Yvonne’s Blog

Finally we are making progress on the potager (kitchen garden), most onions, tomatoes, sweet corn and radish are in and growing. Unfortunately the weeds as well!!

Potager April 2011

Yellow Courgette, turnips, peas, french beans and haricot also making good progress.

When we bought Manufacture Vieille within the kitchen area was a Pizza Oven which despite having tidying up around it a little we have decided it has to be removed…. We have not really used it and after such a long cold winter we have decided it will be carefully dismantled and go outside.

More importantly in its place will go a wood fired central heating boiler. This is the natural place to put it as there is a chimney there.

The process has already begun in dismantling the Pizza oven and surround so that we are all prepared for next winter….I’m looking forward to being nice and cosy…finally!!

For the first time in ages we have had a dry sunny weekend!! So nice to see the sun again!! ( we still have cold nights at the moment) It has been the first opportunity to get out into the garden and do some work!! This winter has been so cold over a prolonged period of time we have burned lots of wood in our fireplace over the the winter …approximately 9 steres. One stere is equal to 1 cubic metre or 1,000litres. (The word stere originates from the ancient Greek word stereos meaning “solid” )

The first job was to manage our trees (of which we have lots!!) thus giving us more wood to season for later in the year and to reduce the risk of forest fires… something we have to do by law. So after one whole weekend of chainsawing, choping and cutting our wood pile has begun to look a little healthier!!

For those of you who think we have it easy sitting by the pool sitting and sipping our drinks during the winter months…WRONG!! The pool has been frozen for ages now.
We now have the “Tremontane” it is a cold, strong, & dry north or northwest wind. It is similar to the famous “Mistral” in its causes and effects. The Tramontane passes between the Pyrenees and the Massif Central whilst the Mistral goes down the Rhone Valley between the Alps and Massif Central.
Both of these winds can blow for days and the continuous howling noise is said to have disturbing effects on the psyche!! ….I don’t think it’s affected me yet!!! As Peter Mayle once said in his “Year in Provence” book it blows donkeys up trees!!

tremontane clouds over Port Leucate

Our river (La Dourbie)now at its lower summer level as the temperatures soar. The wildlife along the banks is interesting to watch i.e kingfishers, butterflies, dragon flies and many more.
It is hard to think of it as the brown muddy raging torrent after the storms of last October.
Our two cats Foxy and Percy are finding the heat a little too much at the moment they just laze around indoors trying to find a cool spot. Only daring to venture out in the evening when the heat has subsided.