ne'er cast a clout

Ne'er cast a clout 'til May be out ...... no way am I waiting that long,I live in south west France for Pete's sake!  I'm trying the power of positive thinking and the winter coat is washed and put away.

And what is out ? Well plenty of daffodils for a start, the hedges and fields are full of cowslips, the sloe bushes, cherry, apricot and peach trees are blossoming and the first asparagus has appeared in the market. We've had some really nice days just to tease but mostly temperatures are struggling to stay in double figures and there has been much too much rain but with reports of April snow in London and 5 foot snow drifts further North I'd rather be here. When the clocks went forward at the weekend we even manged to eat our evening meal outside in the sunshine .

AND......
 at least I have been able to get started on the garden, the potatoes are in , first sowings of peas and broad beans are through and the greenhouse is bursting with seedlings ready for planting when the danger of frost is past ( positive thinking again!).
 I love having the greenhouse, its not heated  but is great for keeping me busy at this time of year when the rain falls and the wind blows. Its much too hot in the summer so becomes an extra shed then - in England my greenhouse was the only place I could get tomatoes to ripen - here I can use it to sun dry the fruit. I do love it here!

 This time last year we were in a rush to open up the pool and get it ready for the summer Even last year we realised we had been too hasty and should have left it until nearer the end of the month, so it will be a few weeks yet before we start to investigate that - nice to think about though!


 I may have put the winter coat away but I'm hanging on to my waterproof hooded jacket for a while yet!

a morning in the market

This winter has certainly held Northern Europe tightly in it's grip and been reluctant to make way for Spring, with blizzards even now in the North of England. We are feeling very lucky that we made a visit to family a week earlier than we had originally planned - there was a glimpse of Spring sunshine and I went out without a coat- but just a week later and winter has returned there with a vengeance, we would have had huge problems traveling around the country  on our tour of family and friends in the North.

winter too much for this palm even under its protective fleece

Even here winter has been long, cold and wet with more snow than is usual but at long last I have been able to discard  layers some layers of clothing ( great for instant slimming!) and I've even washed my winter coat before putting it away. There have been a few opportunities for al fresco breakfasts and lunches, the daffodils are out and the blossom is beginning to open on the cherry trees. I think we can say that Spring has finally come to Ségala.

On Thursday our weekly trip to the market in Villefranche de Rouergue was a real treat for the spirits. It was a beautiful day, blue skies and sunshine, the market was buzzing and we were able to sit outside beside the square with our morning coffees. Before we moved here, or "autre fois" as we refer to those times, our idea of a perfect holiday moment would have been just such a morning in the market. We reflected, not for the first time, how lucky we are to have a lifestyle in retirement which basically matches our idea of a great holiday. Of course it wouldn't work quite the same if your perfect holiday is sitting by the pool/beach sipping pina coladas - that way leads to alcoholism I should think! After struggling to beat the winter blues, chest infections and dodgy joints for months that morning in the market was just what I needed.

 Mind you its not all play - the arrival of Spring brings lots of work in the garden and we have plenty of projects planned.

potatoes in

dead trees to fell

start of the pond

and...............
 

 watch this space!

Not over til it's over!

Winter that is.

We've had some really warm days and had started to think Spring was on its way. After all we had been promised by that nice French lady we met on our walk that the "grand hiver" was over. OK there would still be frost at night but we could get started in the garden, I could start sowing some seeds - even the grass looked like it needed its first cut

first sighting of cornellian cherry in bloom

then what ..........we turned our backs for just a few days and went on a birthday jolly for TC in Rome ( the plan was to enjoy some nice early Italian sunshine). In Rome it was wetter and cooler than we had hoped but there was worse at home. Le Grand Hiver paid another visit and there was more snow.

When we got home the house was freezing - these stone houses are great in the summer months because they stay cool but its a different story in the winter. The stones act a a heat sink and it has taken a couple of days with every heater we possess on full blast to make it feel habitable again. The cats' food was frozen in the dish - it was lucky they also had biscuits especially as the lady who comes to feed them had broken down on the last day and never arrived.

We also arrived to find we have another problem. I went to let the hens out, including our two recently acquired arrivals, only to find one of them indulging in some very "unhen" type behaviour with one of our older girls. Further investigation plus some exuberant  morning crowing convinced us we did indeed have a cockerel in the henhouse. He will no doubt be a very handsome bird but I keep hens for the eggs alone so he will have to go! Luckily for us the lady who sold him to us is willing to have him back.

The weather is not the only thing that can't make it's mind up. I seem to have been fighting off a chesty cough for months and thought it had really gone before we went away and now it seems to have sneaked back and most unwelcome it is too. My dodgy knee, which had settled down a lot, has also flared up again so much so that I was seriously limping around Rome - maybe because we had enjoyed three nights of dancing in the week before we went but I'm not going to admit to that! Maybe I'll go the doctor when something gets better - can't go about two ailments at once.

In the meantime - that's quite enough of winter. They do say its not over 'til the fat lady sings - you have been warned - today I am going to sing A LOT!!!

Farewell snow - time for the snowdrops!

Yesterday was just  glorious - one of those sunny winter days to lift the spirits, the sort of day to let you know the end of winter is not too far away! As we drove out of Puylagarde we had a fabulous view of the snow covered Pyrennees in the distance, the clearest we have ever seen them.

It was a perfect day for a walk and we chose one which involved quite a bit of road walking ( normally we avoid them if we can) as we were concerned about just how muddy everywhere would be because of the recent weather. The "roads" were small and quiet - many hardly more than tracks - and the weather wonderful - temperatures well into double figures, clear skies and no wind.

The highlight of the walk was a small diversion to the abbey at Beaulieu to see the annual snowdrop spectacular. Snowdrops grow in great profusion here, especially along the roadsides in the river valleys and I had heard that Beaulieu was a good place to see more and sure enough the woods behind the Abbey were carpeted. They were certainly a sight to behold especially if you like a bit of photography - we saw one keen lady lying prostrate with some very impressive equipment! My "apparatus" is a little more basic but I got some nice pictures anyway! Here are just a few:

I have always loved the the English country name for snowdrops "fair maids of February". They grew well in my cold wet Stoke on Trent garden but often waited for the beginning of March to appear. Here they are called "perce - neige" ( literally pierce snow) and are a happy and timely reminder to me that the winters are shorter here - even if this year it  has seemed to drag on!

 Towards the end of our walk we passed  a French lady who was single handedly clearing leaves from  the drainage ditch on the hill above her house  to make sure that the water would stay in check. She cheerfully assured us the "grand hiver" was over though there was plenty more frost to come. Lets hope she was right - we keep reminding ourselves that the really cold snap here was in February last year - we 're really hoping we don't get a repeat of that.

one more for luck!

bonne annee bonne sante - not yet it aint!

I don't like January - never have done , only one worse month and that's February (but that's not so bad living here as Spring arrives earlier). Yep - looks like I'm having a bumper attack of the January blues.

When we moved here we avoided houses in the river valleys as we had seen during visits to the area the Autumn fogs so it was frustrating to find ourselves this winter shrouded in hill fog day after day for the  first two weeks of the year doing no good at all for the nagging chesty cough which I have been unable to shake off properly. That coupled with the usual post Christmas " down time" plus family worries (as parts of my family take dysfunctionality to a level which would rival an Eastenders Christmas special) I've been feeling a touch sorrier for myself than I have any right to be. Trevor is having a tough time with the current DIY project ( it involves plumbing - say no more) but at least he has his music and as he himself says has "never felt so respected as a musician".

All in all then it was a change for the better when the snows fell. It snowed all night last Tuesday and all day Wednesday leaving us under a blanket of 8 inches of the white stuff. Thursday dawned a beautiful sparkling morning - clear blue skies over a black and white world- great day for a walk and some photos With hindsight ( forever a wonderful thing) perhaps 13 kms was a bit much in the prevailing conditions underfoot - either glassy and slippery or deep snow to wade through. The scenery was beautiful though and it was great to be out and "enjoying" ourselves.

 By the time we got home my back was seriously suffering - a result of walking clinging on to my walking poles - and I felt at least a hundred years old! It was necessary to cite the "cold weather " "I've just done a long walk" ""I even made a fish pie when we got back" and "sod it who cares if its a weekday I need a drink" amendments !!!

OK so enough's enough  - very pretty and all that but I should have been dancing tonight except the roads are impassable and everything is annullé. Want to get on with looking forward to the Spring - I need my garden!

Oh and seriously - bonne annee everyone!

 

a nouveau excuse for a party

Need an excuse for a party?

Its that time again - the vin nouveau is here! Around these parts there is plenty of Beaujolais nouveau to be sampled but also the Gaillac primeur.While the wines may not be the best you've ever tasted its still a great excuse for a party and as usual Monique's soirée at the Auberge Bourdie at Bach was THE place to be on the third Thursday in November.

TC is now a regular guest musician at the party (even got a personal invite this year when we went for lunch at the restaurant recently) so played his concertina to much applause as always - and our
wine was free!

Restaurant owner Monique ( standing left of doorway)
always comes out of the kitchen to listen

There were several guest spots this year to support Sylvie Nauges ( seen sitting at the back) and her band, including a traditional cabrette player ( bit like the Northumbrian pipes) so there was lots of variety in the entertainment. Lots of dancing too - in tiny gaps between the tables - everything from waltzes to mazurkas and bourées. Its always fun watching the staff negotiating the throng as they balance platters and bowls of food on their way to the tables and, towards the end of the evening, trays heaped with empty glasses returning to the kitchen.

Last night another soirée - this time a village event in Promilhanes, a nearby village where friends of ours are occasional residents. The salle de fêtes was packed well before the start of the meal and we were glad we had learnt our lesson from last year and arrived in good time to choose where we wanted to sit. The menu was the same as last year too - simple fare with as much vin nouveau as you could drink. At least this year we knew what to expect from "duck bones" - exactly what it says! Great piles of duck carcasses in the middle of the table and literally up for grabs. Its a whole new take on finger food and it pays to know which bones are likely to have the best pickings but you have to be quick. Not a bad idea to fill up on the soup beforehand too!

So maybe not the height of gastronomy  but a fun evening in great company and a true insight into life in the French countryside.

Unfortunately the entertainment was something of a let down - the cacophony of a  karaoke sound system struggling to be heard over the noise of chatter in a hall with terrible acoustics drove us (and many others) away before coffee arrived but tant pis we enjoyed a coffee just across the road - thanks Maggie and Bill!

Weathering the weather

Ask any English ex-pat for reasons why they left England and its a pretty safe bet that the weather will feature in the list. We lived near the Peak District in England and loved to visit the Lakes, both beautiful areas, but there's no escaping the fact that the weather was too often too cold and too wet and the summers too short.

Its not just that the weather is better here in France it is the change in lifestyle that comes with it. Since moving here our lives are spent almost exclusively out of doors from April until October. We cook, eat and relax outdoors as well as spending many hours gardening and our sitting room sits empty until the cooler evenings start. Just last weekend ( October 21st) my son and his family visited and the children went in the pool while we sat in the sun, had a barbecue and then sat out til 2 in the morning.

Its not always hot and sunny of course, the good weather last week was a particular bonus as just a couple of days before we had suffered three nights and two days of non stop gales. The weather forecast warned there would be strong winds - the Autan word was mentioned - and by jove did it blow. For three days and two nights it blew " fort" non stop giving precious little chance of sleep and as the local paper said it was not weather "to put your nose outside the door".
The "excitement" culminated in 21 hours without electricity and it was really worrying thinking about all of the food in the freezer which could have been lost ( luckily it stayed well below freezing so all was well)

It rains here too just not all the time! We often have long spells without rain and watering the potager is a daily necessity if the vegetables are to grow. TC despairs every summer as the grass turns yellow.  When the rain comes at last it is usually in the form of a storm ( none of that drizzle stuff hereabouts) the water butts are replenished and the garden revives. Even that yellow grass quickly recovers.

Yesterday and today the wind has changed direction bringing cold air from the north, there has been a rummaging through wardrobes to find thicker trousers and  long sleeved shirts. We had to eat lunch as well as breakfast indoors! This evening we even plan to light the fire for the first time this year. Oh well - at least we know spring is not too far away and with a bit of luck we won't have a repeat of last years big freeze.

I love the sun and warm weather but I also love the green hills and trees and the rivers and valleys of the countryside in this part of France which we wouldn't have without some rainfall so I guess we'll weather the weather whatever the weather as they say.