Bats, hares and new black chick

It has been a week for wildlife in St André.  I have been thinking that they could have filmed Springwatch here.

Over the last seven or eight days I have had three bats in the downstairs living area and one in my bedroom.  I don't have any doors or windows without flyscreens and the only opening flyscreen is on the door, so how a bat got into my bedroom I have no idea.  It was 5.15am when I woke to find it flying around and it took me half an hour to get it out of my bedroom and a further half hour to get it out of the landing window after it had perched on the top of the towel I was holding in front of my face.  This morning I moved the shoe box by the outside door and there was a bat asleep on the floor - here are two photos of it before I set it free.

The next photo I took was of my new little black chick - the only survivor from nine eggs which a broody Lavender Pekin was sitting on.  The egg hatched on Tuesday evening and this photo shows the chick today at six days old.  Today was the first time her foster Mum took her down the ramp from the house to the run and the grass.  She's so lively and running around all over the place.  I wonder what sort of hen she'll turn out to be.

When I went up to the field this afternoon to sow some more lettuce seeds in the polytunnel and beetroot seeds in the veggie garden I saw these.

At first I thought they were rabbits and then realised because they are so angular rather than softly curved and had such long ears that they must be hares.

I can't believe I was able to take these photographs as hares are usually really nervous and run off at the slightest movement.

I went to Writers' Group before I went up on the field to garden, and as we turned off the N164 to my friend's house, there was a garden on the opposite side of the dual carriageway with the most wonderful wildflower front garden.  As we came back home I took my life in my hands and crossed both lanes of the road and took these photos.

The bed along the terrace against my house has a wonderful clematis against it with nasturtians at it's feet.

Unbelievably, I was just going to publish this post when I saw something peeping round the edge of my fireplace.  It was another bat, but a really, really tiny one, with tiny weeny teeth compared to this morning's example.

I took it down to show some guests staying with me and took a photo.

I've put the two bats together in the little house and run which the chicks were in to keep them warm and hopefully they'll fly off when they want to.  I'm off to put the hens and ducks away now and then to bed - hopefully no more bats today.

Three things I like:

1.   All the wildlife I get here, but I'd prefer not to have bats in the house please.

2.   Sowing more seeds for veggies which I shall be eating in a few weeks or months.

3.   It hasn't rained all day in St André, and I haven't been able to say that for a long time.

Book Club, The Cornwall Hotel and Scans

June's Book Club was last week before I went back to Cornwall for five nights.  Our book for the month was The Rapture by Liz Jensen.  It was a weird story.  It started strangely and then improved for a while before deteriorating again coming towards the end.  I wouldn't recommend it.   July's book was much better and I finished that during my stay at my son's house in England.  I usually watch television in bed, but as there wasn't a TV in my room I read the whole book and really enjoyed it.  It was about a young Sri Lankan woman leaving her home and coming to live in England.  The characters were well written and I would definitely recommend this one.

On Sunday, four of us took up the £15.95 offer at The Cornwall Hotel in St Austell, where you can use the Spa facility - infinity pool, sauna, steam room and jacuzzi and have a two course lunch.  If you want to add a third course it's an extra £4.   While the sun shone we took advantage of it and sat outside.

It was excellent.  The food was good as was the service and we all enjoyed the pool, except for my oldest son who couldn't swim as he had cut his thumb badly the previous day and had a large dressing on it.

There was a large sculpture in the grounds which I thought was good fun.

After Tuesday’s "year post op" (really 50 weeks post op) appointment with my gastric bypass surgeon, which went well,  yesterday afternoon saw me having a kidney scan and a bone density scan because of the two small tumours on my left parathyroid glands. I sat in the waiting room reading my current book "The Piano Tuner" by Daniel Mason which is about a London tuner who goes out to Burma to tune a piano belonging to a Surgeon General in the British Army.

The results were given to me immediately, as is usually the case here inBrittany, and I came home with the doctor’s reports and the scan sheets. My kidneys are fine and no sign of stones which is a possible condition leading on from tumours on the parathyroid glands because of their effect on calcium in the body. The bone density scan on my lower spine was fine as was the one for the right hip and thigh. However, the left hip and thigh are on the chart line which divides “normal” from osteopenia. Osteopenia is the area on the chart dividing normal from osteoporosis. That does not mean that I will get osteoporosis as it is possible to have osteopenia without it progressing to osteoporosis, but I will be monitored so they know what is happening. 

I took advantage of being in Guingamp to go shopping in Le Clerc and Lidl. I bought ten tiny artichokes which were banded in bunches of five and described on the label as a "bouqet of artichokes", rather poetic I thought, and I cooked and enjoyed them as soon as I got home. I also bought a couple of notebooks which are feint squared on the pages. I looked at similar things in England last week, but they were all ruled with very dark print and it seemed intrusive.

When I went up to the field to put the hens, ducks and goats to bed, there was a little black chick under my broody Lavender Pekin hen.  She had nine eggs under her.  On Sunday, while I was in England she hatched a blue Cream Legbar egg but the chick died.  This is the first survivor and she/he was still fine this morning so that's good news.  I think it unlikely now that the other seven eggs are viable, but you never know.

Three things I like:

1.   My new tiny weeny black chick.
2.   Gathering an armful of broad beans this morning.
3.   Buying more paperbacks in the charity shop back in Cornwall.

Hospital appointment, new shed and garden flowers

Yesterday saw another hospital appointment at Yves le Foll in St Brieuc, this time with the endocrinologist. I am not overfond of this person, who can be very patronising and evasive. This time though she seemed to have got the gist of emails I sent to her back in March and realised I wouldn't be talked down to or have my questions ignored. She is the only medical person I have had any problems with here and I am not alone in finding her difficult, my GP has also had hassle in conversations with her.

In February, after a scintigraphie - where they inject radio active dye and then scan - I was told I had two small tumours on the left parathyroid glands and possibly one on the right. Yesterday I was given prints of the scans and my endocrinologist explained that as they were still very small and because I'd already had one removed last June, which made removing others difficult, that she felt it was not advisable at the moment. She couldn't seem to explain why it was more difficult to remove further tumours.

She said that there were three criteria which would lead to her recommending removal of these new tumours.

First, a very high calcium reading - before my first op the calcium levels were more than double the high of the normal range - now my levels are only just above half of the low of the normal range. It is not known why it's so low as I now drink lots of milk, eat cheese, butter and cream. I also take calcium daily - two doses of 500mg - and monthly Vitamin D doses to help me absorb the calcium.

Second, a problem with osteoporosis. I am booked in for a bone density scan on tomorrow week.

Third, kidney problems. I am booked in for a kidney scan at the same time as the bone density scan.

I will be monitored six monthly and hopefully that should catch any bad news early. So a fairly successful appointment.

Some of the chickens have a newly built shed and run

and another lot have the newly painted straw shed and run. The straw has now been moved to the old caravan.  I have five 4 week old chicks in the garage and nine eggs under a broody Lavender Pekin due to hatch on Sunday/Monday - it's all very exciting!

My four Muscovies sometime share this run with the hens when I open the gate between the duck pond field and the new hen run.  Here they are all sitting on the bank by their pond.

We have a new addition to the village in the lane

and here are my two goats enjoying the one bit of sunshine this week in their usual spot on the old pig ark.

I haven't got a close up lens, but here is a bee on my honeysuckle.

The garden has been looking beautiful but I'm glad I took the photos when I did as they are now very soggy blossoms with all the heavy rain we've had.

Three things I like:

1.   Knowing that, with lots of luck, on Sunday/Monday my new chicks should hatch.

2.   My lunchtime salad of a leftover piece of yesterday's supper entrecote steak cut in thin strips with new potatoes in mayonnaise and homegrown salad. 

3.   Going to bed in line-dried, fresh air clean bed linen.

Busy Sunday in St André

This morning saw the lane covered in painted numbers and a pink arrow pointing towards the calvaire and the little track beyond.  A notice attached to a post hadappeared showing that permission has been given from the Mairie for an organized event.

The event was a running race and a walk of either 26km or 12 km happening with walkers arriving, obviously, later.  They were starting and finishing at the swimming pool in St Nicolas du PéIem.  I arrived back from shopping for tomato purée to be stopped at the calvaire because of runners coming through and my neighbours as spectators.  I parked the car and joined them to take a few photos and encourage the participants.  

I wonder how many entrants will pass through our little hamlet today.  One of the runners handed me a screw of silver foil from food he had eaten explaining that he didn't want to litter the countryside.

Last weekend we had an endurance horse race coming through, although I seemed to miss it entirely and didn’t see a single horse and rider.  Usually I am aware of conversations in the road and the clip-clopping sounds filter through.

Next Saturday evening there is the annual Fest Noz (night festival) in Lanrivain the next village, but I have been invited to a classical concert the same evening so am torn at the moment.  I have never been to a Fest Noz, although they are rife in all the towns and villages in Brittany throughout the summer months and very well supported. The sense of community here is strong and people really enjoy getting together for social gatherings.  There will be the usual sort of stalls you find at an English fête but there will also be




Breton music, on bagpipes among other things, and a lot of Breton dancing.    This photo was taken from the internet.  A large bonfire will be lit, as is the tradition in Lanrivain and, of course, drink and food, probably crêpes and galettes.

It’s Fathers’ Day in the UK today and the presenter on BBC1’s Breakfast show has not stopped going on about his son not contacting him yet (he has his mobile under the table he sits at).  He started complaining at 6.45am and I don’t know of any lads who are likely to be up at that time thinking of texting their Dad.  If my Dad was still alive - he died in 1981 - I'd love to spend the day with him, he was a lovely man and I think of him often.

I've just been up to the field to collect eggs

and on my way back the lane had a stream of bikes coming through.  By the time I'd put down the eggs and the dandelion leaves I had picked for the rabbits, I just caught the last two.

I'd been watching the tennis when David Nalbandian was disqualified from the Championships final at Queen's after injuring a line judge by kicking an advertising board into his shin.  It was an accident resulting from bad temper, he hadn't meant to hurt the official.  However, bad behaviour on court at this level of tennis is unacceptable and although it was a shame that the full match wasn't played, it was correct that the final was won by default by Marin Cilic.  Let's hope the line judge recovers quickly from his leg injury.

Three things I like:

1.   Eating my polytunnel salad leaves for lunch with trout fillets.

2.   Having so much going on in the village today.

3.   Finally speaking to my friend, June, on Skype, for the first time since she's moved, although we were cut off mid conversation, I think because my laptop was too hot.