It's a Cat's Life by guest writer Claude Chubb

This is Claude the handsome white cat (with ginger touches) writing today.  I thought you might like to see some of how we spend our days in St André. There's always something going on with people coming and going, leaves blowing along the terrace, birds eating on the bird table and playing with the rabbits is good fun too.

 

Sandra left the landing window open one morning so for the first time ever I was really brave and ventured out onto the roof.  How was I supposed to know that when I put all four paws on the glass that the window would close and leave me stranded out there?

 

 

It wasn't so bad until there was a shower.  I understand that she didn't know it was going to rain but couldn't stop this thought coming into my head ...

 

 

Luckily, when the window was finally opened she towelled me down and I was able to cuddle up with Gracie and get over the trauma.

 

 

Every morning and evening either two or all three of us walk up with Sandra to the field where she feeds and takes care of those other animals - goats, ducks and hens I think they are. 

 

 

 

We risk our lives on the lane with the traffic which comes along but we feel you need our support.

 

 

Purrdy arrived as a kitten a year before Gracie and I came - also as kittens. 

 

 

She is very bossy and likes to think that she can control us.   She usually sits in a higher position in the room and keeps an eye on what we are doing. 

 

 

In spite of this, we do love her now and sometimes all sit together on the settee.

 

 

She can be a real softie when she thinks we're not looking and particularly likes to sleep in Sandra's chair when she's out.

 

 

When the snow came last winter we messed about with the drainage pipe which the rabbits  play with in their area.  We took it in turns to go into the pipe and come out at the other end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was Purrdy's turn.

 

 

In the summertime it was really hot and it was good to chill out on the table under the pergola

 

 

and although Sandra had put fresh water in a bowl for us in the kitchen usually other water sources are much more interesting - this was particularly thirst-quenching stuff.

 

 

In the winter water accumulates everywhere and this was a bit of snow melt water which I just had to sample.

There are really nice neighbours who live on the corner of the lane and when Sandra goes in for a chat and a drink we wait outside on the terrace. 

 

 

We can't wait forever though, we have things to do and places to go especially when Purrdy's flaked out on the top of the settees and can't keep an eye on us.

 

 

Three things I like:

1.   The sound of the cat food tin being opened and I think I can hear it from the other end of the garden and run in really fast!
2.   Climbing up to the top of the pergola and lying in amongst the wisteria, vine and clematis in the hope of catching a bird.
3.   Waiting and watching with Gracie and Purrdie for a mouse that we've lost to come out from under the fridge.

Lest We Forget

 

 

And all across the Flanders fields they lay
The bodies of the fallen in the war
For us they made the ultimate sacrifice
And we will remember them forever more.

Red poppies decorate November clothes
And where there once was only dirt and mud
The summer lands are covered in the flowers
The poppies which remind us of spilt blood.

Their lives were lost to give us lives to live
Hard to imagine the horrors that they shared
Our thanks to those we lost, to all of them,
Thanks too to those who fought and who were spared.

©Sandra E Chubb

November 2013

Disappearing trees and preserving again

The weather has certainly been volatile this week with lots of wind and rain mixed in with very sunny days with deep blue skies. 

 

In spite of the weather though, on Monday, tree surgeons came to remove two very large eucalyptus trees from her garden.  I love the shape of the trees but am pleased that I will no longer have the leaves in my swimming pool, the bark all over the garden and the sunshine shaded my property.  The two men worked hard and only just finished as the light disappeared.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before and after

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the removal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's certainly a different skyline now.  Some of the branches came down into my rabbit area, but the really pleasant chaps cutting the trees down had moved everything not screwed down out of the way and there was no damage at all.

 
I moved the five week old chicks out of the run before the men started work.  They are now in their own area on the field and are still refusing to go into their house at bedtime.  Currently I am having to catch all nine each evening and put them all in individually.  I hope they get the hang of it very soon!

The apples my neighbours left me have mostly been turned into puree, some with added ginger.  All bottled and now labelled ready for the shelf. 

The leaves are beginning to acknowledge that it's November now and the acer in the main flower bed in my garden is looking lovely.

 

 

 

 

 




I have eaten virtually all of the grapes which had ripened along the south facing house walls.  The ones which haven't been suitable for me have gone down well with the hens.  There were so many bunches, I must find another way of using them for next year's harvest - perhaps grape jam or jelly. 

I was looking for a photo of Oli with a broken thumb when he was small and found it.  The same thumb that he's broken again now.  Here he is with Libby and Matthew - I love looking at old photos of the children.  It's in black and white because I was doing a photography course at the time and had black and white film in my camera.

To finish there's the latest photo of Mia with her Mummy, Emma - two lovely girls!

Three things I like:

1.   Nine healthy chicks living on the field without being mollycoddled in the garden.
2.   Seeing all the jars of homemade produce building up on the shelves.
3.   Being improved enough to go back to bowls and enjoy a match with friends.

Horrid happenings, fungi and quinces

Three women visiting a friend’s holiday home in the hamlet had a very bad experience  on Tuesday.   They were involved in car accident at a junction nearby and although unbelievably no-one in any of the vehicles was hurt, it left them with no car to travel back to the port that evening.  Their front nearside wheel actually came off their car and it was distressing to see how they were clearly all in shock afterwards.  It just reminded me of how we never know what is going to happen day by day and we must, must, must live and enjoy every day.

The other main event of the week here was the rave which started late on Saturday afternoon and belted out earth-shaking base sounds for twenty-four hours before the police intervened.  It was located within a mile of my house and was absolutely intrusive and impossible to get away from.  Thank goodness for effective earplugs for the night. 

I went foraging in the lane this afternoon and picked two similar fungi.  I took them to a neighbour to confirm my opinion that they were good to eat.  He did confirm it.  About ten minutes later he appeared at my door saying that his wife didn’t think I should eat them, she’d obviously been worrying!

 I decided I would try one of them and keep the other for identification in the event of my death.  I cooked it in garlic butter.  However, as it cooked a strange grey liquid oozed out of it and joined the melted butter in the pan.  I decided that caution was the better part of valour and binned the lot.  Shame.

The three cats usually accompany me when I go up to the field to let the animals out in the morning and put them to bed in the evening.  This afternoon Claude came with me while I foraged in order to roll around on the verge.

When my holidaying neighbours went back to St Malo on Tuesday, as they didn’t anymore have a car they left with me some apples and quinces in a large carrier bag.   There is a quince tree in their garden.

 
 

I had never cooked quinces before and looked up several suggestions on the internet.  I finally decided to make a compote.  I cored but didn't peel the fruits and cooked them down with one apple, a little water, a capful of vanilla extract and sugar.  When they were disintegrating, I blitzed and sieved the contents of the saucepan and the resulting mixture filled up five jars.  The compote tastes quite different from apples or pears, it has a distinctive and interesting flavour. 

 

In my driveway there are several plants still in bloom and this honeysuckle had so many berries that I felt unable to prune it back when I gardened on Monday and I left the fruits for the birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My quiz team entered a different quiz yesterday at Café du Centre in St Mayeux.  It was a different format from our normal quiz.   Instead of the €5 euros we pay at St Gilles Vieux Marché which includes a one plate meal, we paid €6 for the evening and one course.  The large portion of fried chicken and chips went down well and our team came second so it was a good evening.   We are hopeless at sport questions and there were only five as opposed to the usual eight at St Gilles Vieux Marché so it looked more promising than our usual quiz.

 

Three things I like:

 

1.   Having a call from an estate agent to say that there had been two offers on the house I am selling in Cornwall.

2.   Receiving several invitations for Christmas from friends here in Brittany as none of the children are coming over this year.

3.   Finding that spinach seeds I sowed only eight weeks ago had produced enough leaves to have  with my pork chop, onions and mushrooms for supper tonight.