting in the corner of a field so I’m hopeful it will be fine. I’ve also an option on what I think is called a tedder, the piece of equipment that turns and fluffs the hay. This one will also move the hay into the lines ready for baling. All I need now is the flail cutter as there wasn’t a suitable one there.

We came back via another couple of dealers, the first only had cutters that were far to big for my needs and therefore too expensive and the second was just far to expensive, quoting nearly double the others for similar stuff. The guy at the first place is going to telephone me if he gets a suitable cutter in so a very positive outcome there.

Back home and cake was put in the oven to bake, bread dough was divided up into 3 loaves and 8 large baps and left to prove again on top of the now warm cooker – what next? Well I’d also remembered the rest of the home-made pasta dough I’d frozen when Sue was here. That had now defrosted so I’ve turned that into tagliatelle to have when A is here.

Chicken Question

Having confidently written on Stoneheads blog this morning that non of my chickens were showing the slightest intention of going broody, one has spent today sitting in the nest box.

As she can only be on one egg, can anyone tell me if the eggs I've collected this week and stored in the fridge will hatch if I put the under her?

Thanks everyone

Thursday Just Went

Today just slipped by, the morning was spent going to Bergerac to get more lime for whitewash and an exterior light for the patio so I can get rid of the bare wires and normal bulb and holder that’s out there at the moment. It also tied in with a trip to see Ann and talk over things that I need for the farm.

Today it was getting someone in to put in the fence posts and getting equipment to cut hay along with arranging a convenient day for Mr Tibbs to go in for the chop.

The afternoon was back out in the garden; the dry day meant that I could get another go over some of the soil with the rotivator and break up the soil a bit more. After that I finally got some of my garlic into the ground, most of it has rotted while waiting but with luck I’ll get enough cloves for next years planting. I’ve still another 2 or 3 rows of another variety to plant but stopped because Regis called round.

He wanted to borrow the topper as his had broken down. While he was here he had a look at the ride-on mower that broke down last week. Needless to say it worked first time for him, leaving me feeling a bit miffed. He disappeared off to get his tractor and I decided to do some mowing. Would the mower start for me – would it heck, but at least I knew it should start. Eventually I figured out that the parking brake could engage in two positions. In one it activated the relay that allows the engine to be started in the other it doesn’t! So now I know another of it’s idiosyncrasies.

I’d nearly finished the ride-on mowing when the thunder spots started and that was it for the day. The thunder rumbled around for a couple of hours but with no obvious lightning from here.

So for a change I was inside in time to watch the news but fate was against me, the journalists were on strike again so it was a slightly different format news with only a few international bits, the rest coming from the regions that weren’t on strike.

All in all an odd sort of day, nothing much to write about but one that got little bits done that will make the following days easier – as long as the ground dries out again.

After the storm

Creeping Forwards

When I got back from Agen yesterday there was a message on the answer phone, the kitchen store had telephoned to say my stuff was there. They didn’t specify which stuff and I’ve learnt from past experiences not to get too excited. I was right to be laid back; it was the replacement leg for the unit that had arrived and not the missing unit. On the positive side though, the order for the missing unit was there in the book; if it has paperwork attached it will be done - just don’t ask when!

Still the trip into Villeneuve wasn’t a total waste, I found some more sandals, having worn out my last pair as if I’m not in my safety shoes (which are nearly worn out too) I’m in my walking sandals, and I filled the car with diesel – ouch. Long gone are the days when it cost fewer Euros than litres. On the national news the other day they were showing people who were filling up every day so it ‘only cost them a few euros’. I think they are only kidding themselves, I’d rather fill up and get the shock of how much it costs to encourage me to cut out unnecessary journeys than spend the money in dribs and drabs trying to convince myself that it’s not an expensive luxury.

Back at the farm I put in the last half row of potatoes and continued with a bit more ground preparation while it tried to drizzle. We’ve not had the thunderstorms and hail we were promised for today so that was good. I also started seeding the area in the grass I mutilated yesterday. I can only say started as the seed I had has only covered about a third of it so I will be getting some more when I’m next out.

Apart from that not much else got done, as I’ve been really tired. I’ve had a problem with one of my teeth and made an appointment with the dentist but there is a three-week wait. So I’ve survived the last week and a half on paracetamol but I think it’s leaving me rather out of it so I’m going to have to cut it right down and live with a bit of discomfort.

When I turned round from the computer this evening to see if it was dark enough that the chickens would have gone to bed I noticed the unusual lighting outside, it was a sort of yellow pink light. This picture gives a reasonable idea of what outside looked like – out of focus again because I can’t hold a camera steady to save my life.

I then tried to take a shot of the sunset its self. Well they say the camera never lies but it does really depend on the camera setting.

This first one is taken with the special sunset setting

It would have been quite a sunset if that was really what was there, I think I would be waiting for the end of the world to happen if I saw a sky like that!

In actuality it was closer to this, taken on the auto setting although there was a little bit more red in the sky but nothing like the earlier shot