Phases ii and iii

 By the time the first phase of the new bonsai area was complete John had really got into his stride and battled on until the second area was finished. Initially this involved moving some beams from our neighbour's barn to the end of our alley. By the end of the morning John had to admit that the ageing process was taking it's toll.

Ignoring this minor problem he marked out the area with the beams and then began filling it with odd scraps of wood unearthed when he remade the wood pile.

 Then he cleared the bank behind the two new beds before putting the wood chippings down in the second area.  Inevitably we ran out of chippings. As we knew that the shop only had a few bags left we took off immediately (with the curfew looming) as we were fearful that we would not be able to get the same ones.

All was well and we secured the last five bags and John was able to complete the job the next day.

However as we were taking these final photos of phase ii we both agreed that really the project would look much better with a third area! Fortunately there were enough beams left to make another area, but unfortunately it would mean moving a large portion of the wood pile yet again. Furthermore we were able to secure more chippings at the Cahors branch of the store. Anxious to avoid a repeat of the previous problem this time we bought far too many bags. Never mind we could put them on the rose beds, but inevitably yet again we were a few bags short.........

... but that's another story!

The Egyptians Managed It

 You may be a little confused by the title so I will start at the beginning. After much deliberation we decided to create a bigger space for John's bonsai at the end of the alley. We have installed a water supply and the bonsai will be shaded in the summer so the next step was to create the designated area, well two actually. However to do that John had to first dismantle, sort and then restack the ever collapsing wood pile which has been there for over 10 years.

 Underneath the wood he found two enormous stones which were :-

a) on the edge of the proposed bed and

b) we thought would make great features in amongst the bonsai.

Fortunately John had a check up with his cardiologist yesterday morning so he had no hesitation in trying to move these incredibly heavy rocks!! He did manage to move the largest one about a metre but soon realised that as it would end up half submerged it could stay where it had ended up. Anyway there was no way that we could move it any further.

However we decided that the other rock would look just perfect standing on it's end. We tried countless ways to raise it for about an hour but none were successful. I knew he wouldn't give up. Therefore I wasn't surprised when he produced a very long metal pole. We were obviously going to invoke the Egyptian pyramid building technique. However the subtle difference was that they had an army of slaves and we had two old codgers. The photo below was posed as there was no way I could take a photo while rushing around finding wood to gradually chock up the stone that John had balanced on his trusty lever. It worked, those Egyptians knew a thing or two.

 

More fun and games tomorrow when we try to move some old beams from our neighbour's barn to the end of the alley to define the second area. It's a good job we're fit!!

Frost

 I can hear your groans from here. She is never satisfied, it's too hot, it's too cold, you've heard it all before. But the two severe frosts we had on Wednesday and Thursday were truly devastating. Not just in Mas de Bouyé but throughout the southern half of France. We had temperatures of -5 deg.C which as you will know from previous posts is far from the coldest we have each winter. The problem was the temperatures in the mid twenties which we had in the fortnight before. Most plants had put on fresh young growth that was instantly killed by the frost.

Of course I am not happy but the garden is not my livelihood; 80% of vines in France have been affected together with all the fruit trees and young crops. The problem is so severe that it has triggered a State system which compensates growers.

This azalea was in the porch by the front door but still succumbed.

The malus blossom turned brown overnight.

 PS The kestrels are no longer shouting but we have no idea if the resident female is sitting or what is happening.

 

Watching the Wildlife

 Subtitle "Trouble at Mill"

Our pair of kestrels returned on 20th February and have been mating and generally displaying their usual bonding behaviour. As far as we could tell from our observations the female had started to lay and was about to start incubating..........that was until 3 days ago. I was working in the garden and suddenly there was a lot of "kestrel noise". I thought I saw three kestrels but I must have been mistaken.

However I wasn't. The interloper was another female who also was desperate to breed. Consequently there have been vicious fights and endless "screaming" eversince. All the male inhabitants of our hamlet have sided with the male who just doesn't seem to know what to do.

 Some investigation on the internet suggests that this behaviour is not uncommon. Kestrels become sexually mature after a year but usually don't find a mate the first year. Anthropomorphically we would say she is very frustrated!! We hope that the youngster gets the message soon because it is very distressing to watch and listen to. Whether it will upset the breeding cycle of our resident pair remains to be seen.

Easter Weather

 We have been working flat out in the garden as the intention was to be able to welcome visitors on behalf of the garden association we belong to which raises money for sick children.  Naturally the restrictions recently imposed by the French government have put paid to that, at least for April.  Nonetheless, we are pleased with the way the garden is looking, even if it is only us and our neighbours who can appreciate it!

 

We have managed to finish setting up the 'shrubbery' as we had a delivery of wood chippings from our local commune (free!) and we just had enough to cover the geotextile we laid over the soil.

The main factor we have been struggling with is the weather!  We have been watering for about the last week as we've had wall-to-wall sunshine and temperatures of 25 /26 deg C.  Obviously this has brought on the tulips but conversely has seen the end of the narcissus and other spring flowers.

But it is Easter weekend ... and so next week we are forecast to have winds and cold morning temperatures down to -2 deg C (and we usually have it a couple of degrees lower than forecast!)  

At least the snow they were talking about has gone off the radar ... we hope.