Life in Rural France.

A little taste of country life.

The wild flowers are blooming everywhere, even though there's not much sun for June 

I love it now the commune 

isn't allowed to spray weed killer along the edge of the lanes. 

Even the lizards are hiding

and only come out when the sun appears for a few moments.

The first sighting of our green lizard.

The Jay came to visit but now its back up in the trees.

The Hoopoe bird is still about.

We hear them everyday,

but mostly see them from a distance.

The blue tits are not at the bird table as often now.

as they are busy finding bugs to feed their young.

and with all the rain there's lots of them about.

These blue tits made their nest in a hole in the wall.

Not sure if it was the same pair from last year, I'd like to think it was.

This was the last baby to leave the nest.

This year the finches are in abundance .

We think this male & female Chaffinch  were a couple, they were always together.

The Brambling  both males.

The green finch 

This male Haw-finch comes to the bird table

every evening to feed before going to roost.

He's a big bird, with a big beak.

We are pleased to see the gold finches back, we haven't seen them for a few years.

I love to see walls and gates in the country. 

I'll close the gate for now

and look forward to opening it again for you soon.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

A mixed bag

This time of the year is always busy for us.

 Garden to keep tidy for our guests 

Especially this adorable 'Labradoodle'  from Holland.

 He was the star  staying in La Petite Maison

I found out he even takes his own selfies.

 Summer time is a must for market shopping.

always get there early, before the crowds appear.

I start off with the fruit stalls.

Then the Charentais melons, to take home and have for lunch

served with some jambon cru, and a crusty baguette.

There was even a stall selling Jambon from the Auvergne.

Local honey on a croissant for breakfast.

 A medley of tasty vegetables for lunch.

Traditional goodies to savour.

A lovely selection of rose shrubs.

Then I found a lovely stall with an English lady selling beautiful original things.

I loved these old cases & boxes she covers in decoupage.

 In the summer there's always an organ grinder playing music .

Time for a spot of people watching and a cup of coffee before leaving.

Easy all in one meals.

Then the joy of eating outside.

Followed by Strawberries from the Dordogne.( The best in France )

Family and friends popping in for aperitifs. 

All the things I love about summer.

How about you, what do you enjoy the most about summer ?

I'm looking forward to some long sunny summer days and evenings.

Spent outdoors.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Preparing my hanging baskets.

Due to the unseasonal weather conditions this year, I'm so far behind
preparing hanging baskets than previous years.

Although the nights are still cold, I need to get the baskets prepared.
With not much enthusiasm we went to a small family owned garden centre.

It's nothing like what you would visualise as the usual
'Garden Centre' no fancy glass greenhouses

with electrically controlled ventilation and watering system.

4 poly tunnels an array of country animals wandering freely

 and a friendly lady to greet me.

Sorry no photos I didn't have my camera
so close your eyes

 and imagine you're in the heart of rural France, and step back 30 years .

There are 4 poly tunnels with flaps at each end, the entrance and the other end for some ventilation. 2 of the poly tunnels are full of vegetables, as they do sell their vegetables at the markets. I think the flowers might have started as a side line,
probably just a few geraniums and petunias .
I usually have an idea what I'm looking for. I noticed this year there was more choice.
 I choose all my own plants, put them in a veg. box which are provided. I then go to a little table where there's a lady, who was dead heading all the plants,  she asks me

 how many I have, she writes it down on a piece of paper ripped out of what 

looks like child's exercise book. I have to go to the little shop to pay, where they sell

their vegetables . On leaving I was handed a plastic bag containing fertiliser grains. and told how to look after my plants to get the best results.
and left with their good wishes of...
'au revoir et bonne plantation'

 How charming is that, you certainly don't get this service in the towns.

I did notice a few elderly ladies in their wrap around house pinafore dresses, who had brought their own plant pots to have them planted up with a few geraniums, 

while they chose the vegetable plants to put in their potager.  

 We have bought some of our plants from here for the past 2 yrs
 and been really pleased with the quality and far better value 

than any of the large Jardi-land centres.

This is the selection I chose. They look really healthy.

Trailing Verbena.

White Alyssum

 dble. Sufinias

Brachyscome angustifolia

Begonia senegat.
we had these last year and they flowered from may to October. 

last years baskets.

Pink begonia senegat. 

Simple dark red leaved begonia.

Hopefully by the weekend we will have them planted and hanging.

How are you getting on planting up your summer flowers.

Do you use summer annuals for a splash of colour on your terrace.
I'd love to see what you choose and how you display them.

I hope the weather is warming up for everyone.
Happy planting / Bonne plantation

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Antique Books

Last Sunday I was helping my grandson and his girl friend

on their stall at a vide grenier / brocante fayre.

I haven't been to one of these for a long time

  I always come back with something

I don't really need.

But since living in France I can't resist old books.

This one took my fancy.

full of pictures.

 showing the beautiful architecture of the Paris buildings.

These two little gems, look like they have been well read.

Vintage French Literature School books.

I love the covers on them,

 I don't remember my school books looking like these.

BOOKS... books.. books. I couldn't resist these.

  most of the books I now read, I read as e-books on my Kindle.

But I must admit I do love turning paper pages .

Look at the date of this one

 The title translates to...

'The Wise Women '

Although they probably won't be read,

 They'll be part of my décor in the guest blue bedroom. 

Books, letters, printed photographs 

they are all slowly becoming things of the past.

We are told it's the way of life,

 new technology slowly sneaking in.

How do you feel about this.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian

Welcome to the month of May.

The garden is full of birds singing and flitting about feeding their young.

The Robins nest we found in the shed. How long must it have taken

 these birds to build this nest, tucked in the hanging hosepipe 

We thought it had been abandoned.

Last week we saw a little head and two bright eyes staring at us 

it is the female sitting on her eggs, they have been very discreet.

We can't wait to see the feeding activity. 

After a lot if hard work, the Rose garden is now finished.

 Lots of flower buds are showing on the Clematis.

Here we used some of the willow frames, to replace the rotten ones.

This small area was planted up last year, and is now looking well established.

The small lavender plants have now doubled their size. so I'm looking forward 

to some nice perfume wafting my way when I'm relaxing near by.

 When the plants are in bloom, it will be a nice show of pink and blue

with a white climbing rose against the stone wall.

I'm glad the hard work is finished, now I can taking it a bit easy for a few days.

Hoping the warm sun we had yesterday,

 enabling Mr France and I to have lunch on the terrace will continue.

This seems like a good time for me to get my sketch books and Ink-tense pencils out.

Yesterday I saw this post from Quinn on her blog about getting back into painting.

Quinn is an incredible lady who has so many talents at her finger tips.

She lives and works looking after her goats in severe winter weather conditions.

She keeps her family of goats for their wool which she processes and 

then knits into the most lovely items, especially the lacy shawls.

Tell her I suggested you pop over to share her blog.

 My back is telling me I've done too much.

I will need  to just potter in the garden for awhile

So I'm hoping the sunny weather is here for awhile, then I will relax.

I'll be back soon.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian