Tuesday 21 February 2012

That Drive Again.



The snows have gone and yesterday, when the sun was shining, it was almost Spring-like. So I went up to the Séchoir to inspect the new drive more closely. I must say, I'm very pleased with my JCB man's work. I told him I wanted it to be NEAT, and neat he has done.

The area on the right, where he has deposited all the earth, will (when levelled) become a new orchard. I shall plant peaches, figs, cherries, pears, plums, and apples. I've not yet decided what, but ONE amongst them will be planted on June 5th to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee; maybe a pear, as they usually become magnificent trees (There's some corner of a foreign field, etc).


Whilst up at the barn I happened to notice this roughly etched date (1976) on the back wall; it had previously been hidden by brambles. I'd always wondered when it was built; now I know. I was living just 300 metres away in '76, but I don't remember it going up. Maybe I was just too  busy with other things.

Who would have thought that 36 years later, I would end-up as its owner. Even my own life never fails to surprise me. 


20 comments:

  1. That is amazingly neat, the JCB driver deserves a medal for his artistry! I'm guessing that France was parched and sun-blasted in '76, probably more so than Blighty - you may have become partially nocturnal as a defence mechanism, and hence missed the building!

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  2. Maybe the barn's builders were Amish and threw it up in half a day?

    That's one neat road Cro. What's the surface material going to be again?

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  3. Fantastic. I hadn't realised you had lived in France for so long. You must be able to speak French 'comme une vache espanol' by now.

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    1. That's what we call Lady Magnon. I didn't realise that it was a well known expression!

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    2. Well it was colloquial in the 60s, which is where most of my french is rooted, I'm afraid.

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  4. Spring is springing....and one super driveway! lovely.

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  5. How I would love to say I own a Séchoir...sigh...

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  6. The coming of spring is always so appreciated after a very cold and hard winter.

    The drive looks perfectly done and your plans for an orchard sound lovely. I have and do love my pear trees, but they are ornamental and bear no fruit. They are glorious though.

    Happy almost spring, Cro.

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  7. Life is a constant surprise...some mornings I'm surprised I'm still alive.

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  8. you may have posted about how you came to live in France, but I don't know the story. It seems a fairytale life that you have over there and I love to read about it and see the gorgeous photos of your environment.

    Maybe it's time to tell the tale once more....

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  9. Hey Cro, thanks for letting me know about the
    Hericium erinaceus. It does look like the images I googled. So tempted to eat it since one of the sites said it had a lobster flavor. But, alas, I don't want to chance it.

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  10. That dirt road is so inviting! I could walk forever on one.

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  11. JCB man has done a brilliant job. The orchard you're planning sounds good too.

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  12. It looks lovely, and the orchard sounds great. We had three apple trees when we first moved here. The oldest one was dying and blew down in a windstorm. The older of the two that are left bears loads of small apples, and the younger is just getting started.

    megan

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  13. Your new garden sounds like it will be wonderful!! And 76 was a very good, happy year...my twin sons were born then!!

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  14. Very neat indeed! Like the idea of an orchard and the fruit it will produce in years to come. I suspect that being in France will open up a few more fruity opportunities than in the UK.

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  15. Oh, your planned orchard sounds FABULOUS!

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