Round and About 5 - Part 72

This is  a series of pictures which I though may be interesting; they have been taken during the last month either on car or cycle trips around the Charente. I always carry my camera now!!

Bales of hay as far as the eye can see.

One little beetle sitting quite happily on this  grass head.

A quiet farm lane.

Ferns at the edge of the forest with a few remaining bluebells hidden in-between.

Forest areas beyond the fields. There are many ancient oak and chestnut forests in this area; follow the link for more details.

Deer and  wild boar live here in large numbers. The boar, (Sanglier in French), is a major cause of destruction to adjacent field crops.  The hunting season is a very busy time, with many groups of enthusiastic hunters, and it is good reason to keep out of the wooded areas during this period!  Even cycling on the smaller roads, I make sure that I wear very bright clothes:)

A whole field of lupine that looked so pretty. Note more forest area in the background.

Last, but certainly not least; this mule let out the loudest  whinny, ending in a hee-haw, which I have ever heard, as I took this photo. And all without bothering to get up!!

Round and About 4 - Blog 64

Thursday I decided that it was time I really did a bit of energetic exercise on the road, so for the first time since last August I removed my bike from its covers. The reason it is so long, is that I went down with pneumonia last August, and then when I returned to the UK the winter weather did not encourage me to get back on my bike. I feel now that I have most things here under control, (including the rabbits), I can enjoy the countryside on two wheels, and build up those muscles and lung capacity again.

Well, I only managed 15 kms, and as I stopped to take several photos along the way I don’t think I did very much in the way of building up too much muscle or lung capacity, but I did discover that the seat seems to have got quite hard! I will obviously have to work up the mileage slowly and try to forget taking my camera along with me. I know though if I do the latter something will crop up that I really want to take a picture of, it always happens!

Anyway here are a few of the pictures I took along the way. Also one previous picture taken several years ago when I was cycling the Argus in Cape Town. South Africa's Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour is the world's largest individually timed cycle race. The idea for the race can be traced back to 1978, when Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann organised the Big Ride-In to draw attention to the need for cycle paths. The Ride-In, held under the auspices of the Western Province Pedal Power Association, was well received and drew hundreds of cyclists, including the Mayor of Cape Town. In 1978 The Argus, Cape Town's largest newspaper, agreed to sponsor the 'Argus Cycle Tour'. The inaugural event was held on 28 October 1978 and attracted 525 entrants. In 1991 the 15 000-entry mark was passed as Pick 'n Pay (a large supermarket chain) became a naming rights sponsor, resulting in the event becoming "The Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour". In 2009 nearly 30 000 braved the start and just under 27 000 finished. The event is over approximately 105 kms, but the route occasionally varies, as in some years there has been a danger of falling rocks in the mountains.

Climbing Chapman's Peak in Cape Town with the Atlantic Ocean in the back ground.

This looked a bit like the sea, the crops were blowing in the strong wind and the silver and green looked like waves, it was really quite stunning but the photo does not do it credit.

Baling already, it seems like the crops were only planted a few weeks ago! Note the poppies by the side of the field.

This small château is just down the road from us and is owned by an international horse owner and three day eventer.

I was quite glad there was a fence between me and these two billy goats. They were quite stroppy, stamping their feet and threatening me with their horns. They look quite harmless here, but this was after they had got a bit bored with me and had moved away.

Wild flowers at the side of the road. Due to the very strong wind it was almost impossible to get a good photo as everything was constantly on the move!

Round and About 3 - Part 60

Hurray, the wire netting has at last arrived, so watch out bunnies, you soon will not be able to get into my vegetable garden!!  The problem is that it has been too cold to work outside, so not much progress has been made.   I have managed an undercoat of paint on the trapdoor, and one coat of gloss, but it is still in need of one or possibly two more coats.  

I took these photos last week, so thought that this may be a good time to put them on the blog before they are well and truly out of date.

The wheat fields just before the rain came down.

The grapes are now shooting well. The last picture I took they were only thinking about it!

The newly planted maize.

Calf 9337 so his 'earrings' clearly state if you zoom in.  He was so cute and was very interested in what I was up to.  Mum was also watching me closely to make sure I made no false moves.

I saw this in a shop window in Chasseneuil and thought it was 'something different'.

and lastly, but probably the most important. The war memorial in Chasseneuil where the wreaths had been laid in memory of all who lost their lives in WWII. (Photo taken Victory Day, May 8, 2010)

The Scenic Route Home - Part 47

After a trip to the supermarket yesterday, I took the scenic route home.

Rapeseed is grown for the production of animal feed, also vegetable oil for human consumption.

Wheat about 8 cms (4 inches) high.

Grapes grow well in this region and they are just beginning to shoot.  We are not that far from the famous area of Cognac.

Who can resist this little chap? He made photos very difficult as he just wanted me to keep rubbing his ears!

More Gardening - Blog 42

The onions were planted on Friday, together with tomatoes, pumpkin, butternut and peppers, all planted out in small pots. It is still a bit cold to plant direct into the garden. The pots have a further advantage in that I can put a fleece blanket over them at night, until they get established.

More weeds in the lawn, but they are so pretty! These mini flowers are only about 4mm across

I cooked some rusks so I had something to snack on. Both my husband and I love these; they are such a good stand-by for the odd hour when you feel like you just have to nibble on something! I made a whole batch for Nigel before I left the UK, so I hope they will last him until he returns to France at the end of May. He can then take a new batch home with him.

South Africans love these rusks dipped into either tea or coffee, especially in winter. I have to say we like them just as they are. For my recipe click HERE.

The ones in this picture I made with Farine de sarrasin dit Blé Noir. This is a very dark flour made from buck wheat, which is specially for crepes and galettes. The taste is magical, but they did not rise as much as usual. so next time I will mix ½ and ½ with Farine de Blé which is plain whole wheat flour.

I had thought about going for a cycle ride later in the day but I decided that the wind was just a bit too strong. Instead, I went for a short walk down the road where I saw these cows with their calves. The latter were apparently camera shy and I had a good view of their tail ends!

Today the wind is still blowing and although the sun is warm, the wind is anything but!  Next week, if this northerly wind is still blowing, I will put my bike on the cycle trainer. I brought the trainer over from the UK this year, so I could get in some exercise on rainy days, but now maybe I can try to get some training in ‘cycling’ in the barn, before I go out on the road. I love cycling in France as the countryside is so beautiful and there is always so much going on around the farms.

Spring is in the air - these are my neighbours.