More hours in the day please

We seem to be hectically busy at the moment, with demands on our time and energy coming from all different directions. Work on the house, work on the potager area and 'business' work are taking up most of our time, although we have made time for a couple of good rides on the roadies since the beginning of the month when weather has allowed.

Talking of weather, April has been a bonkers month with wild fluctuations in temperature. We had a gloriously sunny spell earlier in the month when it peaked at 28 degrees but just 24 hours later the temperature plummeted to just 3 degrees and we had snow down to 700m! Last week was the same - I was getting sunburn on my back whilst working outside midweek but then come Friday the temperature was back down to 4 degrees and snow at 800m. 

With Spring knocking on the door, thoughts have very much been turning to the potager and growing more veggies with the aim of being self-sufficient in vegetables by the end of the year. I decided we needed an additional area to be created for growing soft fruit if I am to make more of my own jams and jellies this year. After a word with our lovely neighbour farmer Alain, he came down with his tractor and turned over an additional 250m2 of land at the end of the potager for us....

... part of which I covered in cardboard with a layer of rotted horse manure on top and then a layer of black polythene to suffocate the weeds/grass...

... and then we erected a 18m2 polytunnel alongside the potager where the tomatoes, capsicums, chillis and various sowings are now biding their time until the proper warmth eventually arrives and they can be planted out.

On Friday, just as the weather was turning, we managed to re-fence the whole of the above land (all 400m2 of it) as one plot, which makes much more sense. Andy is going to build me a potting shed in due course which will sit next to the polytunnel. It's going to be a 'proper' kitchen garden by the time we're done!

As far as work on the house is concerned, we have been working on the second bedroom. This weekend, with the arrival of poor weather, work transferred indoors and we have now completed the decoration of the room, which has also been completely rewired and the ceiling insulated and plasterboarded. Here are a couple of 'before' photos;

... and the 'after' shots...

I am really pleased with how it has turned out.... lovely and bright and fresh, but with the warmth of the restored chestnut beam and original wooden floorboards. We just need to rehang the curtains, find some pictures for the walls and add a small rug to the floor at the foot of the bed. So now we just have the stairs and landing to do and that will be the upstairs (at that end of the house at least) finished! 

On the exercise front, the roadies saw more action in April with a couple of lovely 70K rides in hot sun. When the weather plays ball in April, it really is a beautiful time of year for road biking. The fresh green foliage, the frothy white and pink of fruit blossom, blue skies and the snowy peaks.... just stunning

Neglected

Oh dear, I appear to have been neglecting my blogging duties. I don't suppose anybody will have noticed, though? Anyway, here's a quick update on what life has been all about over the last month. It has been busy busy busy!

The highlight? A wonderful relaxing trip back to the UK to see my gorgeous new grandson, 3 week old Rufus James. He is absolutely adorable and both my son Jamie and his lovely lady Emma are doing a fantastic job with him.

While I was visiting them, we were able to meet up with my sister and her family for a lovely walk around Delamere Forest Park - SO good to see my sis again.

We returned to Jamie and Emma's village to find that the thatch of their local pub had caught fire! Fortunately the pub which dates back to the 15th century was not completely destroyed as it does great beer and traditional pub grub.

My visit up north was over far too soon. But while I was in the UK I was able to catch up with my good mate Trudi in Paignton and managed to get in a 10K run around Abbotsbury in West Dorset on the way back. It was far harder than it should have been (how unfit am I?!) but it was very pretty

The weather was fortunately dry for the whole of my visit but it was bitterly cold. I returned to wet, cold, horrible weather back at home which didn't exactly do the spirit good. But fortunately a lovely big high pressure area that has drifted up from Africa has now brought hot sun and clear blue skies. At last I can get some serious work outside. We have created a little herb garden at the front of the house in a space that was previously just overgrown and full of rubble....

... and I have got to work on the potager, preparing it for sowings and plantings. In the medium to long term I am hoping to adopt a 'no dig' approach, but this requires the addition of lots of organic matter to our heavy clay soil which is going to take time as it is a big plot. But where I have managed to enrich the soil already, I have now planted Charlotte potatoes, sown parsnips, carrots, florence fennel, spinach, mangetout, dwarf peas, French beans, beetroot, rocket and salad leaves. The capsicum, chilli peppers, aubergine and tomatoes won't go in until June and I also have some brassicas, leeks, red onions and celeriac in modules that will be planted out later in the year. I have also got strawberry plants, raspberry canes, gooseberry, redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes. I really can't wait until everything is cropping. Exciting times!

With the fine weather, we have today had our first ride for a few months on the road bikes. I felt surprisingly good, all things considered, although my energy appeared to disappear after we stopped for a slice of pizza from a boulangerie when just 12kms from home .... weird! But it was a lovely figure of 8 circuit up to Saint Lizier and back, 70kms/670m+/3 hours. Hopefully we will get out on the bikes much more often if this lovely weather hangs around a bit longer. It's looking good so far :-)

New life

OK, so the start of Spring may be experiencing a bit of a stutter with a sharp drop in temperature and 2 days  of light snow down at our level, but still, there are signs of new life. I am not just talking about the seeds that I sowed indoors at the start of the month, although they are doing very well thank you (all 5 varieties of tomatoes have emerged, as have the aubergine, 3 varieties of salad leaf, red onions, leeks and basil). The other very important new life is that of my first grandchild! Yes, one has become a granny! How amazing is that! My son and his lovely lady are the proud parents of Rufus, born at home on Thursday 7 March weighing in at 7lb4oz.

Isn't he a cutey pie? I have to wait another 2 weeks before I can see him but I can't wait to say hello to the little fella!

Any other news pales into insignificance alongside the arrival of my grandson really, but for my own records as much as anything else, we have been busy. Work has started on the second bedroom....

with the first and most unpleasant job being to pull down the pine panelling that covered the ceiling and beam. Rats had previously had access to that ceiling space and we collected four big bin bags full of dried rat poo, rats nests, dirt, old corn husks and various other detritus. It was pretty foul.

But the good news is that the wonderfully rustic old chestnut beam is in fantastic condition, with no sign of insect or beetle damage. It cleaned up well.....

... and looks fantastic after an initial coat of linseed oil

Next job, the electrics and then we can start work on the ceiling.

During the lovely warm weather that we had up until Tuesday, I was able to get a lot of work done on the potager, preparing the ground for my plantings and sowings. I dug in the green manure of field beans that I sowed back in the autumn and cannot believe the difference that it has made to the soil. Instead of being heavy and claggy and a nightmare to work, it felt light and airy and much easier to dig over. Hopefully my brassicas will appreciate it! Next week, our farmer neighbour Alain will be coming down with his tractor to turn over the section of land that adjoins my potager in order to effectively double its size. I am going to create a soft fruit area and also make use of the extra space to grow more veg. I don't think there's any chance of me being bored this summer!

Spring!

Yup, goodbye snow, hello sun! OK, realistically, we'll probably have a few more cold, damp days before Spring really gets into gear, but for the moment, just allow me to bask in the notion that the corner has been turned? With 19 deg C being reached today, I don't think it is unjustified!

With Spring my thoughts turn to sowings and plantings and how to get the most out of my potager this year. Over the past couple of days, I have started my indoor sowings. For my records as much as anything else, this is the tally so far;
- chilli pepper (Cayenne)
- chilli pepper (Ring of Fire)
- capsicum (Marconi Red)
- capsicum (Sweet Banana)
- aubergine (AvanHF1)
- plum tomato (Roma)
- cherry tomato (Tumbling Red)
- stripey tomato (Red Zebra)
- ordinary tomato (San Marzano)
- lettuce (Lollo Rosso, Webbs Wonderful and Winter Density)
- red onion seeds (Red Baron)
- basil
- sweet peas

I have had some dwarf peas and mangetout outside under a cloche for the winter and a few have survived and are growing strongly. Today, as the soil is warm, I have sowed some more under there, along with some carrots. The Charlotte potatoes are chitting indoors and I will be sowing courgette, kuri squash and butternut squash indoors this week too. I have had some leeks in the ground since late September and they are taking up a lot of space without appearing to grow at all. Does anybody know if they are a lost cause or whether I should just pull the whole lot out so that I can use the space for other things? I am thinking the latter!

Whilst we have had such good weather, we have taken the chance to clear up a bit outside, sorting piles of old wood, building a bonfire, loading the trailer for a trip to the tip.... the place is looking much tidier.

With the changing seasons, the Spring flowers are starting to some through. My favourite so far is Viola Alba ...

... closely followed by Hepatica Nobilis (both the purple and the white are SO pretty)

... although these little red fungii are fascinating...

Potager potterings and other meanderings

I am so enjoying having a potager again! I just love seeing those tiny, insignificant seeds that I sowed eventually emerge from the heavy soil and go on to become the tastiest, freshest veg that I have ever grown! I am currently able to make a mixed leaf salad with baby spinach, lollo rosso lettuce and winter lettuce leaves. Yum! A quick tally, for my own records as much as anything else, of what I currently have in my plot;
- broccoli, cauliflower and red cabbage, grown from bought modules, all doing fantastically well
- spinach, lambs lettuce, rocket, winter lettuce, cavallo nero, spring greens, purple kale all sown from seed and all doing well
- the dozens of leeks that I planted out from bought-in pencils are growing well
- red onion and shallot sets were planted last week and are already starting to come through
- pink/rose garlic planted
- the 'green manure' of field/fava beans that I sowed a week ago is coming through nicely thanks to the good rain that we have had in the past few days

Autumn  is well and truly here now and the nights are definitely colder. We even had a sprinkling of snow above 1800m on Sunday night but fortunately it didn't last. A much warmer spell of weather has moved in and is set to stay until the weekend. Good job, as we are still working on getting the woodburning central heating system installed. It is a complex job that has to be done right and has caused Andy some sleepless nights. Using a metre long drill bit (yes, a metre long!) to get through the thick stone walls to lay copper piping has also been challenging. But the radiators are now affixed in their new positions awaiting their pipe connections and then the woodburner can be put into position and fixed to the chimney conduit. We should finally have heating before the end of the month..... which will be nice!

On Saturday, our commune held its annual 'Fete de la Pomme', also another signal that Autumn is here! Everybody brings along the apples from their orchards which are sorted, cleaned and then put through a scratter to break them down to a pulp....

...which is then put into layers on a wonderful old traditional press ....

 .... to extract the juice...

...which is then put through a very simple filtering and sterilising system before being bottled

Bring your own bottles and you pay just €1.00 a bottle for the most delicious, fresh, untainted apple juice.... fantastic! Polly and Bruce, Suzanne, John and Kate and I all also enjoyed a delicious, convivial lunch which was put on by the commune. A great afternoon was had by all.

I have also been making the most of the end of season produce that is available at this time of year. The fig trees here have produced a great quantity of fruit so I have made fig marmalade and fig chutney which are both delicious. Friends have also give me a load of green tomatoes which I have also made into chutney. The store cupboard is now bursting at the seams.... I love this time of year.

Renovation works and Blighty visit

I headed back to the UK for a week at the beginning of the month for the joint Birthday celebrations of my sister (50) and mum (75). They had a chosen a fantastic venue for the small family party, right on the beach at Branksome Chine Dean between Poole and Bournemouth.

It was a wonderful evening and a fantastic opportunity to catch up with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends that I have not seen for far too long. A reet good bash, as they say up North!

It was wonderful to spend some quality time with my immediate family during my stay. Many people who are considering a move overseas worry that they will not see their family as often as before, but in my experience, I see more of them now than when I lived in the UK! It's great!

While I was away, Andy set about the hardcore prep work for the new bathroom upstairs, making holes in walls...

....removing a rotten staircase which was in the way of the toilet outlet pipe drop in the room next door and knocking through a doorway to the back of the house to where our terrasse/outdoor eating area is going to be. All noisy, dirty, dusty work that I was pleased to be away for! But he was finding it hard going with the tools that he had, so I picked him up a new toy on my way back from the airport which he seems quite pleased with!

One of the first jobs when I got back was to attempt to tackle the capricorn beetle damage in the new bathroom beam which has involved the removal of a lot of dusty, powdery wood. The beam wasn't very pretty once the damaged wood was removed....

... and needed another 5-6mm taking off the surface to remove all of the capricorn evidence and to make the beam worth staining/varnishing. So Andy deployed the planer and then the belt sander, both of which gave up the ghost in the process! So new tool buying is now on the agenda in order to finish the job. Fortunately, the two beams in bedroom 2 (the current 'guest' bedroom) were in a much better state when we removed the pine panelling a couple of days ago and just need some Xylophene treatment and then a good varnish/stain to bring them up to their best. Wonderful!

I made some scrummy plum jam before I went away and by the time I got back the pears were starting to fall off the trees. It has been a few years since I made Blushing Pears, but they are a great way to use up a glut of the fruit. They can be kept in preserving jars for up to a year and are simply delicious with cheese and cold meats. Miam Miam!

But the most exciting thing that has happened recently is on the 'growing your own stuff' front. I bought some young broccoli and red cabbage plants from the market a couple of weeks ago and planted them in pots, hoping that I would at some point be able to plant them in my own potager which was still just a field. I have also sown some brassicas in modules which again I have been hoping I would be able to plant out before the autumn. Then today, M Maylin dropped his rotavator round and Andy spent a couple of very hot and sweaty hours turning over the hard soil. That rotavator is a thing to behold and is probably nearly as old as me ....the string on the handlebar is part of the starting mechanism!

But it did the job beautifully and I now have over 140m2 to play with! We will have our own veggies this autumn! Hurrah!

Spring, bikes and Sadie

Winter's dull slumber is slowly but surely being replaced by Spring's vibrant awakenings. It was particularly noticeable yesterday whilst we were out riding the bikes. I would catch intoxicating scents on the breeze which would break my focus on my wheels. Ah yes, the magnolias are in full bloom. Then we'd pass a garden with deliciously scented hyacinths along its border. Now there really is no other scent like that of hyacinths in the springtime. And the blossom, oh, the blossom! The trees are awash with froths of pink and white.

and the depressing brown and greys of the darker months are starting to give way to that oh so fresh-out-of-the-wrapper lush green that heralds brighter days. Wonderful!

Back at home, the seeds that I sowed at the end of February have germinated and are growing strongly.....chilli peppers, capsicum and tomato along with some kuri squash. What a great time of year!

The re-appearance of the sun yesterday tempted us back out onto the roadies. I haven't had a decent ride for over a month as running has rather taken over, but the lure of a lunch stop in Mirepoix was enough to seal the deal. To my surprise, I felt remarkably strong and kept a good pace on the undulating roads through to Mirepoix where we enjoyed a delicious nicoise salad for lunch

Towards the end of the homebound leg, a creeping weariness reminded my that this was my first 80+km ride for some while. Apart from some familiar discomfort in the saddle area and an occasional twinge from the knee, it had been a lovely ride. Full stats on the usual site. Good weather is forecast through to the weekend so we are planning to get in another ride and hopefully a long run while it lasts.

Work continues unabated on Sadie. The list of jobs completed is growing by the day. The kitchen area is coming along rapidly

Note the curvey panel that separates the kitchen from the sitting/sleeping area? Amazing what can be achieved with the right tools! Progress is fast now. Must crack on with those cushion covers!

Carrots

I made a late sowing of 'Fly Away' carrots in August. I had a spare patch of earth that I couldn't bear to see empty and it has produced some of the tastiest carrots that I have ever grown! I pulled the majority of the crop (around 2.5 kgs) for storage today and they are big, firm, untainted carrots that are now washed and dried and ready for stashing away for winter useWe're having a rough spell of weather at the moment - cold, wet and windy with a sharp dip in the temperatures. Indoor jobs time, methinks, and time to start planning for our relocation down to Fougax for the winter. Lots to do!

The legs are still very painful, but I am hoping that by Tuesday when the sun is forecast to make a return, I shall be fit for an outing on the bike.