Hottest and Driest Spring

According to Meteo France this has been the hottest spring since at least 1900 and the driest for at least 50 years.

It is not much drier than infamous 1976 but it has been on average 3°C warmer.

Wiring Installation

Labelling electric cables

A well deserved rest

The installation of our new electrical system continues apace, with lots of the new wiring now in place.   For those of you not familiar with French wiring regulations, there is a maximum of 8 sockets or 8 lights to a circuit, with separate circuits for washing machines, dishwashers, ovens, extractor fans, etc.  There is also a minimum number of sockets for each room type (living, bedroom, study, etc) and then extra sockets if any rooms are above a certain size.  The regulations also require that each main room has a phone and television socket.  We will put up another posting in the near future covering some of these rules.

ABB Consumer Unit France

The upshot of this is that the distribution panel is enormous, and enormously expensive, with up to 50 circuits from it.

In the next couple of weeks we will get EDF to convert us from a 3 phase (400 volt) supply to the more normal 230V supply.

We are happy to be seeing the back of the 3 phase supply as it adds complexity and danger.  The complexity is that we are supposed to manage the load across the phases by using a balanced load on each circuit.  Clearly this is not possible as we don't know where each circuit is nor could we necessarily balance the load even if we did.  The danger is that there is the potential for there to be 400V available at a socket, which could quite clearly be fatal.

Once the conversion has taken place we will also cutover to the new distribution board, which replaces the old fuses with modern circuit breakers.  You never know, we might just have a little glass of something to celebrate.

Lizard Orchid

Lizard Orchid

One of the benefits of the drought this year has been that we haven't had to mow the lawns very much. Totally unexpectedly, this has allowed orchids that we never knew we had to flower. Earlier this year several clumps of Early Purple Orchids appeared at the end of the orchard and this month we found Fly Orchids and the very striking Bee Orchids along the drive and in the back garden. We think that the undergrowth in the woods has grown more slowly this year, so that we have been also able to see the Lesser Butterfly Orchid. We were already really happy with having four different types of wild orchids on our land, so we were ecstatic when we found a clump of the most magnificent Lizard Orchids today.

Lizard Orchid

The Lizard Orchid is one of the largest naturally occurring orchids of Northern Europe growing to a height of 90cm. The greenish white flowers have the most extraordinary purple-spotted twisted lower lips that radiate out from the plant stem resembling the unfurled ribbons on a maypole. We hope to see more and more of these beautiful wild flowers every year so now we need to work out how to mark these orchids in the lawns so that we don't mow them next year when they are trying to grow.  

Yellow Shell Moth

Despite the drought leading to fewer flowers in the fields this year we have still been able to spot a wide variety of moths and butterflies.  Like most people, we thought that all moths were dull coloured and only came out at night, but that certainly isn't the case.  We now know that the main difference between a moth and a butterfly is that a moth rests with its wings in a tent-like manner whereas a butterfly brings them together.

We saw this beautiful Yellow Shell moth when we were walking through the meadow today. With its deep orangey-yellow wings measuring about 3 cm across it is one of the more eye-catching and easily identifiable moths.

Yellow Shell Moth in field

Brown Hare

Seeing a hare shooting across the fields at full tilt, zig-zagging away, is an invigorating sight.  However, sometimes they come closer to the house so we can have a better look at them.  This hare was quite at home this morning, as we saw him saunter around the garden for a while.

He must have built up quite an appetite to come to the edge of the pond for an early morning snack of grass .  It's only when you see them this close that you realise that they are such a big animal, appreciably bigger than a rabbit.


The hares are magnificent creatures that seem to exude power even when crouched on the ground nibbling grass.  We don't mind the hares near the house as they tend not to cause us any problems, except that they do have a real taste for Lupins!

Hare eating grass near standing stone

Great Tit

A combination of the hot, dry weather and the birds getting used to us and the pond means that we are seeing more and more birds ever closer to us.

This Great Tit was quite happy hopping around on the stones on the edge of the pond.

Great Tit on stone by terracotta plant pots near pond

Postcards of Rue du Pont and Bridge over Cher in Montrichard

We bought these fantastic postcards at the Montrichard brocante a few years back.  The postcards show the view from the old bridge over the Cher along Rue du Pont, with the castle ruins in the background.

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard Posted August 1939

Postcard showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

This photograph, taken from the car when we were stopped at the traffic lights, shows nearly the same view.  You can see that the tower on the castle has been destroyed, probably by the French when trying to prevent the Germans crossing the Cher during the Second World War.

Photograph showing Rue du Pont and Castle in Montrichard

Bird Bath

At long last, the bath has moved to its new home by the big Oak tree.  Being transported in the front loader of our tractor was a bit unorthodox but the bath is far too heavy to have moved it any other way.

Tractor being used to move old iron bath

As it is so sturdy we are going to use it as a small pond away from the house.  We don't expect to have masses of animals in it, but we are bound to get frogs, newts and toads in and around it, as well as a full complement of insects.

As there are no natural water courses or ponds close to the house we hope that it will also provide somewhere for the birds to drink and wash.

Hopefully though, it will be able to fill itself from the rain (what's that?) as we don't want to be carting even more water around to keep it topped up.

Rain Fixation

Being British our main topic of conversation should about the bad weather, bemoaning the lack of sun and the constant rain.  True to form it's not long between discussions about the weather, but in an about face they are about the lack of rain and how hot and sunny it is.

Just to put the record straight, we're not complaining about it being hot and sunny, we just wish that there was a bit of rain added to the mix, preferably overnight.  Our subsistence farming requires moving 100s of litres of water a night from the pond to the vegetable patch,  with is impacting both our humour and the water level in the pond.  Of course, if we'd known that it wasn't ever going to rain we'd not have grown courgettes, cucumbers, peas and beans, all of which crave massive quantities of water to fruit.

So, we're not fixated by the rain yet, but there is every chance that we could become so!

Bridge on Cher at Montrichard During Drought

As regular readers will know all too well, we are a little bit preoccupied at the moment with the drought.  Sometimes though it is hard to find the words to describe how much drier it is this year compared to years past, so we'll let these pictures do the talking.

This picture is of the depth gauge on one of the bridge arches.  The photo was taken on 1st June 2008 and shows the water level at just over 2.5m. 

Depth gauge on Cher under Montrichard bridge in June 2008

These photos are taken from the Montrichard side of the bridge looking upstream.  The first, from June 2008, had to taken from the road as the promenade along the river is under water.  The depth gauge is hard to pick out but in the first photo it is showing a water depth of over 2.5m.

The second photo was taken on 25 May 2011 from the promenade.  The lowest marker on the depth gauge shows 0.3m when the water is on the top of the concrete plinth around the arch supports, so the difference in water level between the years is well over 2.2m.  

Montrichard bridge 1 June 2008

Montrichard bridge during drought 25 May 2011

This second pair of photos is taken from further downstream.  The first one from 2008 shows the promenade underwater, with the benches looking out of place in the water.  The difference in water level is stark, with the second picture showing how high the arches are.

Montrichard bridge 1 June 2008

Montrichard bridge during drought 25 May 2011

This last pair of pictures is from the Montrichard side looking downstream.  In the top photo you can just see the promenade disappearing into the water with the path under the arch impassable. 

Montrichard bridge 1 June 2008

Montrichard bridge during drought 25 May 2011

Standing Stones

There's a lot of rubble stones in the ground here with the occasional gem thrown in for good measure.  Last year we took the ivy off the back of one of the outbuildings and hidden in the undergrowth was a pile of these gems some of which must have been ploughed up over the years when this was a working farm whilst others look as if they are from buildings no longer standing.

Standing stone surrounded by round pebbles

There is a mix of these large stones including lovely flat ones that we hope to lay as a path, softly rounded ones that look like they've been shaped by the sea and that you just want to touch and others that are perfect as standing stones.

It was two of these that we rediscovered under the pile of building rubble yesterday.  We already had standing stones on the edges of the drive to encourage visitors to not use the lawn as a turning circle, so we have used these latest two stones at the edge of the patio.  Hopefully, nobody would want to use the patio to drive on, but these stones, which match the farm buildings, do add a touch of interest.

Are we on the seaside?

The simple answer is that no we are very definitely not near the ocean, yet history has left traces of the sea here.  To all intents and purposes the house is built on what was an ancient sea of which all that is left is the river Cher carving its way lazily through Montrichard, and the deposits left by the sea when it drained away.

Round pebbles

Not only is there the tuffeau stone of which the house is made, but just below the surface of the ground there are lots of smooth rounded stones, the sort that you want to collect when you take a walk along a beach.  These stones range in size from tiny pebbles to small boulders that we have to use a sack truck to move.

When we first moved here we thought initially that the stones might have been brought in, but they are everywhere, including in the woods.  It is incredible to think that we are making garden features out of stones that were shaped and laid down many millions of years ago by almost unimaginable forces.  In a way, it makes the features even more special because they are made from materials that nature in her wisdom left here for us to use as we see fit.

Tidying Up

Loads of jobs around here have been left half-finished because our stays in France were too short to finish them off properly. In reality, we did the fun bits like knocking down walls and then left the rubble in a pile by the side of the house.

The excuse that time is short doesn't wash anymore, so we've been working through some of these jobs. Yesterday, encouraged by the sight of a young rabbit shooting under a pile of old plasterboard, we cleared two big piles away.

Under the piles we found some old marker stones that had had the spoil piled on them. Not ideal, but the spoil pile grew much bigger than we had expected and toppled over onto them.

Anyway, just need to move the old bath to its new home out in the field and the end of the house will be all spick and span.

Kingcup (Marsh Marigold)

Kingcup before repotting

Whilst it is very good at keeping the water in, the brown plastic pond lining is not in the least bit attractive so our aim is to put plants wherever the liner is exposed.

The beauty of pond plants is that they not only look nice but they help to clean the water,  provide the frogs, newts and other creatures somewhere to hide, and the Wagtails and Finches love being on and amongst them.  We brought a  few plants from our small old pond into our bright and shiny new pond in the courtyard, but due to priorities elsewhere on the old farm the plants were neglected resulting in them becoming extremely pot-bound.

Potbound Kingcup

Of the three plants we moved the Kingcup is our favourite, with its yellow flowers reflecting joyfully in the pond, so we concentrated our efforts on rescuing it.

The Kingcup is such a wonderful plant that The Royal Horticultural Society has given it its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).  I can understand why as it takes quite a bit of punishment and yet still manages to look fantastic, so it would certainly get a garden merit award from us!

Kingcup roots being gently removed from pot

Extracting the plant from the plant pot was the first job. This was tricky as roots had not only grown through the holes in the base of the pot but also the mesh holes around the sides. However with some careful cutting of the pot we were able to break it away from the root ball without too much damage and tease the roots from the holes. As the root ball was enormous we decided to split the plant into smaller sections.  Looking for the natural groupings of stems we took a spade and sliced through the root ball giving ourselves four healthy looking smaller plants.

Kingcup split into 4 for repotting

Kingcup in reclaimed terracotta ridge tile

As we did not have any aquatic plant pots we decided to plant the Kingcups in upturned ridge tiles. We have a large number of old and broken tiles from the restoration of our roofs so we are always looking for new ways in which to use them.

Reusing these tiles fits in with our ethos of using as much material from the farm as we can and gives us a buzz knowing that we have saved some money and reduced wastage.

Reflection of barn in pond with plants in reclaimed terracotta tiles

Arranging the tiles in the pond we can see another benefit to using the old ridge tiles; with the water level so low they look a lot nicer than the plastic pots.

Over the next couple of weeks (or maybe sooner) we will repot the other plants, including the Greater Pond Sedge, into terracotta tiles so that the whole side of the pond will be covered.

Reuse not Recycle - Roof Ridge Tiles

As a result of the restoration of the old farm complex a number of the roofs had to be re-tiled. We tried to reuse as many of the old tiles as possible on the roof but we still ended up with a lot of broken tiles that were no longer weatherproof. This has led us to continuously look for creative and interesting ways to use the old and broken tiles.

Upturned reclaimed terracotta ridge tile with plant

Our latest idea is to create plant holders for our pond plants. The upturned terracotta ridge tiles are the perfect shape for holding a plant.  As they are open at the ends the roots will be able to escape into the pond so the plants should not get pot bound.  Also, any pond creatures that want to live in the roots will be able to find their way in easily.

To make sure that the soil around the roots is not washed away we have piled up broken tile at the ends.  We have also put broken tile on the top which will reduce evaporation (when the pond is deep enough for them to be in the water!).

The tiles, being used, have rough mortar on them and a constant source of worry to us is something puncturing the pond liner.  To hopefully prevent this from happening we have put scrap pieces of pond liner under the tiles to prevent their weight or movement working through the liner. 

So, not only have we been able to reuse what most people would think were scrap tiles we have made sure that the plant holders will still look attractive when the water level drop.  When we have made the others to finish off the side of the pond and then planted around the top then we shouldn't see the horrible brown plastic pond liner anymore.

Reclaimed terracotta ridge tile pots in pond

Watering Pond Plants!

Whether the ledges around the pond edge were too deep was my main concern as I didn’t want the plants to be submerged.  Little did I know that this Spring would be exceptionally warm (4C hotter than average) and dry, with no significant rain for what seems like months.

With all the water butts empty and the vegetables and small plants crying out for watering, the pond had to be called on to save the day.  Add us taking this water out to the natural evaporation and the pond level has dropped nearly 20cm (8”), taking the plants on the ledge out of the water.

What to do?  Strange as it may seem, they’ve now been added to my evening watering rota.  It must make a peculiar sight, seeing someone watering plants in their pond, but there really isn’t any choice.

To be honest, I never thought myself that I would see the day when I have to water the pond plants, especially as the intention was that they would be the lowest of low maintenance.

Watering pond plants!

Frog Chilling Out

Frog chilling out in pond on hot summer's day

The frogs are very much at home on our new pond. These young frogs love to spend their time floating just below the surface of the gorgeously warm water. They remind me of swimming lessons when I was a child when we were instructed to 'float like a starfish' ....... watching these little chaps I think our teacher could have said 'float like a frog'.

Sunday Brocante

The Pastis is in the cupboard but there are no glasses to serve it in, so we set off to the brocante first thing.  At first glance it looked hopeful, but on closer inspection there was either glasses missing from the set or damage to the glasses.  As we want to use these regularly we need a full set of perfect glasses.

We love the brocantes, especially seeing the old bits of farm machinery that have been uncovered from the back of a barn after 50 years, but we do wish that stuff was priced.  We know from our own and other's experience that without clear pricing there is a premium for Les Anglais, so we are very careful buying anything if we are not with our French friends.

Black-Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly

Black-Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly on chain over pond

It never ceases to amaze us how creatures find their way into new ponds. Our pond in the courtyard was completed towards the end of last year and has been slowly filled via the rainwater butts since then. We did add a few buckets of water from our old pond to the new pond to help get it started but we made a deliberate decision not to add insects or animals to the pond as we wanted things to take their natural course. 

We did not have to wait long before pond skaters, water boatmen and other tiny creatures started to colonise the water.  They were swiftly followed by some young frogs and palmate newts, who were probably happy that dinner had arrived before them.  In February large clumps of frog spawn could be seen bobbing just below the surface, so while we haven't seen any mature frogs in the pond they must have visited. 

Black-Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly on chain over pond

The latest addition to the pond are some enormous, brightly coloured dragonflies. We love watching them as they dart across the surface of the water munching on the midges and mosquitoes, stopping only briefly on the chain or a plant to take a short breather. 

Their wings are particularly fascinating as they look as if they are made from finely woven silk that would fall apart in the gentlest breeze.  Yet, when flying fast across the pond surface the dragonflies flap their wings noisily, like a child's windmill, and change direction instantly to chase another doomed insect.  

Our hope is these beautiful creatures will lay their eggs in the pond so that we will be treated to an even larger flying display next year.

Pied Wagtail

Juvenile Pied Wagtail eating insects off pond plant

Juvenile Pied Wagtail looking for dinner in pond

Adult Pied wagtail

With the days getting hotter the new pond is proving to be a great attraction with the birds. The House Sparrows have now got used to the idea of hopping across the stones in the shallow area so that they can get a drink whilst the Swallows artfully skim across the surface making both us and the frogs jump.

It is however the Pied Wagtails that are the making the most of the pond. I am sure they think they are water birds as when they are not sitting by the water they are bathing in it or paddling in it. It has been very entertaining watching the juvenile Pied Wagtails being shown how to feed in the pond.

Juvenlie Pied Wagtail eating in pond

Bonfires are banned

Normally we don't read the council noticeboard  because the information on it is not really that interesting.  For instance, the previous time that we looked the notices were about the council buying a plot of land to guarantee access to a couple of houses.  Certainly not earth-shattering news for us.

Luckily for us though, when we popped into town the other day we did stop to have a read, and found out that bonfires are banned due to the drought.  It's a bit of a blow really, because we had a clear out of the barn and found a lot of rotten wood that we want to burn.  We would keep it for the stove in the house, but it is so rotten and riddled with woodworm that it probably won't give off any heat.

The grass on our fields is looking incredibly dry and would probably catch alight without much trouble, so it's likely that, even without the ban, we wouldn't have had the bonfire.  It would be terribly upsetting to turn what has become a real haven for birds this year into a blackened and barren landscape.

Meadow showing effect of drought May 2011

A doorway to nowhere

As I said in a previous posting, there is no point in making firm plans for too far ahead with this house because it will take any opportunity that it can to throw an obstacle in your way.

Blocked up doorway revealed during renovation work

This morning we were minding our own business, gently bashing down the plaster panels in the bathroom that were lining the tuffeau wall when a wooden lintel hove into view.  What, I said to Mrs RiotLife, is a lintel doing in the middle of a solid stone wall?  Well, a bit more gentle tapping and it became obvious that it's the old doorway into the next room.  

Blocked up doorway revealed during renovation work

Now, this is a wonderful house, but previous renovations have modernised the interior to the extent that other than the stone walls there is nothing of character visible.  Because of this, wherever we find a 'feature' in the house we aim to highlight it.


The upshot is that what we had intended to do in the bathroom just won't work, so we are looking at how we re-jig the room to show off the doorway while taking account of the need for the room to be closed. 

Tuffeau Walls Revealed

Our house is mainly built of tuffeau, a limestone extracted in the Loire Valley. As part of the renovation of the house we have decided to expose as much of the tuffeau stone walls within the interior as possible. With a building this old it is not surprising it has been transformed many times during its lifetime, with the result being there are layers and layers of different wall coverings on some of the walls.

The wall coverings include modern crepi (a sort of interior render), ceramic tiles, lime wash and mortar. We have decided to strip back all the walls to the bare tuffeau in order to give ourselves the opportunity to inspect the walls and repair where necessary. The plan, in as much as there is one, is to leave the tuffeau exposed on the interior walls while heavily insulating all exterior walls. In this way we can retain some of the original character of the building while not racking up enormous fuel bills and wasting tonnes of energy.

Tuffeau wall covered in plaster and concrete

Cleaning the tuffeau is a very messy but not too onerous a job, although you do need to approach it with some care. For example, in the upstairs apartment the tuffeau was covered in a thick layer of plaster over concrete, which we were able to chip and prise away with a palette knife and hammer without causing severe damage to the tuffeau.

Tuffeau wall in apartment uncovered

Because tuffeau is so soft it needs to be able to move, so the mortar between the blocks must also be soft to ensure that the stones are not held rigid and so crack.  To make sure that we didn't damage the mortar we had to be extra careful when removing the concrete from over it.

Uncovering the tuffeau in the hallway

With the renovation downstairs we have the added complexity of rising damp which is causing the tuffeau to disintegrate.  This has been made worse by the walls being enclosed, with the result that they could not release their moisture.  Maybe even worse, the crumbling tuffeau has filled in the gap between the plaster blocks and the tuffeau wall enabling the damp to bridge across. 

Cleaned tuffeau wallin the hallway

Once the plaster cladding was removed we very gently tapped the mortar on the tuffeau to loosen it and then used a palette knife to lift it from the surface of the tuffeau. We are having to be particularly careful towards the base of the wall due to it being very damp and crumbly.  Not an ideal way to make the foundations for a 10m high house!

Once we remove all the old plaster/mortar covering we will clean the joints and remortar them. We hope the result will be a rustic yet beautiful tuffeau wall that will last for many years to come.

Tuffeau Stone

Chateau de Chenonceau from the southern river bank

Loire Valley châteaux, in common with our house and many of the older building in this region, are in many cases primarily constructed from tuffeau stone. Of the many fabulous châteaux in the Loire Valley built of tuffeau, the most famous is Chenonceau.

"Tuffeau is a marine sedimentary rock which is found in the Loire Valley of France. The Loire Valley formed the floor of a vast sea 90 million years ago. Over the millennia, sediment from the sea floor, comprising fossilized living organisms and sand particles, became compressed to form what is now known as Tuffeau stone."

The mining and extraction of tuffeau has created vast networks of troglodyte or troglodytic caves in the Loire Valley which are now been converted into wine cellars, mushroom farms or, as our friend's son is doing, a night club.

Strawberry Bed in front of Tuffeau Stone Wall

The tuffeau stone is a beautiful creamy white stone which glows in the sunlight making even the most modest buildings look absolutely stunning. The big problems with the stone are that it is very soft and porous, which means that it can easily absorb a large volume of water that then causes it to crumble away.  It seems to be particularly susceptible to airborne pollution, which accelerates the breakdown of the stone.

On the other side of the coin, it is incredibly light for its size, which means that large blocks can be easily manoeuvred.  

Shower Tray Removal

It's taken two days, but finally the shower tray has been lifted. It was set below the concrete floor level, then on three sides it was concreted in to the height of the enamel shower tray. As we wanted the shower tray out in one piece to use as a watertight base for a garden fountain, I had to break the concrete away relatively gently.

Shower tray cemented into ground

One thing that we have noticed is that the way that the previous renovation was done has made it almost impossible to perform a light renovation. For instance, because the shower tray was set into a concrete floor, the drain pipes all glued together and set into concrete, and the incoming water supply soldered, it is not possible to simply remove the shower tray and cubicle and replace with an new one of the same size. To remove the shower tray required us to smash all of the concrete and break the drainpipe. To change the shower tap we will have to cut the copper pipe.

It is arguable whether the previous renovation was performed in this way to make it long-lasting, or whether it was done to ensure that any future changes would require the intervention of an artisan.

In any case, the good news is that modern materials such as push-fit connectors for drainpipes and PER pipes for the incoming water are becoming easier to find and much cheaper. As the renovation goes on we hope to be able to convert the whole house to these more DIY-friendly materials.

Montrichard at Night

Montrichard Bridge at Night

Living near a pretty town was not high on our priority list when we were house hunting in France, so we counted ourselves very lucky that we ended up with Montrichard as our local town. It is a lovely ancient market town with a range of shops all the way from mid-sized supermarkets through copious estate agents to a specialist chocolatier that makes the most fantastic cakes.

Inspired by one of this month's categories for readers' pictures on the BBC News site we thought we would try to capture the night sky over Montrichard; especially as the moon is still almost full. We had hoped we would be able to capture the moon rising above the Cher with Montrichard's very pretty bridge in the foreground but unfortunately the moon stayed behind a large bank of clouds so it was not to be. All was not lost however as it was a gorgeously warm night with no wind so walking along the river bank was lovely. The town looked very pretty too with the soft glow from the street lights picking out the ornate roof lines and the dungeon's spotlights making the surrounding trees appear blue and orange against the black sky. To add to the spectacle we were also treated to a fantastic light show in the sky as we watched an electric storm pass by the town ...... sadly without any rain!

Sometimes we think that we comprehend the sheer number and variety of insects here,

Insects swarming around a street light in Montrichard

and then we see something that makes us think again. On the way back to the car after taking the photographs of the bridge and dungeon, we passed this street lamp on the bank of the Cher. Swarming on and around the light were hundreds, if not thousands, of flying insects. We are not sure what they were, however they looked a little bit like large flying ants. On closer inspection we could see that not only were the flies attracted to the light they also covered the lamp post and the pavement below. Certainly an unpleasant experience to walk through them, but luckily they were more interested in the light than us.