Catch up - overdue again!

Despite all my good intentions it's been a month again! I've finally given in to the hectoring by he who shall remain nameless - but we all know who he is!  We have been busy. The gite has been booked out for the last three weeks or so, and is full until the middle of September, which we are thrilled with. So far guests have been delightful and full of complements, even when the weather has been a little damp and thundery. (It has improved now - honest!) The Bed and Breakfast branch of Vue de Duras has also been busy, so there has been much laundering, cooking and cleaning going on, with not much time for blog writing. Nicole has been working hard, but has escaped back to the UK for a week. She will be back here for two weeks, and then back to Worcester permanently as she has landed what looks like a fantastic job, which apparently she is going to get paid for as well! On the subject of jobs, Ellen, lovely eldest daughter has also landed the job of her dreams this week too, clever girl ended up with a choice of two. Well done El!

So..news updates and photo's today.

A new fence around the pond for safety's sake.

It looks a little stark at the moment, but I see it as a  blank canvas begging for  plants to add colour and form!

Added at the same time as the fence, a bit of trellis to give a little privacy to the gite terrace 

Already planted with a beautiful bougainvillea.

A swing added to the tree - irresistible! 

I spotted a baby redstart outside the window - they are living in the fig tree, still being fed  by the adults.

The chickens have had an extension built, they now have three times the amount of room to scratch about in. Here they are heading through the hole in the fence into the extension for the first time.

One of our 'hens' - crowing! We still think there may be three or even four cockerels where there should only be one!

Basket of plums picked from the orchard next door. Unfortunately, it's been such an odd year weatherwise, that they are not big enough to be sold as Agen prunes, so many will be left to rot on the trees. They make lovely jam and desserts!

While I didn't get to make a vegetable garden this year, I did squeeze a couple of courgette plants in amongst the flowers.

and a butternut squash - I think!

 So, that's the news for now. I will try to do better!

Another step forward...

It's been a while - I don't quite know what happens to time out here! More changes to report - I'm looking forward to a time when the only changes are the seasons. So, where to start.....
The gite - still not ready, but looking great, the builders are doing a great job, and the shower rooms have had the walls tiled and are ready for the floor tiles..

The bedrooms are plastered, painted and the floors will be tiled in a few days time...

The outside furniture has all been treated and looks fantastic - just begging for meals to be eaten outside (already happens on a daily basis!)

The pool has been cleaned, is warming up nicely and is almost ready for a dip (just a bit more adjusting on the chlorine.)

The chickens have a home, ready for the weekend. The permanent one will be ready soon - just a little adjustment of the legs to take account of the slope (we built it like that on purpose, I swear!) the roof added, a bit more work on the walls and voila! as we like to say!

I'm hoping the fence will keep them in until they're ready to be really free-range - they're a bit on the small side at the moment...

but growing quickly, like everything else around here!

Tiny buds on the vines. They look great, but apparently they are suffering from a shortage of rain following the driest April in years. We did have an amazing thunder storm the other night, but not enough rain to satisfy the farmers and vignerons. 

The vide greniers have started again (flea market/car boot sales) with one virtually every weekend all summer in one or other of the local villages. These plants were from the one in Duras a couple of weeks ago. 

 Last weekend there was one at St Sernin, where we found some great bargains, which I am off to photograph now, and will add to the blog later, as we are about to go out to dinner - a treat for all the hard work we have done this week - so far!