Mid Summer drought

Months are passing by but there is little rest here in Aulon. There is good and bad news in this post so lets start with the worst. In my last post I had mentioned the fact that I was babysitting 10 hens which increades my group to 30 birds. Unfortunately, one evening, I totally forgot to close the doors of the chicken run and the chicken coop. The worst happened.... 10 of the hens were killed by the fox. It was for me a traumatic experience walking towards the chicken coop the next morning realizing what had happened and that this was ALL MY FAULT. And since then , the fox kept on coming, day and night, and nothing seemed to stop him. From 30 poultry, I am down to 7 (including 1 rooster) and 12 chicks. The "elderly residency" I was so proud of has become a "kindergarten". I need to use a bit of humor to go through this hard period which, at this moment, seems to be calmed down. For weeks, no one was allowed outside of the chicken run which is well secured. The last week, on days that I am home, every one is allowed in the main garden and this feels okay.

The bees

At my last visit, my only hive was doing really well. So far, this year, I had harvested two different honey: a wonderful creamy white "rapeseed" honey and a gold liquid honey which is more from the Acacia trees and spring flowers. By the end of June, I couldn't find the queen anymore, nor eggs.... but lots of queen cells. That day, I got stung about 10 times or more. Rapidly, I knew something was wrong. So I waited to see if the new queen would survive the bride flight and return to the hive safely. Unfortunately, 4 weeks later, there was no activity showing the return of her majesty and the hive was being filled with nectar. Something had to be done and quick before this hive would turn into a nightmare. That same evening, while talking to a colleague, I found a bee keeper who raises queens. This was the perfect coincidence! Thank you LIFE :)

Two days later, on a Friday evening, I picked-up a queen cell that I put in the hive immediately when I got home. The queen was born 2 days later on the Sunday and she survived the bride flight. At this moment, everything is back to normal but the season is well advanced and soon the bees will be getting ready for winter again. The wheel keeps on turning even though the life of the hive stopped for about 6-8 weeks.

Visitors from Québec and from The Netherlands

This is Chantal, a girl that I have known for up to 50 years with all the ups and down life brings. Chantal arrived end of June with her daughter Clara and husband Tristan, two beautiful persons which I had not really met earlier. It was a special moment to welcome them in our home but it ended up being a short visit because the next day I was flying to back to Montréal. All my fault again ;) Thank you very much for your visit !!

In July, Ton and Jacqueline from the Netherlands stopped for one night. Funny enough, we seem to meet at La Peyrère every second year ;) In October, we should be welcoming Jeroen (from the Netherlands), my aunt Maryse who came a couple of years ago (from Québec) and Malcom (from Edmonton, Canada), an old friend of Mike's. So lots to look forward too.

The garden

End of July, just after Ton and Jacqueline had left us, I made my yearly syrup using the elderberry fruit. This is real patience work from harvest to selecting the nicest little berries, cooking the mix with spices, straining the pits out and finally adding raw honey. The dark purple syrup filled with anti-oxidants and natural enzymes from the raw honey helps us boost our immunity from September to December.

In August, we entered a real dry period, never seen this in the 8 years we have been here. This means more watering needs in the garden and green houses which takes time and energy at the end of long days at work. Because of this I did loose some crops like the leeks which are more sensitive to drought when young. The potato yield has been really disappointing but on the positive side, the garlic heads have been quite nice and will cover our needs for the coming year. In August the tomatoes are maturing beside the peppers, eggplants and zucchinis which all have to be eaten up or processed for later consumption. Lots of extra work!

On August 1st, after work, I went to a Roller-Disco night (roller skating)..... and I broke my left wrist..... The first days were hell and now I am "adapting", doing everything with my right hand/arm. Luckily I am a strong girl and can lift pots and pans using only my right arm. And Mike is around when needed as well.

I have a real hard cast which stabilizes the fracture for proper healing but with 40 degrees outside.... it is quite hot! I will probably keep the cast for 4-6 weeks followed by a rehab period.

Nevertheless, I made some tomato sauce and about 4 kg of "ratatouille". All of this have been frozen now until I can make proper preserves at a later time.

Demolition and ground work

This old shack does not exist anymore thanks to the help of Benoît, Jérôme, Mike and our bobcat. It took 2 full days and all material had been taken away.

And tonight, the bigger CAT arrived on site with all his heavy attachments, breaking ground for our house build, next week.

Another exiting phase is starting and we will keep you posted on the following blog.