Last week’s blog said that our builder had unfortunately damaged his back so we weren’t able to progress Grange but it did allow us to focus on a number of other projects that had been waiting and all of these were able to be outside as the weather has been so fantastic – 28 degrees in the shade today!
One of the outstanding tasks was to erect a sign at the end of Hent Gorreker as we know that we are a little tucked away and not always easy to find on SatNav. While we do send directions to all of our guests they are not always used and we get the occasional call from people whose GPS has taken them somewhere into the middle of the French countryside!
You may recall that we had changed the sign at the front of Kergudon a couple of weeks ago and we had made a second although without a roof or lighting (as yet) which we had been given permission from the mayor to put up.
I did manage to plant my lonicera cuttings in the new wall at the rear entrance, as well as others in various places around the perimeter. Because the weather has been so warm and dry we decided to put the hose on the new turf and bed overnight yesterday. While this will help the new plants root, it has also hastened the soil settle in the new bed which has now sunk about 30 centimetres – oops! Might need some topping up.
Many of the other jobs we have done don’t make such great photos but are essential – painting the hanging basket wall brackets, re-clearing a flower bed to the rear of Dairy, and of course more mowing. Unfortunately we haven’t yet managed to find a solution to the apple roots as it was too large for our neighbour’s tractor. We need to find a plan C as we remain stumped.
However, as the weather has been so perfect we awarded ourselves with a day off yesterday and decided to head south to Pointe de la Torche which is famous for producing flower bulbs that make amazing displays at this time of year. The climate and sandy soil are ideal for growing tulips, hyacinths and iris making it one of the largest producers of bulbs after the Netherlands.
Having taken a trip around the bulb fields on the Tulip Train we took the dogs for their first beach visit of the year on one of the amazing beaches on the headland which is very popular with surfers, windsurfers and kite surfers who were making the most of the fabulous swell and rollers.
Both boys love swimming at every opportunity and we thought that it may do Brandon a bit of good as he has been in the wars recently. In some very playful fighting with Garratt he managed to slam himself against a wall and he has been walking with a bit of a limp for a couple of days. He has also managed to cut a pad on one of his rear paws which was healing really well until he decided to chew it and make it much worse! Taking a limping dog with a bandaged foot to the beach made us look like model dog owners but we thought the salt water would help his wound. Thankfully both are slowly healing.
Both love running in the sea despite the pic on the right – can you tell which is which?
When we came home we extended the fabulous day with our first BBQ of the season. It was a perfect evening as we sat in front of the chiminea watching the stars come out and listen to the owls hooting – just as our Sawdays entry describes. From our activity with Sawdays, the journalist who stayed with us in February, Jane Anderson, has written her article on the Sawdays website highlighting lots of activities to do in Brittany in the spring.
We are unlikely to see our builder again next week as he rests his back but we will continue with a number of other projects as the weather is forecast to remain dry, although not as warm, for at least another week.
Salut.