Rent  A  Traditional  Country
Farmhouse  in  South-West  France

Week 68

Monday 5th September to Sunday 11th September

There are two major things for me to do before the winter sets in. First, the roof has to be watertight; and not just the half of the house we inhabit upstairs. Second, we need to have the upstairs windows installed, before the cobwebs hide them from sight completely. During the summer I've removed the cardboard and fibreglass in some of the windows.

We now know the secret of rain dancing. You don't need to dance at all; just remove part of your roof while the sun is shining.

Don't let the blue skies fool you. No rain for six months and now the holes in the roof are really visible, it's on it's way!

And of course just putting a tarpaulin down, is like raising a parachute in the wind

The vegetable patch, for a bunch of complete beginners, has been fantastic. Well; except for the decorative gourds we planted thinking they are edible. We've had every type of tomato dish for months. Soup, salads, more soup and more salad. The small ones that don't go red, are fantastic and I eat them every time I'm out there.

The bed is not as neat as many, but the result is at least as good, and the close proximity planting lowers the evaporation loss

I'm so keen, I've even started to prepare the second bed for next summer! No, the ground is not softer thanks for asking, and the surrounding weeds are just for decoration

And next week, a short working week