As September arrives so the B&B numbers go into decline. The rush of August seems like an age away!
We've had a long hot summer with plenty of visitors...some just visiting the area..some passing through (invariably on bicycles) and some house-hunters.
The pool has been a great success and we are pleased with the paving and landscaping that now finishes it off nicely! The gazebo has been fixed within an inch of its life as it is necessary for those wishing to avoid the sun's rays during the heat of the day...but also has to stay standing during winds and storms, which we get quite regularly in the peak of the summer. Of course the snag is the grass inside.........I think I'm going to have to invest in a small electric mower with grass collection box!
The hot spring and early summer has meant tons of watering...and even though we have had rain since the beginning of August...some of the vegetables have not gone according to plan.
The colorado beetle on the potatoes was the biggest disaster..but the raspberries and the sweetcorn haven't been good, the tomatoes, although prolific have not been as tasty as usual and the onions were small .....or non-existant!
On the other hand, the rain arrived in time for us to have the best crop of runner beans since arriving in France, the French beans were superb and the brassicas--savoy cabbage & cauliflowers are enormous!
So, harvest time has arrived and its jamming and bottling...pickles and chutneys... and soups & juices... and thank heavens for the freezer, where everything is dumped if I run out of time.
So far I have made.......apricot jam, mirabelle jam, blackcurrant jelly and redcurrant jelly, pear & ginger jam, bramble jelly and bramble cheese. In the store cupboard I've 'Maureville'chutney..made from the mirabelle plums in the garden, green tomato chutney and...a first for me...piccalili! This proved to be a bit traumatic..I needed more cider vinegar than I had in the cupboard, so substituted red wine vinegar..big mistake...the piccalili has lost it's wonderful vibrant yellow colour and the sauce is a sludgy brown. Nice & tasty, but a bit disappointing!
And I've bottled pears.This year I've reverted back to the 'Belgian' pear recipe. Bottling pears in a light sugar proved to be rather dull............easier to buy a tin of pears from the supermarket! The Belgian pears have been simmered for 6 hours in white wine vinegar and sugar & the luxurious thick syrup gives a very superior pud, served with a dollop of creme fraiche!
The big problem this summer has been the plague of flies that we've had to tolerate. We've put mesh on the back door & windows, but it's been impossible to eat outside without them invading every glass or plate, so barbecues have been fewer than usual this year. It's been quite frustrating but I understand we're not alone. A long chat with our maire at the Asnois picnic this year, & he said it was the worst he'd ever experienced...even worse than 2004. I just hope we don't have another bad year for the next 7 years!
So the busy season is over...last year we had 3 or 4 lots of cyclists en-route to Santiago de Compostela in September. This year they seem to have passed through earlier in the summer. I imagine some must have suffered during the hottest days.
Never mind, it's only a matter of time before we hear from the serious house-hunters. Our friends Gill & Mike have started up a house-hunting service .....www.poitou.charentes.kerizac.com.............. and send a lot of their clients our way!
Meanwhile Geoff is back upstairs...the plasterboarding is finished and the plastering will start as soon as the family...next week's un-paying visitors...have been & come & gone!
So, tomorrow we're having a day off for a trip up to the Loire on a wine tasting/buying trip... then the grandchildren arrive!
