Have you ever watched I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here? For those celebrities who reach the final day, the Celebrity Cyclone must be endured. This spectacular event consists of a long wet slope furnished with slime, water cannons, massive fans, and a plethora of various-sized balls, which are fired at the participants. Dressed as super heroes, they must ascend the slope and hold a big yellow star on a star marker. Inevitably, all of the celebrities are washed to the very bottom of the slope after just about all managing to get into position. We're having to contend with similar conditions. Yep. All we're trying to do is clean up a bit, clear some land, get the pool up and prepare to begin the serious building tasks, but the extremes of weather we've faced in just a few days are repeatedly washing us to the bottom of the slope! But, we're getting there. The stars are starting to stick.
Despite the topsy-turvy weather, I managed to get on with reclaiming my vegetable patches.
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The positioning of plants.
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The completion of bed #1.
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The excavation of bed #2.
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Don't get confused; I'm round the other side now. Bed #2 is mostly strawberries with outbreaks of celeriac, mint, sage and rosemary. I've dug up the rhubarb crown, as it just wasn't thriving out in the heat. I'm digging a new cool, damp bed against the north wall of the terrace- it'll go there, along with the wild garlic.
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The addition of pea and bean wigwams on bed #2 and slug death pellets on bed #1.
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I'm not keen at all on using pesticides, but one of my pepper plants has already been eaten, and others have been nibbled. This is our food supply- I need to protect it. I'm not sure that the plastic bottle collars will keep out slugs. We'll see.
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Bed #3 is just raspberries. This is the first fruit EVER! It's not all that impressive, I know. The raspberries will be joined by pumpkins soon.
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A search through my seed packets reveals other potential crops that I'm not too late for: white onions, cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower and lettuces. But I'll need to dig another bed. And I'm exhausted!
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Farmer Joel came and took away the hay bales. He's coming back on Monday to help us mow the rest of our land, but we have to mark out the fosse septique and drainage channels with big sticks first, as they would be damaged by his massive tractor.
The ride-on mower continues to be out of action, as Kevin hasn't yet found his die and tap set. Well, we did find one set, but, apparently, it's not THE set and is not good enough for the job. We came upon the set while emptying and re-filling the previously inaccessible hayloft yesterday, a shared endeavour, which sapped all of our energy by the end of the day. Our re-organisation in there has somehow produced about ten square feet of floor space that wasn't there before. Although, we have managed to half-fill the trailer in preparation for a visit to the decheterie, once we're out of quarantine. We've hung on to so many cuts of wood and bits of metal, just in case, but now is the time to be ruthless. We're even considering getting rid of the old cream SMEG fridge freezer; it's beautiful, but its tenure in the top barn has transformed it into a mould-bedecked disease factory.
Two violent rainstorms have made it impossible to cut any more grass on a grand scale, but Kevin has secured a head start in the area of the vegetable patches and pool.
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If you want to get ahead, get a hat! That's actually MY hat!
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During our long absence, moles have penetrated the walls of the pool base, so Kevin is clearing and cleaning the base area. Not a stone can remain, as it would puncture the pool lining.
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Despite the intense heat, or, BECAUSE of the intense heat, we have witnessed two very dramatic storms. Just look at these skies!
We've just about completed one week in quarantine, and all is well. I think we have enough food, but the wine is running out, and we're down to one egg. There are also no limes or lemons for the gin and tonic.
Better go; I can hear Kevin strimming.
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