Drought Plays Havoc With Radishes

Big Radish, Little Radish

The drought has played havoc with our fruit and vegetables this year.  Some plants have grown like topsy, like the courgettes, which are 1kg each, and the beetroot where each one is sufficient for a couple of meals.

But, since the drought and high temperatures really kicked in the salad vegetables have been hopeless.  The Spicy Leaf and Rocket flowered without growing any edible leaves and the radish have either not developed at all or grown to be large and tasteless lumps.  Not a great success but we have learnt a lot this year, especially the need to grow the seeds in decent soil, prepare the planting beds properly and, most importantly, have unlimited water available to keep the crop happy.

Swallow and Black Redstarts in the Barn

Black Redstart Chick Fledgling in Swallow Nest

The Swallow and Black Redstart parents are not at all happy that we are in and out of the barn all the time just now getting our renovation material.  The Swallows are at one end and the Black Redstarts are at the other so whichever door we go in we get scolded by one or the other.

The Black Redstarts tell us off by sitting on the swingball pole and making their tch tch tch sound.  The Swallows fly around and around near their nest without going to it and make a rapid chatter.  Amazingly, as soon as the parents start their warning noise the chicks stop making any noise at all.  It is incredible that the chicks have not even left the nest yet but they understand what a warning noise is.

If the Swallows or Black Redstarts are outside when we go into the barn then they won't come into the barn until we leave.  The Swallows are amazing the way that they fly into the barn so fast, see us and turn immediately and leave.  They really are the fighter jets of the birds, quite amazing.  It is very sad that after this brood is a bit older they'll all be looking to migrate south until next spring.

What is particularly interesting is the Black Redstarts have taken up residence in a newly renovated Swallow's nest. Normally they make quite a scruffy, traditional bird nest in the nook of a cross beam in the barn, however this pair have taken over a very smart Swallow's nest. We don't know if the Black Redstarts commandeered it or the Swallows changed their minds and decided to renovate a nest at the other end of the barn. Either way it sounds like the Black Redstarts have quite a brood in and we are looking forward to seeing the fledglings within the next few days.

Swallow Chick Fledgling in Nest

Adult Toad

Toad discovered under plank of wood

We used to have to watch for hedgehogs hiding in our wood piles now we have to watch for toads. 

This adult toad was discovered living under a pile of wooden planks that we had left in front of the Little House until we had time to cut them. I felt a bit mean moving him as he had hollowed out a small depression in the soil and seemed very much at home but staying there he would have been trodden on and baked in the midday sun.

Toads are fascinating creatures and quite different from frogs. They are very difficult to see as their brown skin is perfect camouflage against mud. If they are disturbed they sit tight while frogs hop away. They tend to walk with a lumbering gait rather than hop and they have dry, warty looking skin rather than the wet, smooth skin of a frog. If you ever have to move a toad the best way is to gently bring your hands around the body of the toad, sliding them under the body as you bring them together. Young toads move about in your hands but the older ones just sit put so it is easy to carry them to a safe place. We usually put them either in the wood pile in 'Toad Hall' or under the lavender bushes. You may find you need to encourage the toad to move off your hands when you try to put it down and often they will sit still for a few moments before eventually moving off to somewhere dark and comfortable. Always make sure you wear gloves before picking up a toad as they secrete a liquid from their skin that can irritate your skin.

Toad discovered under plank of wood

Deer drinking from the pond

Roe Deer drinking from garden pond

The drought must really be taking its toll on the wildlife as very early this morning we looked out to find a young deer drinking from our ornamental pond in the courtyard. 

The deer are quite at home wandering through the gardens but as far as we know they have never before tried to drink from this pond. We love to see the deer about but do not want to encourage them to this pond as we don't think their hooves will be very kind to the liner. 

Roe Deer drinking from garden pond

As soon as we can (i.e. when it rains for more than 10 minutes) we want to fix the sides of the pond and edge it with some solid oak beams removed from the old barn roof when it was repaired. This will make it much more difficult for the deer to reach the water so should solve the problem. They'll just have to use the natural pond out the back!

Register an Imported Trailer in France - Part Three

The saga continues, but it is not yet clear which way it will end, although it is not looking good.

I've been in contact with the HGV testing station in Tours about what information they require to test the trailer. Basically, if it doesn't have a full technical information pack then it needs to be put through the entire single vehicle approval process, which included destructive testing of the trailer breakaway cable.

Unfortunately the supplying dealer in England, Towability of Wellingborough, are not willing or able to supply any technical information about the trailer. I am taking this to mean that either they are not interested in helping or they did not build it using CE approved equipment.  Anyway, I've gone back to them to ask them to look again and hopefully they'll come through with something.

I'm also talking to VOSA about what information Towability should have provided with the trailer and whether there were any standards that it should have adhered to.  Update: they've just come back and said that they don't hold any information on it.

Tour de France Arrives Today

The excitement is building, with only a few hours to go till the Tour De France arrives.  Our bike tyres are pumped up and the trailer for our chairs and lunch is attached to mine.  Luckily we don't need a Carte Grise for this one so everything is looking good.

We're off to the Friday market in Montrichard in a few minutes to get our last minute supplies as I think that sitting on the edge of the road for 4 hours might make me a bit peckish.  We need to be early this morning as the roads will be shutting prior to the Tour de France arriving and we don't want to be trapped.

The weather is not brilliant, with it being just over 16°C with a stiff breeze and hazy sunshine.  I've put my shorts on as a sign of optimism but I'm not totally convinced.

Broad-Winged Damselfly

This beautiful female Broad-Winged Damselfly was spotted on a bramble leaf on the edge of the woods. Its shimmering turquoise body looked absolutely stunning in the late evening sun.

The Broad-Winged Damselfly is also known as demoiselles.  The Latin name, Calopterygidae is derived from "beautiful winged" which to us sums it up perfectly.

Broad-winged Damselfly

Bees Pollinating Blackberries

Bee flying from blackberry flower

The blackberry bushes are now in full flower and absolutely covered in many different kinds of bees. This is a really good sight at a time when there are so many articles about how bees are struggling for survival. 

With such a large number of bees feeding on the flowers as you get close to them it sounds like the hedgerows themselves are buzzing.

We think bees are fascinating creatures and we also have a love of honey so once the renovation of the buildings is under control we plan to put a hive or two in the fields to really encourage the bees onto the land.

Bee on blackberry flower

Register an Imported Car in France

Our guide on how to register an imported car in France has been updated this morning as we have now registered our second car in France.  The second car was much more straightforward as we knew what we were doing, so we hope that this up-to-date guide will be useful to you.

If you need any advice with registering your car in France feel free to send us a comment and we'll help as much as we can.  Good luck.

Outside Temperature Gauge

Maybe being out in the wilds away is making us appreciate small pleasures even more, but we are immensely pleased at our new weather station with its outside temperature sensor.

We've put the outside sensor on a shaded windowsill facing North-East so that it doesn't get any sun. In this way we get an idea of what the real temperature will be for us outside as with our pale English skin we shouldn't really sit in the sun.

This morning it is a balmy 21°C in the house but a cool 13°C outside so we'll give it another few minutes before we go out.