All in all, with only a leetle number stretching, we – John and I – have been away from La Chaise for the first five months of this year. We took three months in Spain, then a brief visit home end March, followed by nearly two months in London. The city...
Sadly, for the next few months I shall be away from La Chaise. In fact I shall be living out of a suitcase, only one. This is not as easy as some people might think – try predicting the weather for different areas of Europe for the next few months! It cannot even...
It is only too easy to forget, living in our lovely, private valley that there are two reasons for having sheep in our fields. First, they exist to eat the grass so the golf fairways do not need to be mowed every other day. The second is for the ewes to give birth to...
The greatest of country winter skills is the ability to keep the home fires burning, especially the ones in open fire-places. The truly skilled, and lucky, country fire-bugs manage to keep an open fire alive for twenty-four hours. It is revived in the morning from...
Country Mouse went to London last week. But this time she went better armed. She wore her Hat. Actually, not only the Hat, but also a black suede coat with a detachable black fox fur collar (bought for 10€ in a brocante) and very shiny black shoes. Sadly, age...
Idly pushing the garden lettuce round the basin of water, I wondered if snails could swim. A problem with a pesticide free vegetable garden is pests. If weeds are flowers in the wrong place, then pests are animal life in the wrong place. A snail head peeked over...
The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness has drawn to a close. The season of perpetual rain has begun. The fruits of the wild fig in the field have ripened, exploded and fed the hornets. We are still waiting on the domesticated figs to make up their minds. Two...
Just a glimpse of this winter’s stores Oh, joy! It is time for toast on the range again! The last fly of summer is dead, the fly-catcher strips are burnt and the range re-lit. The temperatures may have dropped but the sun still shines – mostly. Young...
An unexpected visitor this week – one impressive black and brown billy goat peacefully grazing in our fields. How he got there, we do not know, nor do we know why he decided to come. It is unlikely that he had any real reason for coming – he left home because he...
There are many and various ways of guiding insects out of human dwellings when killing is not an option. One can flap hands or flick dusters. If dealing with a hornet or wasp, it is highly recommended to use a badminton bat or straw broom; either will catch the... 
