Our main employment at the moment is pollarding the 15 acacia trees in the garden which have somewhat starved the centre of it of air and light. Getting the chainsaw up the tree is not the worst of it - when the branches come crashing down you then have to get rid of all the debris (bonfires mainly, though we take lots to the local dump). Still, the centre of the garden now has daylight for the first time in a while.
Eliza (4-year-old daughter) and I went up to St Guilhem le Desert on Sunday "to explore". It was a beautiful day, and after all the rain we've had recently, the whole village resounded to the torrents of water draining off the hills and into the ancient chanels that mediaevel predecessors were kind enough to provide (see photo above). It was lovely to see this charming village without the hordes of tourists who are (quite rightly) attracted there in the summer - you could almost imagine the pilgrims stopping off for a glass of wine on their way to Santiago de Compostella. We, however, had crepes in the square (Place de la Liberte) next to the wonderful Abbaye de Gellone before running all the way back down the village and heading home again.
Our volunteer scheme is now up and running, and we have 3 weeks this year when we will invite all and sundry to come and help in the gardens and house;
30 March – 4 April
18 – 24 May
5-11 October
18 – 24 May
5-11 October
We're asking people for 5 hours work a day in return for free board (accommodation and 3 meals a day), so we're hoping that expert gardeners and builders see this blog!!
