August 2020

Normally I don’t write a blog in August, but this has not been a normal year! August is a time when The French Farmhouse is busy, busy with people having a wonderful holiday and Rob and I disappear to catch up with all the people and places that we love to see. This year things have been different. We have worked with our clients, listened to government advice in the UK and France and have rolled with the punches. Everyone has been wonderful and we have been able to make sure that all of our booked clients have a new plan for their holiday. Travel has not been easy this year, there have been little windows of opportunity and these have happily been filled. Rob and I have therefore been at The Farmhouse a lot more this summer and so I felt able to continue The Blog into August.

We have done a lot of fruit picking and freezing this summer. Everything seems to have been earlier this year and certainly we have had a lot of fruit on the trees. The damsons have been fabulous and we hope to make jams, chutney and wine in the winter months when all is quiet and we have got nothing to do!! This year we have had so many damsons that we are preparing to make “eau de vie” . This new venture seems to be all about putting as many damsons as possible into a barrel and letting it work its magic. At the appointed time the whole lot is taken to the local distillery and made into eau de vie. This harsh potent liquor then has to sit for a year or two to mellow. I’ll let you know how it goes!

The magical mirabelles have once again produced a marvellous crop. I have had serious concerns about this tree for a few years now. One year the crop was so heavy that the branch broke away. The bark on the trunk is splitting but still it produces fruit. We need to do a bit of forward planning and planting to make sure that there are always mirabelles at The Farmhouse. Picking the mirabelles, in fact all tree fruit, is time consuming. This year our acme collecting system….a blue bâche ( tarpaulin) was placed around the tree and then the tree was shaken…simples and effective!

Mirabelle picking.

Eau de vie in the making.

Damsons, all collecting vessels gratefully used!

July 2020

During our “confinement “ ( lockdown) in France we were very busy continuing to create our potager amongst other jobs. The potager took shape and all the seedlings we had sown began to grow. They were then moved into the beds, which were safely protected by a fence…. no deer here. We have had a huge quantity of tomato plants, all grown from seed and the problem was where to put them all. As it was the first time I had grown tomatoes I was able to do a bit of experimenting to try and find the best places for them to thrive. The main plot was a raised bed behind the barns, a sunny spot so that the midday sun could kiss their beautiful skins.

The Sun did turn out to be a bit of an issue for this novice gardener! Reclaiming land in the orchard I chose a spot for the vegetables that was reasonably flat and in those early spring days the sun shone on the plants and all was good. But as the canopy of the trees thickened and summer wore on, direct sunlight in this specially selected spot became a little on the short side. Our farmer commented that it was in good soil but there was not enough sunlight and this I think turned out to be true for some of my veg. I seemed to have little success with courgettes and pumpkins and I can only put it down to a lack of direct sun. However the bonus of the dappled rays seemed to have worked well for lettuces who where shaded from the heat of the midday sun and consequently did quite well until a really hot spell caused them to bolt. They were then dispatched off to a friend who has chickens and apparently chickens love lettuce. The rest of my veg are mainly for winter so I am hopeful that they will have all the light they need as they come into their cropping season.

The potager will probably grow a little next year, so to speak, in order that we can have a couple of beds in full, full sunlight. I will try the courgettes and pumpkins once more because everyone can grow courgettes …can’t they? The tomatoes have been very happy and have fruited well. We have considered the cost of our set up for this potager and the related benefits in food grown, I don’t think it has a strong business case! However the herbs have survived and we have experienced the joy of picking and cooking from our own garden and I think that that…. is priceless!

Another consideration on the vegetable front are the many opportunities to buy fresh food locally. Our Saturday market in Montaigu is bursting with freshness and the displays of locally produced food is mouth watering. This year one of our local farms ( walkable distance) opened their doors twice a week to sell fresh vegetables. It’s become a weekly event to pop around on a Wednesday teatime and stock up on the vegetables that we don’t have in our veg patch. This lady farmer is on the bio route to becoming an organic farmer. Apparently it takes three years to gain bio classification, so although her food is grown without chemicals she can’t as yet call herself bio.

Our region is farming land and fields of wheat, corn and sunflowers are common sights. This year we have seen a lot more sorghum in the fields. Sorghum belongs to the millet family and although it can be consumed by humans, in France it is mainly grown for animal feed. This is however a crop that can respond to climate change, it needs less water than corn and can withstand drought. It is also a good rotational crop and can replenish soil after the more traditional planting. So after months of wondering what was growing in a neighbouring field, I now have an answer. This crop will add a red rusty hue to the view and give a new dimension to our rich, rolling landscape.

Lettuces on the potager.

We made this raised bed for the tomatoes during lockdown and had to find whatever wood we could from the barns. A little rustic but it has done the job. The self watering system was a later addition and has worked really well.

Another good tomato growing spot.

Homegrown tomato harvest.

JUNE 2020

June in France is so beautiful, the grass is green and so many plants are in full flower. We do seem to have quite a lot of purple flowers at this time. Of course there is the lavender which I love and so do the butterflies. Then we have the bears breeches, Acanthus Spinosus, the amazing architectural stature of this plant is worth mentioning as it stands so proud throughout June, before needing a little support towards the end of the summer. The heat of the summer days are punctuated by the popping of the seed cases. As the plants fall away we collect and dry them. They turn up again in our Christmas floral decorations when they are covered with gold spray paint and stand tall once more heralding the festivities.

Here is a video of the lavender near to the pool.

Bears Breeches

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The field viewed from the bolet was planted with wheat this year and we have watched as it has turned from green to gold and then at last the farmer came to harvest. Our meadow was also cut and baled, the meadow grass goes to feed the cows at a local farm. I love to see the bales littering the field, Emmie barked at them when they first appeared, but they soon became part of the furniture on her walks around the fields.

The meadow.

This is the view from the bolet ( balcony), our local farmer arrives to cut his wheat field. Do click on the video, you can hear the harvester from the outset!

All finished! The golden light of evening casting long shadows.

All the bales in the bolet view field, another video!

May 2020

Here are a few pictures of life at The Farmhouse. Things have changed all around us but the grass still grows, the flowers bloom and the sun comes up in the morning.

The pool opens for summer.

A herb bath. Parsley, sage…and chives.

Geraniums are always a winner, they cope well with the hot dry conditions.

Lovely Lavender, it has been a favourite spot for the butterflies.

It has been a good year for cherries. Usually we are racing the birds to get a taste, but they are so abundant this year. These are sour cherries, ones best cooked. The eating cherries are in the orchard and have given us a challenge when picking them, they are so high up we obviously need a cherry picker!

Pyramid orchids in the meadow.

The sun coming up over the field, the view from the bolet.

April 2020

This week I was reminded of the story of Sleeping Beauty, of the castle and inhabitants that slept for a hundred years. We have not yet been in “ confinement” ( lockdown) for one hundred days but I can see the vines beginning to creep up the walls! ….Our vines are the eating grape variety that I proudly bought in the autumn and have cherished and cosseted through the winter. We have one white and one red and I look forward to the trail of green leaves weaving a rope of vine all along the wall of the herb garden. The second vine is on the south wall and will be meandering and loitering towards the pergola on the terrace. Talking of all things vine, the Virginia Creeper on the barn is now awake and its green leaves are racing towards the guttering!!

April has seen the potager fenced in, this is our precaution against the deer. We do have the odd rabbit but I think deer are the biggest threat to the life of the lettuce seedlings, basking in the newly made beds. I do hope the fence will work for slugs too...if only! We have more seedlings ready to go in and when the gate is on, we will have more confidence to get the plants in the ground.

There are deer around The Farmhouse, we mainly see them at a distance in the surrounding fields. They are often feeding on the lush grass and in groups. Of course they are named and there are no prizes for the number in each group….the three musketeers, the twins and baby deer! When I first saw baby deer early one morning, it crept with uncertainty into the Bolet field and cautiously zig zagged with no intent, it looked lost and bewildered. It  looked as if it was on its first trip out, a Bambi.  I think Rob expected to see it living in the barn when he got back from walking Emmie!

“ This month I moved my rhubarb”...a phrase you don't often say! However since it has been plonked into a new sunny spot, it is doing really well and the reality of rhubarb pie is getting closer. It seems that over the past year we have all become aware of new phrases and vocabulary that previously dwelt in dusty old dictionaries. I am thinking of proroguing (of parliament), lockdown, furlough and foraging, these are among some of the new words that have slipped into my lexicon. 

Foraging is a word that is very much in my mind at the moment as we use all our resources to last out the time before we have to enter the real world and do some shopping. This free harvest of nature surrounds us, if only I could be sure of what each wild plant was! Some plants are well known: the dandelion, nettle, sloes, blackberries and elderberries are, for me, on the safe and well trodden path. But I am investigating others, nervously, cautiously and with plenty of identification information. Having begun the foraging quest with confidence and fervour, I realise  the more I learn, the more I know of the dangers and risks! Knowledge is everything. I gather that the edible wild leaves, flowers and sometimes roots are often nutritionally dense, it's just knowing which ones. During our first year at The Farmhouse, I came across two ladies making their way up the drive, they asked permission to cross our land and to bring a group of people the following week on a foraging walk, which they did. It is a shame that I can’t join in on something similar now.

I realise that the Blog has been very garden based this month and that's because for most of the month we have been able to work outside. The last week has not been so sunny and our indoor jobs are mounting up, but the rainy days will drive us inside and the hot weather too. As the weather warms we can retreat behind the old stone walls and get some painting done, it will be cool and comfortable in the house.

Well April has been an unusual month, the whole month in “confinement”. For us in France May 11th is the next staging post in the battle against the virus. As I close this April blog, I wish you all health and happiness.

The Bolet Field in the early morning.

The view of The Farmhouse hidden in the trees. April 2020

A fair few days on my knees to achieve the weed free path….but for how long! The old barn is on the right, this will one day be “The Barn Bar”!

The new flower border, still a few floral gaps to fill when we can get to the plant nursery.

Our mock orange is now in full flower! Beautiful smelling plant number 1.

Beautiful smelling plant number 2 is the honeysuckle on the edge of the meadow.

Bark chippings have been added onto the herb garden. I hope it will help to prevent the ground drying out in the summer and also suppress the weeds. Spaces have been left for other woody herbs.

March 2020 - Family, Friendship and Food

As I write the blog this month, it is a strange and new world that I am observing. We are confined to our home here in France and I am sure that as well as health everyone has the same concerns about family, food, friendships and finances. We know that all of you reading this will have some or all of the same thoughts too. We wish everyone well as we move through this difficult time and we must reassure ourselves that it will come to an end and things will get better.

We have always said that The French Farmhouse was private but not isolated, however I can now tell you that it is isolated too!! We are getting used to “ Life in Lock down” at The Farmhouse and if we are looking for the positive, well then it has given us more opportunity to get things done. We are working our way through projects and adding a few that weren't on the original list. We have plenty of man..and woman power though the sourcing of some of our materials is getting a little tricky!

Every day seems like a Sunday, there is a new layer of quiet. One thing I noticed when we came to France was that on Sundays and Mondays, particularly in the winter, most shops were shut. This “closed time” which is also usually on a lunchtime between 12-2pm was something I had not seen or felt since the 1980”s. I think there is a more relaxed feeling to know that when you are stopping and having a day off, the locality has stopped too. 

These are reflections that one considers when you have lots of time. I have signed myself up to a “Mindfulness course” via online learning. I have heard a lot about Mindfulness and thought it was time I found out more.  I am keen to learn about all things “well-being” and my podcast app is littered with a range of casts from renowned and revered teachers of a healthy lifestyle. This is my interest and my mini expertise. Apparently we can all have a mini expertise, something we are interested in and have a little knowledge of...what’s yours?

I observe that nature does not seem to realise that we are in the middle of a pandemic, nothing has stopped her, the wisteria is breaking into leaf as are the hornbeams and the vines. The daffs are going over and the cowslips are once again holding centre stage on Tessa’s Cowslip Corner, they are about to be rivaled by the strong imposing irises. The herb garden is now partially planted up and the plants seem to be establishing themselves. One bed of the potager has been dug and planted with garlic and lettuce and the second bed is underway. The seedlings are standing to attention in the kitchen and wait for their chance to burst onto the scene.

In order to avoid going food shopping as often as I used to, I am being a bit more resourceful with our ingredients. A regular look at the larder and decisions are made as to what needs to be used next and then meals are planned. Years ago I bought a bread maker, in the time when bread makers, sandwich makers and slow cookers were on every gift list! The slow cooker I think has made a comeback and I use mine quite a lot whether it be to make soups, stews and more recently to cook chickpeas for hummus. Last week I re-discovered the bread maker and used it to make pizza dough, it was a success! The pizza was great and it used up all those bits of cheese and the end of a packet of grated mozzarella. Thrilled that the bread maker still worked after all these years, I became more adventurous and made a loaf, it was edible … but I can definitely buy better in the boulangerie!

At the back of the cupboard I discovered other ancient relics that have lingered longer that are probably useful. I have recently been listening to “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying” by Marie Kondo. This is a popular book, though my copy is an audible version which I find extremely useful as I can listen to it while doing other things. I am still part way through this manual of a tidy life, but have so far learnt that when decluttering we should look at an object and ask ourselves “Does this spark joy?” If it doesn't then it should go!

Saying goodbye to March, I look forward to the future when this crisis is all over: when we can once again walk freely and shop for food, breathing in the spirit, culture and ambiance of a place. I am left wondering how this event will alter our society? Hugging friends and the “bisous”, one, two, three kisses on the cheek, will this change?  Will we revert to the Victorian ways, the weak handshake in our carefully washed gloves? I wonder too if when the young children of today are older, will their children say to them “ Why do you always hum happy birthday, when you wash your hands”?

My first attempt at a loaf…bit of a knobbly top!

Tessa’s Cowslip corner. Yesterday we had snow!!! It didn’t stick and a very rare sight here. This morning however normality has been resumed and I had to photograph this brave iris that decided to open yesterday, despite the snow.

These “little pigs stayed at home”, but not our home I hasten to add!

A common dandelion. The early morning dew makes some of the seeds stick together, first thing this morning I had thought it was a totally different flower as many seeds had joined and it looked just like the ones at “4 o’clock” . Just before lunch I hurried to photograph it in the sunshine only to find it has dried and the fluffy dandelion ball had been reinstated!!

The beginnings of the herb garden.

February 2020 - The one about Potage, Potager and Paris.

As I begin to write thoughts and reviews of February, I realise that because of my writing sabbatical, news from February 2019 is only a blog away! It is easy to check out what was happening then and what was at the top of my thoughts. Now that February has come around again, I see the daffodils feature once more and I can compare how many flowering bulbs we have this year, compared to last. The sunny days still count and are counted and the pictures of the plum trees in full blossom once again lift spirits and feel worthy of a mention. The circle of life seems to come around quickly……especially when it’s only a blog away!

Another kind of reflection! The sun streaming in through the cuisine door.

We have had some remarkably sunny days, lovely and warm in the midday sun but it quickly chills as the sun goes down, but not too shabby for February. We have progressed with all the hard surfaces around the herb garden and hope to begin planting at the beginning of March. We are still getting a few light early morning frosts but that’s the price we pay for the amazing starlit nights when the whole of the universe seems to present itself right above our heads.

This will be the first year for me to try a vegetable plot, “a potager”, I always have to think twice with that word so that I don’t call it “a soup” (potage). The “potager” will be down in the orchard and the space has been marked out and the grass has been cut extremely short. We are off to hire a rotavator so we can prep the herb garden and the “soup”!

Seed trays have been started by this enthusiastic gardener and for other crops, I wait hopefully for the markets to fill with the little plants that are ready to grow on. I rely on this as then I know it is a produce that should work in our area. Pumpkins and squashes work well I think and melons too, though they seem complicated for me and we will perhaps wait until year 2 or 3 to be a little more adventurous. I am keen for tomatoes and raspberries…all things red. I am dipping my toe in the water of the veg plot world this year and who knows where it will take me.

Here in SW France (and everywhere), February finds us in the middle of the six nations championship and our weekends at the moment are punctuated by the game. It’s often a social occasion crowded around the television with friends and the rugby suppers that follow have so far been absolutely splendid. We felt very lucky to get tickets for the England v France match at the beginning of the month, though not so lucky with the result of the game! However, the atmosphere at The Stade de France was fantastic and there was a good friendly rivalry during the match. At the end of the game, handshakes and pats on the back in condolence and congratulation and then time for a consolation beer!

We had a lovely weekend in Paris which has whet our appetite to go again. We can get a train from Agen or Cahors, it’s a three and a half hour journey, which doesn’t seem too bad at all. However, I will make sure I buy tickets online for the louvre the next time we go, I just couldn’t stand in that queue.

The Eiffel Tower from the Trocadero.

Le stade de france.

“A host of golden daffodils”.

The pool in winter.

The three olive trees. These small trees were in front of the barn during the hot summer. They have spent the winter on the bolet so that they have been protected from frost. I quite like them here, but I think they will perhaps benefit from the sunshine in the garden when the risk of a frosty morning has gone.

January 2020

My years sabbatical on the blog front has now come to a self imposed end and I am hitting 2020 with a new purpose with regard to the FFQ Blog. When I first began the Blog way back in 2015, my posts were every week. Things were moving fast with the renovations at The Farmhouse and there was a lot to report, I wanted to remember the changes and the blog became the tool to record and share our project with our family and friends. The blog then moved to a monthly post as time became pressing and I probably weeded out the witterings of an enthusiastic renovator. The content has moved between…Tales of the Renovation, Life in France and there have always been ideas of Places to visit. The break in the Blog has been a chance to explore new ideas, a time to refresh and reset this monthly communication with our FFQ friends. This continues to be a record of life at The Farmhouse and as such I do want it to continue. Let’s see where we go next, I hope you will come along for the read!

As it is January I feel that I should be showing you bleak midwinter photos of SW France! The leafless trees framed against the big skies and the morning frosts covering our fields in the belief of snow. The fiery red dawns and sunsets are indeed beautiful and in our rural position we get opportunity to appreciate them all, especially when Emmie demands an early morning walk! However the warm fire place shots were for Christmas and now those same home fires are burning and keeping us warm as our temperatures sink. We do have beautiful crisp days when outdoor jobs can be done, the morning mist having cleared and the sun shines through allowing the chance to stop work and have a cup of tea on the terrace.  We seem to live in a place where winters are cold and summers are hot, it is nature re-dressing the balance. At the Farmhouse we are conscious that we also have to help nature, look after our environment and take serious steps to make a change. 

Now that we are in the middle of winter, it is warming to think of the summer and  cheery to look through the photos of last year. The pictures above and below were taken at the very beginning of July and they are part of our new collection of photos taken by Alexis Mestre.

Blue skies.

La Cuisine. During the summer this is often the breakfast kitchen as the door leads out onto the “bolet”, a first floor balcony with countryside views.

“The Bolet”. This is a beautiful place to sit and watch the sun come up in the morning, a good breakfast spot.

Dining on the terrace.

We have had a few bright days of late and it has given us opportunity to begin the herb garden. This is going to be on a triangle of land outside of the Roquecor bedroom door. Formally this had been an undefined space with old bushes and suckers spreading out uncontrolled. It has not been an easy job to get the plants out, those old roots run deep. We have been able to replant the bushes in the hedge on the playing field, it feels good to know they have a new home and at the moment they look to be surviving. I have great plans for this polygon of cultivated space and hope to take some inspiration from geometric french herb gardens which is all rather grand for this small equilateral triangle!

We lost one of our old apple trees last year and another is not looking as good as it could. In the light of this we decided to plant two new apple trees down in the orchard… a good place! After a little research I learned that one should not plant a single apple tree because of pollination, so two seemed a good start for a novice agriculturist. We were recommended to visit a Pepiniere ( plant nursery) in Cuzorn and on their advice of …one for eating and one for cooking…. we set off home with our trees, one of which was laden… yes laden with five apples, and lovely they were too. They are now tucked up in the orchard soil and I have high hopes for a few apple pies in the autumn.

Well first blog of 2020 done…let me know what you think … if you would like to, you can use the comments box below or email me at info@TheFrenchFarmhouse.co.uk I would love to hear from you.

An inspector calls!! The herb garden in progress. For those of you wondering Emmie is wearing a tracker, with 7 acres, it is really useful to be able to look on your phone to see where she is!

Truffles

It was with great anticipation that we set off for the truffle market that first weekend in February. For me truffles have the sense of the exotic; that special hard to find fungus that is usually discovered by a pig or well-trained dog. They are the ingredients used in Michelin starred restaurants or by TV chefs extolling the virtues of the flavour and smell when shaved upon freshly made pasta.

On this Sunday morning we set off wanting to find out what it was all about. Would I buy a truffle? We mused as to how much they would cost? This is a truffle area and maybe they would be good, very good value. How would we store it and cook it? Would it be appropriate to take one to our friend’s house at lunch time in lieu of a box of chocolates? Until this moment, this very special moment, truffles had not really been a part of my life…at all. Well to be truthful I had purchased a bottle of truffle oil at a market a long time ago but had been left slightly disappointed.

I once read “Ten Trees and a Truffle Dog” by Jamie Ivey. This whimsical portrayal of life in Provence and the joys of training a truffle dog have long fuelled a latent passion to a) have a dog and b) have truffles growing in an oak wood. Well the former came to pass in the shape of Emmie but a truffle dog she is not! YET!

We parked the car and climbed the steps to the top of the town, paper signs dotted around pointed us in the direction of the Truffle Market. I think we had judged the timing right, it started at 10 am and as we were arriving a few cars were pulling up and parking, they too had come to collect the delicacies from the Salles de Fetes.

On entering the hall, I could see other sellers. There was a local wine domaine and to the right a seller of meat products, pates and saucisson, no doubt they were flavoured with truffles. But it was the long trestle table that spanned the width of the hall that caught my eye, it was in a place of importance parallel to the stage. A small but accurate weighing scale sat in the centre of the table, behind which three ladies stood, waiting to sell the truffles.

We approached the table scanning up and down the flat wooden surface. Then it struck… the realisation that there was not a single truffle on the table. They must be in a secure place behind I decided, no doubt protected from coughs and sneezes. But no, the truth, the painful truth was that the truffles had all gone! In desperation I approached the seller, but it was clear, there were none left. To appease my down cast face, she handed me not one but two book marks upon which were printed truffle recipes. It was blatantly clear that this was the closest I was going to get to a truffle today!

You live and learn, we have recently found out that the truffles sell fast, very fast, and one has to be there at the start of the market. I’ll know for next time.

Leaving the Salles de Fetes and walking out into the cool air of a February morning I caught sight of the menu board of the local restaurant, every course was a truffle course….maybe this is where the truffles went!

At The Farmhouse

A few pictures of the outside of the house at the end of February. The garden is starting to wake up and we are dashing around trying to get jobs done before it bursts into life and things are not so easy to access. We have emptied the old laundry room of the plants that had been sheltering from the winter frosts. The last few weeks have been so lovely that we decided we would risk putting them outside.

The olive trees have come out of their winter home and have a new spot at the entrance to the old barn.

29.02.19 What a difference a day makes…24 little hours! The blossom really coming out compared to the picture yesterday (below).

28.02.19 Blossom starting to appear.

The daffodils planted in the autumn were the right way up! They are starting to open now though we do seem to have some without a flower. A bit of feed perhaps and hope for more flowers next year.

January 2019

You are never too old to learn a new skill and since we have been here at The Farmhouse, we have learnt so much …about so much! We have rummaged around and revived old skills and taken steps forward and learnt new ones. Our change in occupation has meant that the things we once did every day, are still useful, but we have added to that knowledge and honed in a different skill set. You can teach an old dog new tricks!

For Rob, January has been about wall building and it will probably be the same in February to a certain extent. We are aiming to create a walled courtyard on the “La Vue” side of the house. Where the barrels once stood, we now have a wall. It doesn’t keep Emmie enclosed, far from it, with a quick leap she is on the wall and prancing along it in “show girl” style. For me January has been about marketing, websites, photos and online travel agents (OTA’s ; there is a new acronym I never thought I’d know). I have probably had the warmer job this January and I am not going to complain.

We have been continuing with our projects and have now ordered a pergola for the south terrace. At over six metres long the big table will easily sit underneath. This will be directly accessed from the summer kitchen. This terrace is south facing, it can be hot, very hot because in summer it gets the full power of the sun. I think the pergola will be just perfect, enabling those long lunches in a shady spot. I am now looking for the plants that we can grow over it, thus creating that perfect French eating area on the outside terrace.

In putting shade in, in the form of the pergola, we have taken some shade away. We have a huge lime tree in the garden which has become more and more open and sprawly. It is a beautiful tree and it takes centre stage in the south garden. The concern has been the combination of the tree in full leaf and a windy day! The other problem has been the shade it casts on the swimming pool ( I know this is a first world problem!). In late summer as the sun begins to drop lower in the sky, the pool can lose its sunlight by early evening. After a hard day working this has often been the time when we get to enjoy the pool and then it’s in shade!

On Tuesday Matt, who is an arborist, came to give the lime tree a haircut. It was a big job and a really impressive platform lifter was involved. You can’t help but be in awe of these machines and the engineers that make it all possible. We are grateful too for other people’s skills, whether it be the arborist or the engineer, it all comes together to get the job done.

The wall at “La Vue” beginning to take shape.

An early morning walk with Emmie. The sun is just coming up and the big lime tree is silhouetted against the morning sky.

Lots of cake has been made and consumed this month!

Cooking chilli on the wood burning stove from scratch! An experiment that felt such an achievement. A winter theme seems to have been cooking “off piste”. Can’t wait to get the pizza oven.

Time for a hair cut.

Action Stations.

Lovely, we were really pleased with the result.

A tree on the edge of the copse, one just waiting for a tree swing?

December 2018

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year.

Emmie had her first birthday in December, she is becoming a little calmer…sometimes!!

November 2018

We have praised the weather this month on a number of occasions and been thankful for the sunny T shirt days for working in the garden. Once the sun starts to go down however, it gets cold, very cold indeed. There is always a lot to do in the garden and we have planted more hornbeam and re-potted geraniums in the hope that they will live until next year.  The geraniums have joined  the olive trees, stashed in the old pig pen and sheltered from the frost. We know frosts can be hard here and the winter nights bitterly cold, so we are preparing. We must have planted two hundred bulbs around the grounds and we wait with baited breath for the spring and for the daffodils and crocuses to emerge, fingers crossed they were planted the right way up!

The last few days have been spent on the tiles…so to speak. Our terracotta barrel roof tiles need maintenance. Over time the moss accumulates in the channels, this causes the rain water to build up behind and then it’s trouble!! With buckets in hand we have spent some time sitting on the roof and collecting the moss, some of which has fallen and littered the ground on the perimeter of the wall. It reminds me of the work that the birds do when they scratch and sort out the moss on the roof. We have been on “La Vue” side of the house giving some attention to the old pig pen roof. Sitting on top of the world, up high on the roof, is a great feeling. The scenery, way into the distance with sight of Montflanquin and on a bright sunny afternoon is fabulous. I feel a new plan coming on for a bedroom… in that very spot… with a view, a few years down the line, I think!

Talking of birds ( a few sentences back…) we have been visited by a friendly or maybe not so friendly robin this month. Its behaviour is a little strange as it appears to want to come in the house. The little thing sits on the door handle and peers in or flies to the first-floor window and does the same. It seems that maybe it is seeing its own reflection in the glass and exhibiting territorial behaviour of frightening off other robins.

The wall on “la vue “ side is taking shape. We have big plans for this area, however they are fluid and waft and wain as we work with the landscape and the raw materials of the land. This will be the courtyard eventually, a place to sit and a place to cook. We have started the cooking bit already, inspired by a visit to a local restaurant where the meat was cooked over an open fire. We decided to use the embers of one of our garden fires to cook pork. It was absolutely delicious, the wood smoke adding a certain flavour and the quality of pork, having been reared only a few kilometres from The Farmhouse, meant it was superb, a real treat that left us wanting more.

Emmie has been a big helper in the garden!!! She has loved sitting in the big piles of leaves that we have made, as we attempt to take control of nature! It is a bit of a thankless task as one knows there are lots more to come down, so the job is never finished….. washing up and ironing come to mind!

Emmie BY the leaves.

Emmie ON the leaves.

Tournon bedroom. Guests coming to stay…. worth a photo!

From The Bolet. Such a beautiful November dawn.

The Summer Kitchen. Every now and again you just need to take a photo. Cake and quiche cooked = domestic goddess!

The plants hiding in the old pig pens from the coming winter frosts. I can’t believe that the geraniums are still flowering!

One of Rob’s cycling routes for the energetic guest.

October

The clocks have gone back and it is now dark by 6:30 pm. We lit our first fire last night in the salon. The log burner, idle and empty for so many months, fires into action…literally! We have had such a beautiful October and even a few days ago felt that the warm weather would never end..but it has! We still have a host of outside jobs to do and the list gets ticked and then added to.

October has seen our first appearance on the Alistair Sawday’s website, we were delighted to be invited to join their collection of special places to stay. The first stage of the process was to send information of where pictures of your holiday home could be seen. Initial responses were good so a time was arranged when the Sawday’s inspector could come and see the property. They asses the house and the facilities and also look at its surroundings. We talked about the things to do in the area and our favourite restaurants, that wasn’t difficult ! We didn’t know on the day if we would be accepted as a report had to be written and sent to head office. The following week we received a phone call to say that we were in! People I tell have either never heard of Alistair Sawday’s or it’s the only place they go to for holidays! I remember buying the Alistair Sawday’s books, back in the day before the website world, their recommendations gave a kudos to a place and that’s what we hope it will do for FFQ, it’s someone saying that your place is a good place and it’s a little badge of quality. Click on the link below to have a look at our page on the Sawday’s site, we’d love to hear what you think.

The French Farmhouse in Quercy

Quinces

There are two quince trees in the old orchard and this year, like many of the trees it has been full of fruit. I have no experience at all of quinces but decided that I should do something with this furry pear. A little searching on the internet got me to “membrillo” a quince paste and quince jelly. These two recipes seemed to go together as the residue of the one provided the ingredients for the other, a win win! Collecting the said fruit turned out to be the first challenge. With pool net , very long secateurs and Robs help we managed to harvest the fruit. (The camera in hand didn’t make the job easier ). Then after what seemed days of chopping, cutting, boiling and using every available piece of kitchen equipment, we emerged with a tray of membrillo, quince jelly and quince puree. Will I make it again? well it has taken 4 years to have a crop of quinces worthy of doing anything with .…so maybe in four years time I will be ready to jar up the jelly again!

Quinces

October and an evening with some of the people who have helped us this summer at FFQ.

Autunm.

A Letter To A Friend

The anticipation of returning to The Farmhouse begins to mount as the days tick away before our allotted channel crossing. We will have been away for two months and we are eager to see the house again and to slot back into our life in France. Since buying the house in 2014 The Farmhouse has been a labour of love and we have enjoyed the changes and improvements that we have made to the property. So we miss it…… and on the journey home we talk of the next project we will do at the house, and the next and the next!

We are happy that there have been lots of wonderful holidays there over the summer, families and friends getting together and we are thankful for the kind messages of appreciation that we have received from our guests and even photos of their happy times at FFQ ( French Farmhouse Quercy).

We use the tunnel to cross to France and on the first day decide to stop at Chartres. The car is laden with things collected during the summer, all so important that they can’t possibly be left behind! With the top box securely fastened and Emmie happily on the back seat with her doggie safety belt on, we set off early from our hotel to begin the final leg to Montaigu de Quercy.

On this day as we approach the South West the grey clouds and drizzle begin to break and moving further south, cotton clouds in blue sky begin to appear. The sun shines and welcomes us home.

We have been back a week now and September has been a continuation of a fabulous summer here in the Lot region, there has been very little rain and we have been told how hot it has been this year. At the house I notice that the farmer has cut the wheat and the straw has gone, the field is ploughed for the next crop. Everywhere is still dry.

The fruit trees have been laden this year and I am delighted to discover my favourite Mirabelle tree still bears fruit. I have now picked almost six kilograms of fruit from that tree and made lots of jars of jam! There are some figs on the fig tree on the big field and a smattering of plums on the trees around the pool. For the first time we have quite a few quinces on our tree so I’ll have to decide what to do with those…..any ideas?

It’s good to be back, to walk the familiar tracks and catch up with friends. We planning our next swathe of improvements. We have lots of ideas and plans, I let you know what we do in October!

Mirabelle tree at FFQ.

Mirabelle confiture, mirabelle crumble …..mirabelle……mirabelle….mirabelle!

Montjoi and what a joy it was to visit this town.

Montjoi

Montjoi - the view down the valley.

JULY

Our summer holiday letting season is now well underway and our guests have the opportunity to savor the summer delights of South West France. During the summer months   “ Marche Gourmands” are a popular evening event. Some towns have weekly Marche Gourmands with each town having their regular day. It is a great time to get together with friends and sit in the town square wining and dining. There is usually music from a live band and as the evening sun warms the night air, the dancing and partying begins.

The markets in Quercy are full of the fresh local produce, they are colourful and vibrant. The area is known for the quality of food and there is something special about shopping at a market for all that is seasonal and fresh. It's then great to return home and produce a meal to be shared, sitting in the garden, with family and friends. July is all about the sunflowers, it is beautiful to see the fields full of the golden heads turned to the sun. It is no wonder that these flowers are called tournesol in French,” turn to the sun”.

Montcuq market - Sunday Mornings

During July we have continued to develop and move forward with decoration and new ideas. We have given the pool house a coat of paint and bought new tablecloths to brighten the surfaces. With the BBQ and fridge it is well used in the summer for outdoor dining and provides welcome shade on a hot day. Montaigu and Lauzerte bedrooms have had curtains. We debated for quite a while whether this was necessary as we also have shutters and the stone relief around the windows is rather beautiful and a shame to hide. However the curtains have now been hung and the stone relief is still visible. We are pleased, the large heavy fabric gives warmth and texture to the rooms.

Montaigu bedroom and it's new drapes.

The pool house, a new tablecloth and clock. The walls have been painted golden retriever yellow!

The summer kitchen. This room leads out onto the terrace. This is the second kitchen, the cuisine is on the first floor.

The old stone sink in Montaigu shower room. There is a new one too to use!

The Bolet view in July

The Campsis or trumpet vine has beautiful orange flowers this year.

Last but not least Emmie, she is loving our field now it has been bailed.

Joyous June

Emmie - The sun setting on the the sea at Biarritz.

This is a beautiful time to come to The Farmhouse, the June flowers are in their glory, the geraniums recently planted are bloomimg and the colours are vivid and bold. With visitors here we have once again been on our travels leaving our guests to enjoy the tranquility and peace of the place.

Having spent some time in May on the Mediterranean side of France, we decided to head west to the Atlantic coast. Our plan was to explore the coastal region from San Sebastian in Spain to Biarittz in France.

San Sebastian to Biarittz.

I think I first heard of San Sebastian years ago in relation to the car ferry that goes to Bilbao. Some friends had made this journey from UK to Spain and had spent some time in San Seb, they had of course been delighted with their stay and the memory was formed. I too was delighted with this charming place. It has it all; beaches, wide promenades, harbour, quaint old town and TAPAS! Tapas has never been raised to such high esteem as in the old town in San Seb. Tall tables stand outside on the narrow street and inside the array of tapas lines up in all its glory. While hams hang from the ceiling, the tapas is the star of the show. Standing for a while we shared a plate and a cool drink....had to be done! 

Baztan.

Moving along the coast to Hendaye, we found a seaside town with Marina. The long promenade with bars and restaurants  and a popular beach. St Jean de Luz is a very pretty fishing town. There were artists in the square selling their work and we sat down for a menu de jour, very delicious! The architecture is different in this region, compared with where the Farmhouse is. There is a flavour of the Alps , chalet style. With the Pyrenees not too far away it is not surprising there is a mountain influence in the buildings!

Saint Jean de Luz

Biarittz was my goal, the playground of the rich and famous in the 1920's. From the mid 19th century it was "The queen of resorts and the resort of kings". Apparently it is also the place where surfing began in Europe, there was certainly a surfers culture here with surf schools along this coast. The rocky outcrops and the Bay of Biscay kept us interested as we walked the promenades. The weather was not so good, though better for Emmie in her fur coat!

A place to swim.

Below the cafe are changing rooms and showers for sea bathing, the above picture shows the stretch of water where people were swimming.

Biarittz on a cloudy day.

Picture taken in the original fishing village Biarittz. Just loved the colour in this snap!

Back at The French Farmhouse the meadow grass on the field had been cut last weekend and turned several times to dry. Placed in formal lines it was then big bailed. 17 this year!

The big field FFQ

Finding some shade on a very hot day, today!

Biarittz.

So as the sun sets on June we are back to work and preparing for all the guests who will visit us this summer..on..on!!

Magnificent May

Emmie in the field, five months old.

Our first visitors of the season have arrived in May and as you can imagine we were busy preparing for this for weeks... nay months! The tonduse has been whirring around the lawns and making sure they are ready, and we have been tidying and preparing our outside spaces. The big clean always has to be done at the beginning of a new season and then each week the standard can be maintained for each new party of guests.

Sometimes I feel like an oil rig worker, work really hard for 3 weeks then get a week off (not sure if that is how it works for oil rig workers or us…. but you get the gist). As my Aunty Norma always says, “it’s all or nothing” and that is just how it is for us!

Our clients arrived and after greeting them and ensuring that all was well, Rob and I took the chance to have a week away and explore France. (We did leave our manager Paul in charge should there been any problems). If we are not careful we can always find another job to do at home and we don’t find time to have a holiday ourselves. (I can hear the violins as I write)!!

We decided to head for the French, Spanish boarder on the Mediterranean side and we were not disappointed. At this time of year, it was peaceful and calm. We enjoyed the Maresme coast of Spain and its beautiful sunshine before heading back into France and to the charming coastal town of Collioure. I can only liken Collioure to Salcombe in Devon, England. A place to return to for a weekend I think and an easy drive  from The French Farmhouse. 

On travelling through the French /Spanish frontier, we passed garden centres with wonderful, wonderful plant pots. Just the sort that I wanted. The Spanish have long been renowned  for their ceramics. This morning before heading home to The Farmhouse we did a slight detour and nipped back into Spain to purchase the said pots. Visitors to The Farmhouse this year will be able to see them on the new drive!

Our south drive renovation: the removal of the box, the building of the wall and the planting of the hornbeam has been the project of the winter. It has totally refreshed and opened out this area and we look forward to adding to and developing this area further.

May has been our frontier month, the time when we change from moving the house forward with our endless projects , to a time when we stop, smell the daisies and see what we have indeed achieved and more importantly what we are able to provide for our summer guests.

APRIL BLOG

This is our busy time of year as we work hard to get the house ready for the summer season after the winter. It is wonderful to see everything waking up, leaves opening, flowers blooming and grass growing. The tracteur tondeuse has been busy whirling around the lawns and trimming and sharpening each blade of grass. The weeds have woken up too, so there’s another job!

We have been busy over the winter, building a new wall on the east drive. The box hedge that had to be removed left a huge area of ground to be molded and re-designed. Many, many years ago, the house had been called after the hedge making it even more wretched to have lost it to this caterpillar pest! Thankfully we do have many other box trees and hedges around the farmhouse. They all took a huge hit last year but we are cutting back and hoping to salvage some of the plants, time will tell.

In the depths of winter we planted hornbeam hedging, I just hope that there is no little hornbeam eating caterpillar to spoil the plan! We have waited months to see if it has survived and thankfully little leaves of brightest green are filling out the sapling branches. It will develop to be a magnificent hedge too, I am sure.

There had been an ancient wall, crumbling and tired that sat between the two rows of box. When the box went it revealed the wall and we set about removing and sorting the stone, preparing to build a new low wall to frame the drive. We now have an area that is much bigger than we had anticipated in fact I think we need a fountain or at least a greek urn to adorn the space, can you imagine it!

The builders have been with us for a week. They are replacing a lintel and doing some work on the wall of the poullailler (chicken house). We don’t have any chickens but the perch inside is a giveaway as to what it was used for in the past. I always imagine having chickens one day, though I believe the reality is a little different to my chicken dream!

The pool and cover have been cleaned and as I write the water vac is sucking the remains of the winter dust, leaves and debris from the bottom of the pool. The heater will go on tomorrow and with any luck we shall have a pool to be proud of by the weekend. The pool has become a real marker of the years, pool closes, pool opens and 6 months has passed and it doesn't seem five minutes!!!!!!!

I have been busy completing our Spring Newsletter and this time we have a focus upon places to eat in the area. I have only recommended either places we have been to or restaurants that we have been recommended to visit. There are some fantastic places to eat here and I can tell you it is a real chore having to go around dining in these wonderful establishments and eating all of this amazing food just for the newsletter!! Oh well it has to be done! Email me at info@TheFrenchFarmhouse.co.uk if you would like to join our mailing list and get a copy of our free FFQ Newsletter.

Wishing you all a wonderful May.

Had to start with a picture of Emmie and the one iris flower. We also have just the one bluebell in Bluebell Copse.

The hornbeam hedge begins to open and the lacy screen begins to grow. One last layer to go on the wall!

The new cement mixer in Farrari red. A wall builders essential piece of kit!

Emmie at Tessa's Cowslip Corner. The cowslips have been abundant and so beautiful this year, they have lasted a long time too.

A beautiful misty morning last week. An early, very early morning walk with Emmie.

Le Medieval (Puy L'Eveque), we will be going there again, very soon I hope!

Is it obvious I have been doing the "Places to Eat" newsletter? Still a bit food focused! This was my starter at Le Medieval (Puy l'Eveque) it just looks beautiful and it tasted fabulous too.

MARCH BLOG

The cowslips all around The Farmhouse are beautiful this year, they have multiplied and the splashes of yellow feel very spring like.

The tree surgeon arrived this week to pollard the ash tees and the new view was certainly worth waiting for.

We have lost a couple of trees on the north lawn and have decided to replace them with cypress trees.  A new nursery has opened near to Lauzerte " La Vida Verda" and we have bought three of the Totem variety from them. These will be planted in the traditional triangular shape meaning welcome!

Trying to get the cypress trees in the right place, A mathematical equilateral triangle is what is called for I think!

FEBRUARY BLOG

The winter has been harsh and so cold. The rain of January has continued and the back end of February has been freezing. The "Beast from the East" hitting the UK has hit home here too. It has been best to light the fires and hunker down, though not always possible. It seems that south west France can be a climate of extremes with the winter being as cold as the summer can be hot!

It has not all been about the weather, we have had other things to occupy our mind. The arrival at FFQ of Emmie our new Golden Retriever pup has bought a new pattern and responsibility to our day. She is mischievous, marvellous and a minx!

She stands on the shoulders of giants, being our third retriever, but she is our first female dog. Emmie is a French retriever being one of a litter of 10 and born close by in Villeneuve sur Lot. The breeder, to identify the pups, called her Mademoiselle Verte. We had such a trial choosing her name, getting a family consensus was the challenge. Finally we chose Emmie as the shortened version of Emerald, the green precious stone that links to her first name, Miss Verte!

In the kindling basket, her love of sticks is starting early.

Not on the sofa already!

Emmie 8 weeks old.

Helping with the admin in the FFQ office.

Getting a lift to the garden.