Winter arrives

Autumn is rapidly progressing into winter and we’ve had a number of foggy mornings and a few frosty ones, but the fruit on our lemon tree ripened in late October and the summer flowers kept going much longer than we expected. Most of the trees, but nowhere near all, have lost their leaves but it’s still usually mild enough that the grass is still growing – and needing mowing. We must decide about getting sheep or maybe alpacas on it next year, and get on with one or the other. We did discover a new self-seeded, or possibly planted by a squirrel, Walnut tree growing in the centre of the pampas grass in the garden, along with yet another Ash tree. The Ash has had to go but we're keeping the Walnut there – it should be big enough to take over from the old one in a few more years, and the old one is coming towards the end of its life.

The house and garden continues to take up our time, in between social events, and I’m still trying to finish my first book. We still have a surplus of several tonnes of stone to dispose of, and we’ve started some more reshaping of the back garden, having now cut down last of the old Leylandii hedge. Most of it is drying out for burning, but the trunks are going to the dechetterie and we’ve not decided yet whether to have the stumps ground out or just to leave them to rot away. The picture was from part way through taking out the trunks.

The pool is staying much cleaner than previous years thanks to the new cover, and much warmer too, though a bit too chilly to swim in, but next spring it will be easier to get ready, warm enough to swim in sooner, and it’ll cost less in chemicals and electricity to keep up to scratch.

In the farmland around us the new over-winter crops are coming on well – oil-seed rape and winter wheat, mostly. The vines are looking very sorry since the vendange but pruning them has not started yet, and probably won’t until at least December is well under way.  Our own vines are even sorrier – they were already quite old when we moved in here so we need to replace some of them. 

Apparently the village boulangerie will remain closed for several months as all the legalities between the current family and the commune have yet to be settled, but we’re hoping that a new boulanger will come in to start it up again before too long. It’s quite unfortunate really, as it’s giving the new boulangerie in Marignac, nearby, a bigger customer base to expand their range of breads and pastries, and they’re doing well, so it will be more difficult for a newcomer to make ours viable. The café-bar here is still going, fortunately, and we’re doing our bit to help it continue(!) We’ve done quite well at the quizzes recently, having just enjoyed our prize lunch from a previous one of months ago and coming second this week. 

Dusty and the chickens are still doing well – the hens are producing an average of four delicious eggs a day between the six of them, and the cock is up to speed on his job! We’re taking on looking after a friend’s dog, Rosie, for a couple of weeks up to and around Christmas – she will be a dog just for Christmas, not for life, in this case.