2014-08-29 The Ice Bucket Challenge(s)!

 

2014-08-24 The Princesses Birthday Party

 

The new house………

Next door the chickens !

 

The new hand basin …….

 

 

Birthday morning…..

Birthday Present

Birthday Treat….the Chocolate Factory……uuuuuummmmmmm )

My Saintly son  ??

 

Birthday Cake…….

2014-08-24 Is it a lake ????

 

 

En route to the Ardeche……..

No Its solar panels !

2014-08-23 Vide Grenier St. Chinian.

Getting rid of our rubbish….and buying someone elses !!

Dave  getting ready to fleece to public !!

2014-08-20 Garden Vegetables

Starting with the Sweet corn….which we didn't have many…but we did have this fungus, which i NOW find out is a prized edible fungus…so much so sweet corn is being intentionally infected to grow just the fungus….we burnt this ! Google it…its called SMUT !

First of our courge to ripen is this lovely Potiron.

 

 

Now for the onions…which we experimentally planted the cabbage in-between…making it quite difficult to harvest…however not much in the way of caterpillars on the cabbages !

I took this picture, as its not EVERY day/month/year you can harvest strawberries, blackberries and chantrelles on the same day !

 

Tomatoes are splendid this year, after all the rain we did wonder if they would split….but the Corne d’Andie (i think) the pointy red ones…. which we grow each year have probably produced 50-60kg from just over 40 plants….the other is an orange beef tomato which we will probably not do next year, it gets VERY big and breaks the plant.

 

 

This is NOT home grown…but I have found how to “pickle” garlic and when its cheap in August is a good time to do it….but the peeling…well its easy ………

 

You break the bulbs into cloves…place them in two large pans or a glass top saucepan like i am using…….

 

Shake (the pan that is !) and most if not all the skin will fall off in a minute or two…..have a cup of tea !

 

Voila !

 

The whole range of recognisable courge……….this is ONLY the ripe ones we had a bumper crop this year…plus a surprise…look out for a future post !

2014-08-10 Caterpillar and sunrise…

 

Hawk moth Caterpillar…….possibly the lime hawk moth ?

just to prove I do get up early sometimes…usually just before sneaking back to bed though !

Hummingbird Hawk moth visiting our gypsy pelargonium …..

2014-08-06 Who’s eating whom ?

 

This amazingly powerful insect…probably a “wasp” pulls a full sized grasshopper into its nest for its babies to eat….yum yum !

A small…but powerful “wasp” pulls a full sized grasshopper, which is probably just stunned into a flower pot……located a good 45cm up the wall…….

2014-08-01 Putting the roof on the terrace