Greetings from a rather cloudy Bar-sur-Aube, it is currently 7c and I am praying for the rain that is due to arrive around 10am. I didn’t water the garden last evening as rain was forecast through the night, it didn’t arrive, so I am pinning my hopes on the rain due this morning.
The week started well, with the lawns being cut and a trip to the dechetterie to dispose of the grass cuttings due to the fact that I had applied fertilizer to the lawn previously. The garden looked so good that I even lifted out the table and chairs. I am noticing that in amongst the lilies, that I planted two years ago, I am getting some lush green coloured foliage, at first I thought that they were just young shoots coming through but they look different, I am wondering if in fact they could be from the agapanthus that had been in a pot and which I “planted” into the ground. Only time will tell, but it is interesting and I will be one happy person if I do find that it is agapanthus. I then took all of the weeds from the border, they had grown like crazy since I added my home-made compost. I was taken aback somewhat when a “worm” came out of the compost, it was really long rather like a small snake although it definitely was a worm, I think the compost must have been some good stuff. I noticed that the wild flowers I grew from seed mats last year were starting to grow again and I put in another pack of seeds for bees. The “bleuet” seeds I planted are coming through as are the white flower collection. Oh my goodness! I have just seen that my irises are starting to “do their thing” and I can see the flower spikes on quite a few. I apologise if you are not gardeners (neither am I really) it just gives me so much pleasure to see things that I have planted rewarding me with a beautiful show.
Apologies, just had a quick jaunt into the front garden to check on my potager. It looks as if one pea has started to sprout, maybe sign of a beetroot too. The rain we had mid-week worked wonders on some of the strawberries and the lettuce leaves I first planted, which had to deal with frost, snow, heat etc., they are starting to grow bigger now (I am really pleased about that as they are lovely red leaves). The broad beans are coming on well too. I thought I felt a spot of rain but nothing to write home about unfortunately!
I had been and done some shopping, called at Gedimat to get some more names to contact regarding the patio, had had lunch and was just enjoying a pleasant relax in my chair when I noticed a bird (pigeon sized) on the ground by my composter. The next minute it flew up into the tree and as I was shuddering thinking it had caught a mouse/rat I noticed “feathers” coming from the tree. The bird had caught a small bird and was going to sit and eat it in my cherry tree! I was quite intrigued and I was taking photos like a mad woman. To me (no ornithologist) it looked like some sort of hawk, the bird was in my tree for four hours, it moved to other branches so I was able to photograph its back and front, turns out it was a sparrowhawk. After dinner, I glanced out to see if it was still there and “knock me down with a feather” there was a black cat, sniffing and climbing all over the tree. Well he got short shrift, after ignoring my knocking on the window, I opened the French doors and did a low growl and a couple of barks, that worked well, it came down the tree but before leaving my garden completely it did leave its “mark” close to one of my new photinia. Where was this pesky cat when I needed him, when we had “The Lone Ranger” rat? Anyway, he went over by my composter but only to use it as a means of getting over the fence into my neighbours garden. The following day I had a collared dove in the tree for a good couple of hours, a friend said they are usually in pairs (I have seen a pair on the electricity cables) it would appear that this little dove has lost it’s partner.
After my visit to Gedimat, the man who did not keep his appointment last Saturday, turned up on my doorstep. I took him into the garden and gave him details of what I was looking for, he seemed a bit half-hearted but I thought that was probably because I greeted him with “Oh is it Saturday”! Anyway, he did say he would send the devis to my email address, however it arrived in the post. Now I have had the two quotes and to be honest “half-hearted Jacques”, gave a quote which was double the price of the lovely man who had arrived on-time and taken detailed instructions. I think you can guess which way I am going to go, I want someone who is reliable and will do job that I have asked him to do.
Oh no, the sun is shining brilliantly now, although towards the next village the sky does look quite grey.
Marie-Therese has been in touch, she was at her French class, and is looking forward to resuming our coffee and cake Thursdays. I was talking to my neighbour (two doors up) who was saying that the relaxing of the restrictions allowing cafes and bars to have terrace service from the 19th May, means that we can enjoy the company of others which is one of the things he and I have missed. This partial lock-down has affected me more than the previous ones, this was something that my neighbour agreed on too. Some days I don’t even want to leave my house and I know that my French language skills have taken a battering. Having said that I did have a long conversation with this neighbour yesterday. It was so nice that he asked about my sister in the UK, I had told him previously that she had had Covid at the end of last year, and for him to enquire about her health was really lovely. He is a man about my age (21) and he was saying that he hasn’t been able to see his MOTHER as she lives in Portugal and it is over a year since he was there.
I have been knitting a little at home again, I must sit down and stitch up the cardigans I have made before I start knitting anything else. I was with the refugee ladies at the knitting workshop and we had such a lovely time, I had coffee as did two other “Christian” ladies, the Muslim ladies are observing Ramadan so obviously didn’t join us. Some ladies had brought bags full of clothes the previous week and we had a “clothes boutique” one lady holding up the items and other people deciding if they wanted them or not. They can take the clothes home to try on and if no good return them. One lady was collecting stuff for someone with children who is in the other “housing area” in town, another lady went home with two bags full of clothes to try on. I used to love “jumble sales” at church when I was a child, not necessarily for the clothes but I always came home with some “item of furniture” be it a plant stand or some such item.
While “The Daddy” was at work yesterday, Nana, Grandad “The Mummy” and my gorgeous granddaughter all went out for a few hours, ice cream was on the menu and of course for my little gorgeous it was a pink one. Today, she is going to see Grandad David, I hope she won’t be too upset that her playmate isn’t there today.
“The Paralegal”, who has taken to getting into the great outdoors at the weekend, has gone to the Lake District to have a walk today. He had to weigh up whether it was worth missing out on seeing his playmate this weekend, fortunately, as it will soon be her third birthday he will be seeing her next week-end so that will be lovely for them both. He hasn’t seen the babies this week but was telling me that when he saw “Chester” last week he was so pleased to see him that he did the excited “wee” thing, I would add that was Chester not “The Paralegal.
Now I must go and prepare for Sybil’s Picnic, Sybil is a little felt dog made by Jackie Harrison to highlight Huntington’s Disease, these dogs are sent worldwide and photos from Sybil on Everest, as well as in amongst flowers in the UK and abroad are uploaded to Twitter and Facebook. Jackie has lost several members of her family to this terrible disease and has organised a picnic since 2018. So my cuddly toys and two Sybil dogs will be having our picnic this lunchtime, providing I get the food all prepared.
Good news is that starting from Monday 3 May restrictions regarding distance travelled and the use of attestations will be lifted, then a gradual lifting of all other restrictions will follow.
No rain as yet!!
Bon dimanche