Rain, Rain !! Come NOW!!

 Today - the 29th of August I am desperately hoping for rain.  The national meteo service has promised it, with warnings.  

When I got out of bed early this morning (0800) and looked over the back garden I was quite shocked.  The extensive lawn looked rust coloured, brown rust, dead.  The large leaves of the maple had all fallen and covered the grass. So I decided to provoke the rain gods as much as I can.  

 To start with I there is a bright red bathroom mat conspicuously near the rose bush ring.   And it seems that a cushion has fallen off one of the outdoor chairs...also it would appear that I have foolishly left a loaf of bread outside. 

 All this scene setting has been hanging around for nearly three hours to very little effect.  Is it possible I am going to have to sacrifice an expensive pair of leather shoes?

 As I was slowly pushing my breakfast muesli around in its bowl  - it had to be softened by the yogurt - a face loomed in the kitchen window.  It was a very tall man, hat on head, long thin cheroot between lips - and blue eyes to die for...In other words it was my Dutch workman who is only supposed to come three days a week.  Today was not one of his days.

He wandered into the kitchen and reached for the tea - caddy....his black tea cup and saucer have a permanent place on my kitchen table...and made his cup of tea. Yes, yes, he feels very much at home in my kitchen.

Why today, I asked (after he had had his first sip of tea)..not expecting any very serious answer.  Well, apparently his Wednesday employer was out of cash. So he decided to come to La Chaise to do some of his allotted work a day early.

My reason for giving only three days a week employment to skilled workers is simple:   I am 80 years old, not sure how much longer I shall be a work giver and - should I suddenly cease - they may have lost contacts with possible other employers,  leaving them financially stranded for a period.  Also, to be honest, I need time off from workmen...

However, there is an awful lot of work to be done to maintain La Chaise - a 30 hectare estate of mixed woodland and pasture. So I need not only carpenters but also wood -cutters, fence fixers  - the wild boar from the woods wreaks havoc on the fences. The deer eat the new growth.. Fortunately some of my wood-cutters are also hunters in their spare time - 

Over the years I have got to know most of their families, some from birth.  There is a possessiveness in their attitude to their work for La Chaise (note I do not say 'me'!) and they all have opinions, frequently expressed, on how what should be done on the land and in its woods.

I could hardly be said to be 'the owner' of La Chaise - I just manage it as best as my friends can to the benefit of all of us.

A very clever French solution.....clients take charge

 As someone whose social, intellectual and commercial life - in short, whose very life, is based on and in the local cafe -  I worry each summer that the cafe will shut for a while.     French workers have an inalienable right to a summer holiday it would seem - so how to replace those who give the cafe its unique ambiance?   You have to admire the waiter's skill while - with a drinks laden tray on the open left hand the right hand deftly uncorks a bottle, pops a can, unscrews a water bottle.

  So last Wednesday I took my usual place, opened my copy  of Liberation,  unfolded my copy of the New York Times waited for my wine and water to arrive...One of the regular clients walked to my table - put down my glass of wine, then - not very deftly - opened my bottle of Perrier. Startled, I looked up - said thank you....then looked around...Another one of the regular clients was serving another table....  I put down my glass of wine, put my head in my hands...the question...???Do I  tip the servers, if yes, how much????

After the hay - we hope for rain...

 The last of the hay  bales have just rolled out of the La Chaise fields. They were bigger - and rougher - than ever, the tractor drivers just as cross as ever...and - of course - I had to interfere.   Remember I AM THE PROPRIETOR.....So I firmly stood in the way of a laden tractor coming through the gates, he gave in first...thanfully!!  My crossness was based on their clumsiness - those very large, heavy laden machines can easily damage fence and gate posts.  However my problem in scolding is that I am not paying them to clear the fields - any more than that they are paying for the hay...Diminutive Old Lady did win the day....one tractor stopped!

Once again I am musing on the possibility of putting grazing animals in the fields....only I am afraid of horses (and they are too heavy for my soil), not very keen on cows who are curious as well as heavy, they like to come up and visit....I have no fondness for goats which have very definite characters...as well as smell...which brings me back to sheep...of whom I have quite fond memories... But I am now well into my 80th year ....so all this is unnecessary speculation..

When a Rose loves an Oak

This is what you get when an oak and a rose are too close together.    I am not sure what to do...should I prune the roses so that fewer but larger are visible....or should I prune the oak to make it seem longer and stronger?   The answer is obvious:    Leave Them Be....Let Them Grow as They will... OK, agreed 

An uncomfortable collection of pears

 

There is only one pear tree in my front garden - but it bears three different types of pear - why I can only speculate.  Was there really only room for one additional fruit tree?  Why was it put in the vegetable garden rather than the orchard across the pathway?. There there are peach trees, plum trees, one mulberry - which may not survive much longer.

How am I going to work out which pears will ripen when...since they are all on different exposures some will have more sun that others.   As to my getting a ladder propped agains the tree - forget it. One can just about see the trunk...

Nagging at the back of my mind is the thought that once I had a device that looked like a net on a long bamboo pole which was eqipped with a cutting device to separate fruit from branch - one at a time!!  But then, in the very near future I will have been at La Chaise for half a century...I am trying NOT to frighten myself with this notion....just accept that many, many things will have disappeared...

Ah well!   What is that 'they' say about patience?   Apparently it is a virtue not, seemingly, one that I possess.