Friday 2 April 2010 - Going for walks around the area

My ankle has been feeling much better this week and on Wednesday, which had been forecast as rainy, but turned out to be a blue skyed sunny and warm day I went on my first walk for ages with B.  We drove to the beginning of an old railway track and I managed to do forty minutes of walking with a few stops for photographs.  This was somewhere I hadn't been before and I was amazed at the scenery.  This was the first pussy willow that I have seen this year - golden and fluffy.

The first house on this walk is a mill - a truly lovely old stone building, and as you walk past the mill there is a spectacular waterfall.

The celandines were everywhere - bright yellow patches of petalled sunshine.

It was so good to be out in the sunshine after all the rain and snow we have had this year.  I was beginning to think I'd never feel the sun on my back again - the winter has been so long.

The last rough surface before the calm pool above - the noise of the water was terrific.  Then the pool with hardly a ripple on it's surface.

 

On Thursday, in the morning I had to drive to collect some blue and yellow irises for my pond.  On the way I passed this lake, which was created by a large dam and you can see the previous road bridge in the lake. 

 

Coming back I had to stop and take a photograph of the forsythia in the hedges. 

 

In the afternoon B and I walked at the other end of my village - again a path I'd never taken before and another mill, with a smaller waterfall.

The scenery is almost prehistoric once you get past the mill.  Lichen almost drips off the trees and every side of the trees seems to be covered, not just the north side as is usual in Europe.  Little ferns have started growing in amongst the lichen too. 

The next photograph shows a tree whose seed must have found some earth in the rock it is growing out of now.  Some of the roots are growing round the rock and the whole thing is covered in lichen.

Three Beautiful Things:

1.   Finding I had walked for fifty minutes, with a few stops, my longest walk so far. 

2.   Feeling the sun on my skin for the whole walk.

3.   Enjoying a lovely massage from my physio this evening.

Saturday, 27 March 2010 - Visit to the North of 22 and a Lovely Supper

Yesterday, I went with L, a friend from England staying with me for a few days, to the north of Départment 22, which is the Départment where I live. We went to see a French friend who lives in Tregastel.  I hadn't seen her for about eleven years, so there was lots of catching up to do.  She kindly drove us around the area so we could see the wonderful seascapes.  The weather was dull, but I had never visited this area before and had to take some photographs of the coastline there.  This is a castle on an island in the sea at Ploumanac'h.

The rock formations on this coast are incredible and in spite of the weather, I thought it was worth trying to record them.

The house where we had lunch had a pretty garden and the plum blossom was just coming out looking fresh and delicate.  Weeping willows are the first trees to leaf up over here and everywhere we looked on the journey there were these lovely touches of bright but pale leaves covering weeping branches. 

The mimosa trees were also in blossom and I have never seen so many huge trees in one place.  Being nearer to the sea means a milder climate with less if any frost and the trees were really far ahead.  There was a lot of wind, so difficult to focus, but I had to try.

We spent part of the afternoon watching our friend's boy playing football and alongside the ground were flags flying which represented, from right to left, my Départment - Cotes d'Armor, the Region - Brittany, the Country - France, and the European Union.

We had a good, chatty afternoon and then had a supper of moules and frites (mussels and chips) - absolutely delicious! and a perfect end to a lovely day.

Three Beautiful Things:

1.     Mussels and chips

2.     Renewing old friendships

3.     Entering European Summer Time again

Saturday, 20 March 2010 - Moaning about horrid wet and windy days etc.

It's so frustrating to have this horrid wet and windy weather now after a beautifully sunny start to the week, just like having a main course and not being allowed a pudding.  I am all fired up now to garden and still need digging to be done before many things can be planted. 

I saw the consultant yesterday, who did my gall bladder removal in November.  I am extremely fat and have recently spent three weeks in a clinic to get me going on an exercise and sensible diet routine, which is going well.  However, it seems that I may not be allowed to lose weight following this new regime as I have been diagnosed with a marked fatty liver which could lead to cirrhosis (I had wrongly thought this was primarily a problem for alcoholics) if not dealt with relatively quickly.  The consultant said he would book me in for a gastric bypass operation for October as he doesn't believe I will be able to lose the huge amount of weight necessary to reverse this situation without surgical help.  To say I am stunned would be an understatement.  I had been offered a GBP before, just for weight loss, not for anything more sinister associated with my weight, and refused as I couldn't contemplate life with a few spoonsful of food being my future meals.  Not sure quite which way to go at the moment.

To cheer myself up, I've changed my header photo to one of plants in my garden last summer, and I can't wait to see them all again, along with new neighbours.  Here's a beautiful primrose in the lane.

Three Beautiful Things:

1.   My goose Grace, bathing with her new partner, Gerry.
2.   This morning, picking in my polytunnel fresh-as-a-daisy salad leaves, beetroot, shallots and herbs to accompany my own free range hens' eggs omelette for lunch.
3.   Knowing that a very good friend is arriving to stay with me this week from England.

Thursday, 18 March 2010 - Canes, Geese, Cockerels and a little Black Hen

Just thought I'd post a photo of the raspberry canes being planted through the weed suppressing membrane. 

I've sown loads of vegetable seeds this week in the outside beds and the polytunnel and spent a lot of time clearing up the whole area. B helped me with collecting the new goose yesterday, and has had a bonfire this morning after gathering up various rubbish on the land.

No-one was sure what gender the new goose is, so I have named it Gerry, which will suit male or female.  On meeting each other, there was a bit of initial hissing and running but only for a few minutes and this morning they were sharing a bath together, so things must be going well!

Here are four of my cockerels.  Over the years I seem to have acquired a motley selection of hens and cockerels.  Some of the cockerels are fighting now and so B killed two yesterday for eating.  These four boys are reprieved so far, as they are so lovely to look at and aren't so aggressive with each other.

We also collected a dear little black hen, now called Bridget, from the people who sold us Gerry, and she is very sweet.  I have no idea what breed she is, but she's pretty and really friendly. 

The last photo for this post is of lots of the birds enjoying a dust bath in a section of their run nearest to the barn.

I ordered six Verwork chicks yesterday from someone who was really selling eggs to incubate, but has agreed to bring six on for me to collect on 19 April.  They are a breed I have never come across before and are supposed to be good hens for eggs and the table.  They will only be very young chicks when they come to me, so will have to go in a small run in the barn until they get large enough to cope with the outside world - I can't wait to have them!

Well, the weather is about to change.  The sun has gone and the wind is getting up now - the forecast is rain for the next few days, so I'm glad I got on with so much outside this week in the lovely sunshine we've had.