Is Self Sufficiency Worth All The Hard Work ?

June 2013 - the weather was good, the days were long, dates for visitors were looming, so where to start ?
That is one of the problems here - you need to make the most of the dry days, but still keep the momentum going for the renovation of the house - not forgetting that you need time out too to enjoy the beach and the scenery.

Days are filled with feeding, watering and cleaning the animals, walking the dog, and of course cleaning, washing, and feeding and watering ourselves ! Someone asked me one time, how we filled our days, and it is so difficult to say. The time just flies by ! Once we sit down in the evening, it is very easy to doze off in the chair - all that fresh air, and physical work. I'm not sure how Craig keeps going sometimes.

Craig was desperate to get the vegetable patch up and running this year. Our neighbour ploughed and rotovated it, but the hard work was done by Craig - in all weathers, he was out there trying to overtake, or just keep up with, the weeds ! He planted everything you could imagine - from lettuce to leeks, from tomatoes to turnips. It looked great - very orderly, very impressive.....

And it wasn't long before things started to grow apace.....

It was the right time of the year to buy some new chicks too - we tried to hatch from eggs, but weren't very successful. It's a big learning curve here ! We used a manual incubator, which meant having to turn the eggs regularly - who knew that you had to do that eh ?! - and even after following all the correct instructions, the success rate was very poor ! It proves easier, more cost effective and less time consuming to buy day old chicks, and raise them. Yes, they need an infra red light, a secure warm 'house' inside, and regular feeding and cleaning, but the success rate is much higher (and they're very cute!). Arthur loves them - every time we have them, he is on a mission to watch their every move. I'm not sure I would trust him alone with them though, after all he is a terrier !

Talking of Arthur, he has a regular check up at the Vets - his MOT we call it. He has his injections etc, and every time the Vet asks us if he needs the Rabies jab. This is only necessary now if we plan on a visit to the UK, and up to this point we haven't taken him. It would be quite disruptive for him, although the car is one of his favourite places, but we know that we could take him if necessary - he is chipped, and has a passport ! As usual the Vet is pleased with him - Arthur has a good life with us - some would even say he is spoilt !!!

While all this outside work took place in the drier days, the bathroom was progressing well - Craig split his time between the inside and outside, and we were on a countdown towards the arrival of a few sets of visitors - we needed a fully functioning, private bathroom as a priority..........................

The word for 'Sheep Shearer' in French ?

We do get caught out here with the number of Bank Holidays sometimes. The difference being, that here they celebrate the ACTUAL day, and not the nearest Monday as happens in the UK - thus May Day, is on May 1st, and not the Monday after, so often that Holiday is in the middle of the week. Also, if the Holiday falls on a Thursday, the business/shop/factory/school may close on the Friday too, but if the Holiday falls at the weekend, then they don't appear to have the Monday instead as would happen in the UK.

I suppose, having been brought up in England, this all appears a little alien to us, and as I say can catch us out. It is so quiet here, in our little hamlet, that sometimes it is difficult to tell what day of the week it is anyway ! Sometimes, we discuss whether it may be a Sunday or not, as we won't have seen any cars go by, and then suddenly the School minibus passes by !

Anyway - the twin lambs were growing fast, and we came to the conclusion that the second female sheep hadn't been pregnant as there was no sign of any further births. However, three weeks later, we were putting the sheep in the pen for the night, when we realised that she was giving birth in there. We hurriedly moved the others out again to give her space. The lamb was born, quite weak, but alive, and we spent a couple of hours with them, trying to help her feed etc. In the end, we had to let nature take its course, and went with trepidation the next morning to have a look at them both - they were both OK - Mum and daughter !! We now had five female sheep !

If we have a problem with the animals, we often have to scour the Internet for solutions. We discovered that the chickens (or one of them at least) was pecking at their eggs. We knew we needed to discourage this, as once started this would continue, and encourage the others to follow suit. There were various methods, so we started to follow them one by one - we separated them until we found out which chicken it was. Then we put some golf balls in the brood box, so that if she pecked them, nothing would break, and so maybe she would get fed up ! Anyway, one by one, the methods proved unreliable, and we were left with no alternative but..... We have quickly come to realise that we cannot have animals as pets - if they don't provide us with meat or eggs, then they have to go - we are not a charity, harsh as it may seem.

We have become friendly with various people now - both French and English, and we are often invited to small parties to celebrate family occasions. We always try to go, as I believe that if someone is kind enough to invite us, then we should make the effort too. Sometimes, we may not stay too long, but it helps with our integration and communication skills - we have been to Birthday parties, Anniversary parties, July 14th (Bastille Day) parties etc etc. The rule of thumb though, is if you are going to party given by a French person, then it is impolite to take a bottle of wine with you - apparently, this indicates that you think that their wine is no good ! It is quite awkward as it is a gift often taken to an English party or dinner isn't it ?

Craig has always been a fan of full cream milk, and here the only milk readily available is UHT (long life) milk. He has 'suffered' with it up to now, but we were told of a local farm where we can go, take our own bottles, and fill them ourselves. The cost - well, minimal !!! This has become a regular happening now - part of our routine. We have to time it right though, as it is too warm in the vat if the cows have just been, or are being milked. We wait until it has been cooled. Also it is collected by lorry of course, so we have to time it so that it is still there ! We have been caught out a few times, and allowed ourselves to run out, which hasn't gone down too well !!

Another problem arose, in that we needed to get the two adult sheep sheared - we had missed the boat last year with this, and the older of the two had a big matted heavy fleece that needed to come off. We couldn't leave it again. We advertised on a local forum to no avail, asked friends etc, and then decided to ask a elderly French couple who lived nearby, who also had sheep. This is not easy - I had to plan what to say before we went, and had to look up various words - who would know what 'sheep shearer' is in French ??? Anyway, we went, the couple were lovely (although I did hear her say to her husband as we walked down the drive 'that English couple are here !'), and they even rang a man for us. It was all arranged - why did we worry about it ? The man arrived and it took him about 10 mins to do the job, despite the fact that he was about 75 years old, and he had to fling the sheep over on to their backs and hold them still between his legs ! I'm not sure the sheep were impressed, but they must definitely have been cooler !

All sorted - a glass of wine, and off he went - til next year..................!