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!