The War of the Roses

   My goodness this seems very strange to be using a computer again after nearly 3 weeks of not touching one. I was determined to not open my computer when I was home and I managed very easily with all the other things that had to be done. The time in France passed very quickly and I haven't done so much physical work in quite a while and am feeling the withdrawal symptoms as I sit down at my desk again. Andrew and I, with the help of Naomi for a week, have managed to make  La Ferme des Vallots looking more loved than it has for a long time. I systematically went around the "garden" digging, cutting, weeding, pulling, hacking and then finally planting in the hopes that it will look colourful when the 12th July arrives. The roses were out in all their glory and since Ï had done quite a bit of manuring and preparation last autumn they seemed to be at their best.

Me in among the flower beds!

 Of course most of the roses will be over in July which is a shame as the scent of the roses literally fills the air around the farm at the moment. Andrew was equally busy painting, repairing, clearing, cutting grass, strimming and making lists of things to be done and Naomi was the expert high pressure hose user who transformed green mouldy decks, furniture, patios into cleaner more respectable looking things. There is still quite a lot to do as the barn where part of the wedding celebrations are going to be held was only emptied last Saturday and Andrew has been busy cleaning and clearing since I left on Thursday.

The clean deck

  I won't bore you too much with all the things that we achieved but I came back with bruises, stings and scratches and was planting things literally 5 minutes before I left to catch the train and looked with horror at my very dirty and broken fingernails as I left Lisieux on my way to Paris. It was lovely to be home in June and it was my first time in 3 years and so it was like rediscovering the wonderful colours, scents and daylight of summer. The reality that night doesn't fall at 6.30 pm opens up so many possibilities and even though the evening were chilly, they were lovely. Thank you dear friends who I managed to see over the two weeks and apologies for those who I didn't. I will be back in 3 weeks for the final countdown and the actual wedding so I will look forward to seeing you then.

Cherries just ripening

Our neighbours' cows