Michel's Blog - some personal comments on life in SW France - Welcome to Michel's Place (michelsplace, michelsplace.fr)

Quite an unsettled spell ...

28/2/2014

amaryllis

... of weather has brought some heavy showers as well as some pleasant sunny spells over the last few days. The lovely warm weather we had last week end has been blown away, but it hasn't been too cold, given it is still February.
This fine specimen of amaryllis was a Christmas gift in 2012 and I was very pleased to see it come into flower again this year. The leaves it had over the summer did not look very strong or vigorous so I was not expecting any further flowers from the bulb. This flower stem has at least three blooms on it, too.

Yesterday was another lovely day ...

25/2/2014

Croci

.... and despite a little wind, the temperature got above 20c in the afternoon making it feel very mild and pleasant. A few really balmy days towards the third week of February seems to be very much a feature of the climate in this area.

With the longer days, it was time to adjust the programming on the pool to make sure the solar heating gives maximum benefit. Other encouraging spring time jobs included planting some parsnip and Chinese cabbage seeds as well as setting up the "détaupeur" since there is evidence of some foolhardy creatures venturing into the plot again.

Natives of Eastern Europe / Western Asia, croci give a really spring-like feel to the garden, bathed in welcome sunshine.

A beautiful day ....

23/2/2014

Cherry blossom

.... today after some early morning mist. It was 18c at the peak of the afternoon, and we were able to get on with some spring pruning, amongst other jobs. The lizards were out on our sunny wall, and both brimstone and peacock butterflies were on the wing. The quince blossom was alive with buzzing bees, and there were significant numbers of cranes making their way north to the nesting grounds passing overhead.

All in all, a very pleasant early spring day.

Mixed fortunes ....

22/2/2014

Lizard Orchid Leaves

..... with the weather over the last couple of days; some good sunny spells, but also some wet ones too.
It has been generally mild, though, and there's plenty of new growth in evidence in the garden. The orchid leaves have been growing strongly over the last couple of weeks, and the area which we left "wild" last season seems to have an abundance of them. It will be interesting to see how this meadow area performs this year - hopefully it will be even richer in its variety.

A blackbird is building a nest in the corner of the woodshed - it seems rather early, but the nest is already more or less complete. Photos to follow, hopefully.

A bright afternoon ....

19/2/2014

hardy cyclamen

quince blossom

... yesterday enabled some clearing up in the garden and the planting of some raspberry canes given us by our neighbours. There's already some colour in the garden, with the cyclamen on the bank (left), and the quince a mass of red blossoms (above). The cyclamen are gradually spreading, but it seems the white variety is more successful than the pink one. Their progress is slow, though - I had hoped they would colonize the area more quickly!

A busy spell ....

17/2/2014

... over the past week has seen me battling with the storms in UK, doing a couple of days of work and finally getting back home yesterday night. As a result of storms on Wednesday evening it took me 5 hours to get from Leeds to Preston on the train - usually a journey of about 1 hour 40 minutes.

It was a glorious day today - getting well over 17c in the afternoon; it would seem that the winter is basically behind us now, since the cranes were making their way northwards this afternoon in their characteristic V formations high in the sky. It's always the noise which draws the attention to the fact that the migration is passing overhead, and their passage is a very reliable indicator for the turn of the seasons.

I finally got hold of the pole to repair my antenna system today, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to put everything back together again .... there's quite a list of jobs to work through at the moment.

A brief respite ...

6/2/2014

Wind turbines

.... from the wet and windy weather gave opportunity for a walk this afternoon. Despite the wind, it was quite mild, and it was over 17c on the deck when I got back.

The march of the wind turbines has finally begun to make itself felt in our quiet corner of rural France. Six of the twelve we have been promised are now in place, although despite the very windy weather they seem to be adopting a stubbornly "Thatcherite" approach to life!

A very unsettled few days ....

5/2/2014

..... has meant that jobs inside have taken priority, although I did manage to get on the roof and change the LNB on the satellite dish during one of the brighter moments the other day.

Adding another shelf to our little store room had been on my "to do" list for some time, so it's good that it is now in place.

Despite some heavy rain and driving winds during this unsettled spell, it's good to report that our efforts to sort out some small leaks around the property last summer and autumn have not been proved wanting. I think it's safe to say that the repairs have been well and truly tested of late, too!