Our new home in France

While looking for a house to rent, somewhere to base ourselves while we hunt for the right property, we found the perfect house in the perfect spot -and with the help of the lovely people at Cle Rouge Immobilier in Duras it is ours! This blog is primarily for our friends and family to follow the ups and downs of the adventures. However if we don't know you, I hope you'll enjoy the story too, and that one day you may consider booking into our lovely home as a paying guest - you'll be made very welcome!

Tuesday 6 August 2013

June, July

 Most things drift on in a similar fashion at Vue de Duras, which makes frequent updates difficult -I try not to bore everyone!
But we do have an exciting  event to start us off this time......the arrival of grandchild number two, petit-fils, Lucas....

What a gorgeous addition to the family!
Lucas and big sister Orla
So, excitement over, back to the everyday stuff that makes our life here in France so wonderful. The weather finally changed from the dull, grey spring to full on summer almost in the course of a day. We have now had well over a month of hot, dry weather - until today, when we have had a bit of a break with a slightly cooler day following a night of thunder storms. More storms to come though, I think.
It rains here!
 An amazing full moon. We're looking forward to the Perseid meteor showers over the coming weekend.
Picture from Facebook
Hugh got on with the painting of the shutters - see below the half done garage - they are finished now!

The shutters are almost finished, Hugh continues to add to the list of excuses not to finish them, cold weather, rain, hot weather now includes an injured leg.
Enforced rest following an incident with the ride on mower. Everyone tells him how 'lucky' he is!
My excuse is overwork!
We have enjoyed revisits from old friends......
Gav and Martha
Tommy, Vicki and Taylor
Chris forced into gratuitous advertising!
 We have been enjoying the summer life in this part of France - so much to do it's exhausting - but as I keep saying 'it's a long winter!'
All-Rhoma at the first night market of the summer in Duras
George Smith at the Feu de la St Jean in Duras
Hot air balloons and fireworks at the Fete de Madeleine in Duras



Bête de feu at the Fete Nationale on July 14th
The bull alight - health and safety anyone?!
 The black redstarts managed to raise another clutch of  chicks.....
The chicks being fed a cricket
 One chick landed in a basket of geraniums below the nestbox and took a couple of days persuasion by the parent birds to entice it out.
A chick on its way
We have managed a few days out as well as the nights out!
Bordeaux...
with the new bridge behind Hugh
And the odd Vide Grenier - this one at Eymet
we didn't buy this lovely old car! (Well I could hardly shabby-chic it could I?!)
A couple of new photos of our lovely home...
A view of the house looking up through the vines
And a calm, misty morning before the heat sets in.
And of course, to finish, a few wildlife photos


Thanks to a our guest Nigel for these photos of the humming bird hawk moth.....

Swallowtail butterfly