Nasr, our Omani gardener did not believe in rain. Rain in his view was capricious, perhaps not even nourishing for his precious periwinkles. He preferred to rely on the heavily saline mains water for our small garden in Bahrain. The important point is, of course,...
The Tau Emperor struggled to be born. He flapped his four wings furiously, firstly to dry them, secondly to get out from under the twig that had fallen over his cocoon sometime during his long, winter pupa state. Gradually he succeeded; his wings took on the sheen...
Have you ever seen a duckling eat a snake? I ask because I have just seen a snake slide into the duck pond where, next year, I hope to re-install ducks. One of the last lot of ducklings we had did actually ingest – it is the only appropriate word – a snake as I was...
So, hooray! April’s sweet showers arrived in a great, intermittent downpour – 17 cm of water in the last 13 days according to my neighbour in the valley. The tarmac road that meanders along the hill crest from the Dronne river valley to that of the Isle is...
It may have escaped your attention, especially if you do not live in France, but this coming Sunday is the first round in the French Presidential elections. It is the first time in all our 30 plus years here that we are dismayed by both candidates. The incumbent...
It is with great pride that I announce the reception of 7mm of rain since we last corresponded! New flowers opened overnight – suddenly the woodshed is garnished with a heavy fringe of wisteria. Eliot’s lilacs are blooming; both the white and the dark mauve,...
As I zig-zag behind the scattered sheep, to group them into a flock, steer them my desired way, I wonder – is this really a sensible activity for an untrained human? One person and his dog would take minutes to get the sheep from where they are to where they are...
My winter love affair has come to an abrupt end. The reason is the unseasonable heat. Here we are, in the last week of March and afternoon temperatures are in the mid-twenties centigrade. Not even the most besotted cook is going to keep her beloved wood-fired range...
The signs of spring continue to multiply. The latest are the cowslips, very pale yellow and curiously short stemmed. Of course the grass, against which they would normally have to compete, is short also. Alas, and alack, lack of rain is mostly responsible. It...
Here follows a determined attempt at optimism, cheerfulness, a positive view of the present and the immediate future. I won’t commit further than the immediate future because that would be asking too much, of me and of the future. Firstly, it appears that I... 
