Retour a La Vieille Ferme en hiver

After a few frantic weeks back in England, this weekend we returned to France to see how our farm had fared during the first icy blasts of winter. The immediate item of note was that, surprise of all surprises, all of the leaves had dropped to create a plush carpet of bronze. The second item of note, was that the grass had at last slowed its furious rate of growth, and I didn't feel even slightly compelled to unleash the mower. Well... there were some patches I might have liked to attack, but it was all too moist for that sort of treatment.
 Do you notice anything untoward in this photo?
Yes, that's it! A displaced corrugated sheet on the corner of the lower barn! Maybe dislodged due to a forceful gale, but maybe by a giant troll or similar. Who knows? It couldn't stay like that, as an unsuspecting rambler could lose more than their way if the sheet decided to fall as they passed beneath... Anyway, we dragged out the steps and a long ladder and soon the sheet was safely secured. I have to say that the long wooden ladder that I was standing on was decidedly rickety, having been hand crafted many moons ago by the farmer's own grisly hand. But at least I wasn't in Kevin's unenviable potential decapitation position.

The third item of note was that we had clearly left our scars on the land during our summer camp days. I felt a bit ashamed...






Little does that area suspect that in March it will undergo a second attack. Grassy scrub, prepare yourself for the rise of the terrace and walled kitchen garden! Ha ha!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The tower finds itself in high demand

Image
I've been asking Kevin to hurry up and finish the work on the south wall for AGES as I wanted the tower in order to paint the north wall. FINALLY, he scaled it and reattached the flailing planks and the loose edge-tiles. He also finished and painted the outside of the little window frames, installing mosquito nets too. It's such a relief to get all of these little jobs done! But was I to get the tower? No. Kevin fell into a frenzy of loose tile fixing all around the house! Eventually, I did secure ownership of the tower and repainted the grubby-looking north wall. No, you can't see the finished job, as, to be honest, it's still a bit grubby. And, after our aerial efforts concluded with no dramatic falls, we returned to some familiar territory of bygone renovation days: fluff puff! We have never managed to finish our master bedroom, mainly because we were waiting for a stretch of good weather in order to build the second dormer window. However, due to Covid-19, we didn&#
Read more

Renavoidance?

Image
Don't ever buy a property with 8 acres of land. Unless you have a vast array of top grade farming machinery. I'd like to be sharing with you our achievements with the renovation (and I know that's what you're here for!), but most of our time has been spent mowing, strimming, raking and visiting the dechetterie. Our ride-on mower has more or less given up the ghost, and I really don't think it'd be worth mending/servicing it. I'm not sure how we're going to continue to tame the land with just two push mowers and a scythe. We've decided to leave a lot of our land as meadow, with creative paths mown through it. Farmer Joel has very kindly mown and gathered hay, but this has exposed acres of dry, unpleasant stubble. And you wouldn't believe the amount of dust and grass seed that's kicked up during the processes of cutting, turning, lining up and baling! The time of dust coincided with the time of refreshing the exterior white paint. Thankfully, n
Read more

The sad ending we never expected to see

Image
You'd probably guessed, but we've sold up and moved back to England. Six years of renovating in our Correzian paradise had to come to a sudden end due to the folly that is Brexit, and the plague that is Covid. These unpredictable twin horrors meant that we could no longer flit between two countries with ease, and neither could our family and friends.  I thought you'd enjoy seeing some of our last views of our little French farmstead.  What do we miss the most? Friends Freedom Stunning scenery Great restaurants Beautiful villages Vide greniers Good wine at good prices Sunshine Empty roads Over and out. Thank you for following our adventure.
Read more