There are spies everywhere...

It was the little fellow in the corner that took my fancy...

Local beauties, Cornered...

It's good to know I am not alone...

Beautiful,toxic,DO NOT TOUCH...

The juice from this plant will cause irritation and blistering to the skin when exposed to sunlight. Spurges come in many varieties and sizes , they all have the distinctive green flowers. Treat with caution and respect.

Told ya...

That's the stuff...

Here's hoping we can get a couple of trailers full of that good muck. It is mainly sand , makes a good wall if it is capped to stop the weather washing it away.

Durable wholesome progress; frontline activism without the need to protest...

If...God exists...

Taking my mind off the all pervading odour of slurry and bonemeal...

I'll finish erecting the beanpoles when the wind has died down.Yesterdays precious memory will distract for a while. We visited a local baker, Nicolas. He is a doer. A principled frontliner. Grows his wheat from old variety seed. Low gluten bread that even many gluten intolerant customers can enjoy.The four, the great wood fired oven is situated at the rear of his home, fueled by sweet chestnut scantling. A visit to his bakery is verging on a spiritual experience. A privelege to have visited his workplace. A good example of durable organic progress.
I got lots of photos of stone walls. Le Rocher is the name of the village . There's a lot of that stuff there. A nearby Chapel took my fancy, more beautiful still was the splendid ancient yew tree that dwarfed the building beside it.
I got the bottom line of the retaining wall laid . The air was breathable yesterday. Today it makes me feel like retching. An unnecessary stink.Heavy lifting and digging causes me to breath too deeply to ignore the repugnant odours. I will shift some small stones into place ready for sticking down with lime mortar. A job for every occasion. No escaping the work. I'l get on now, happen after another cuppa.

Work in progress...

'Im an' Iz...

Rennaisance baker...

A spire...

Threshold, lintel and friends...

My restless leg kicked me out of bed...

I'll do a bit of this till the problem subsides. Looking forward to daybreak. Seven or eight silver birch seedlings to transplant. They were rescued from a patch of degraded land that regularly gets used as a car park, subjected to occasional mowing. Some will get planted in the haie at the top of the field and some in the hedge at the yard entrance. They are the scrubby type that take well to being coppiced if enough time is allowed. A source of fagots to make besoms.Tapped like maple trees the sap can be used to make wine. I will get a photo of a few of the little darlings tomorrow.They are pioneer trees. Graceful and elegant in their form and habit. Sez it all really they'll fit in well here.

Facing north on the western perimeter...

The view from halfway,(up,down?). There's a lot in the picture. Absolute front and centre,is a young "Mirabelle" type plum tree. A gift from Joel. Behind that a row of raspberries grown on from one utterly miserable pot bound "throw away" specimen They are short in stature this year but next years fruiting canes will be over a metre tall. It is a four metre row. On the left after the raspberry canes is a thornless bramble, the fruit are sugar sweet three quarters of an inch across.The bramble masks off two small compost bins. Just visible on the left a barrel of comfrey "soup", liquid feed. On the right is a row of early peas, now in their first flower.A patch of comfrey,next , we keep cutting the leaf for use as a mulch on other beds.
Behind that ... I beam with pride at the rhubarb. We brought a small piece of root from our previous garden home in Ireland. It likes it here. Standing near five feet tall already. We will split it this year and give away some good start up plants to a few good homes.
Difficult to see without zooming close, the onion bed and the greengage plum.
The green horizontal mass at the far distance marks the end of the potager. It is the wet end of the garden. Shaded by the neighbours barn for a third of the day. Ideal for the golden ossier hedge cultivated from sticks to provide materials for tissage, basket weaving. I hope you enjoyed the visit. It is a long way from mature but the results are encouraging. You might stop by in reality sometime.

"Don't knock the wrinklies", sez I...

Anne-Sophie prepares the Tomato bed...

When they say,"Take it easy"..

You know they're taking the piss only. It is generally all they have ever done, barring paying someone else to do the heavy.
I have just bashed my knees. It's put me right off me stroke. A heavy stone got the better of me. My luck has been good up to now. First real accident in four years. the weight caused me to overbalance, to avoid the rock crushing my foot and hand I threw myself away from the point of greatest hazzard Both knees smashed against the stoney ground , my chest too impacted squarely,leaving me winded a bit, I beat the ground with my right hand to absorb some of the shock. I could see it all happening in slow motion, but there is no doubt afterwards , acceleration due to gravity is a constant terrestrial law regardless of relative perception of time. OUCH. Only my "standing leg", my left is giving me trouble. When I stand , or walk, when I lift weight , ....or just move.
I hope the knee recovers soon or I am in danger of spinoff back problems from working in unfamiliar positions, awkward as hell.Makes working a real chore.
I do a bit then rest a bit. The seasons work can't be allowed to pile up.The retaining wall needs to be built this year.Winter frost and rain with blow the bank away.The neighbour wouldn't be happy I have a duty to support. The job was left unfinished when a sewage disposal system was put in before our time. Ugly to look at. Long delays and putting off. Good reason when the stones weren't available. I would be hard pressed to come up with a good excuse now save for the physical discomfort. I will nibble away at the diggings till I am ready for the big build up. The "take it easy" advice came from a thirty year old man who has done little else but follow his own well meant counsel for the whole of his life so far. Rankles a bit , does that. I pray he learns to speak my language one day. Bugger all gets done by sitting and looking.
Anne-So is preparing to plant out the tomatoes. She's putting covers on the supports which will be pulled down in the event of a threat of frost. The ground is well composted, that in turn well watered. A straw much will follow once the plants are tucked in and watered once more. We are using seaweed pellets as a standby fertilizer until we have generated enough " home grown" humus.
Marie Therese has just presented us with the last of the stored apples."Don't knock the wrinklies", sez I. Soft of body but fleshy and sweet. They make good compot,(apple sauce). Plenty enough till next apple harvest. There is other fruit to come.

Just add water and stand well back...

The overworked chattel gradually becomes a place with a personality. The earth rises up to meet us halfway. I have just finished a bit of digging on the centre circle. It will be ready for planting and sowing once it has had a raking. My next task is setting the poles out for runner beans. Yesterday turned up a pair of good purple flagstones, ideal for lintels or threshholds. Moving them exposed a store of composted manure.That has gone towards rebuilding some of the missing ground. The first of a large pile of oak timbers salvaged from a demolished barn, now awaits being carried to the top of the field. When it's cooler.Quiche and salad served me well for lunch. Now tea and a bimble round the garden to stare at the work to come for half an hour. A couple of photos maybe.

The last bit of digging and a quick photo...

Helping a friend to get established in her new home. The ground was panned down like concrete. Anne-So marked out the beds and Trimmed the edges straight, I did the heavy whilst Anne-So gave advice. A hot day , much tea was drunk. We will see how the new residents cope with this. Pointless breaking more ground than a person can practically manage. Good luck to Martine in her new home.

It is good to know who your friends are...

A Corner Of Mernel...

Iz gold...

Smile...

A corner of Le Breil...

HELP !!!

Praying for westerly winds, weeding the onions...

TARA !!! Pissenlit...

Promise of pears...

Promise of peas...

Stoner news...

So what's next? There's a ton or two of sand to wheel to the top of the field. I'll not get too thrilled about that little prospect. Doesn't feel much like gardening at the moment.
The space between the dry stone wall and the circular foundation will contain the roots of kiwi fruit, grape and wisteria, all being well.Planning seems futile as I can only work with the materials I have to hand. My initial enthusiasm is undiminished but I have a more realistic view of the degree of difficulty.
Over the last century much of the mineral fines have eroded and washed away. It will be a welcome day when I can put some of the bulk back. Ditch diggings will serve well combined with the local red sandstone ballast. We are still on the look out for more stone. Another twenty tonnes would keep me happy for a while. But today ...pushing sand uphill, not my favourite. I'd better get on.