AH SURE AZURE

Category: Gardens

  • Every twenty four hours 6

    Every twenty four hours 6

     

    Some days you just need to kick back and relax. I find that incredibly hard to do and I found myself telling myself – you have a lot of relaxing to do today- typical that I would lay out the agenda even for me to relax.

    I started by taking the curtains down in the caravan. They are green faded velvet and I gave them every chance. The transformation is dramatic. I did say I would only do one pair, but I worked through four of the windows, leaving only the front window decked in faded finery.IMG_5742

    Once I had picked shopping up – the messages- as we say in Ireland, I did some enforced relaxing.  I sat outside the caravan. There is a glorious warm breeze so the only sound is the trees rustling and the birds singing. I abandoned all plans of travelling today to give myself a chance to savour this lovely place, along with a cheeky robin who thinks nothing of flying down right next to me to pick up crumbs. The breeze has brought down some premature hazel nuts which appear out of season. Technically, next month is Autumn but we will not dwell on that.

    I wrote postcards, cleaned the caravan and strolled down town for stamps and coffee.

    During my strolls, I have noticed little statues on pedestals above the streets, set into nooks on buildings. They appear to be religious. Extremely beautiful in their delicate, miniature way. Typical of this town which speaks renaissance from every angle. With detailed cornicing and delicate detail on every building, the temptation is to take a thousand photos.

    The afternoon found me in the deckchair again, knitting and feeling really together and relaxed, and now I can hardly get out of the chair.

    I am getting used to living in the caravan and have managed to get it organised at last.IMG_5720

    Bring it on tomorrow travelling south!

     

  • Every Twentyfour hours 4

    Every Twentyfour hours 4

     

    Beautiful weather again. Plotted out my next part of the journey. I am taking it in chunks of 200 km which will take at least 10 days if I have no stopovers. I am nervous to be honest of the French auto routes even with AA Europe Assist. 200 km takes me past Caen, but not as for as Le Mans.

    So I choose a place called La Chappelle pres Sees. Never heard of it. But it is exactly 200 k and I have booked a campsite. I am travelling on Sunday as I believe the traffic is lighter that day.

    I have sourced some fresh vegetables at a local farm where the sweet peppers are purple. They taste the same.IMG_5680

    The tractor at the top of the page has clearly been upcycled for use as a support for a grape vine. You would never see a Massey Ferguson put to this use in Ireland. They are treasured items and you will see regular rallies of tractors around the countryside where great pride is taken in the more ancient vehicles.

    Le Bequet is a very pretty port down the road from the campsite. The old lifeboat house has been converted into an exhibition space but manages to keep its old sea dog personality as a boathouse.

    IMG_5693

    I gave into temptation at the Artisan Boulangerie, choosing a small tart with raspberries on top which was presented in its own box. The range of patisseries and breads was vast.

    We are very close to the site of the Normandy landings here. I have visited the beaches at Arromanches and Utah in the past and I do not intend to go again this trip. They are of course a must see item in this part of the world.

    I managed to do a crude fibreglass job on the back of the caravan. It looks awful but it will keep out the rain if we get any.

    I ended the day having dinner on the beach listening to the waves break gently in succession again lulling me to sleep. I seem to find it very easy to sleep which is wonderful when you are travelling.

    Apprehensive about the trip in the morning but really enjoyed my time at Camping Cotentin

     

     

  • The Slimy Molluscs

    The Slimy Molluscs

    Sludge

    Molluscs are the second largest Phylum in the Animal Kingdom. How do I know that?

    Because I am studying Organic Horticulture and our last assignment was studying Slugs and Snails.slug sketch

     

    Why do I need to know about Slugs & Snails?

    So that I realise that they live in the dark and wet parts of the world, the shady cracks under stones and leaves, basically, in the Sludge.

    The hint is in the name. Onomatopoeia and assonance never worked so well. Words that begin with Sl and even better, SLu, bring to mind oozing wetness such as we have never felt since we were children experimenting in the garden, before our parents spotted us. The joy of mud cakes as a child. We need to learn textures when we are children because we sure as H–ll are not going to get down and dirty when we are grown up.

    So why does a horticulturalist need to know where a slug thrives? Apologies to all vegan out there, but it is so we can exterminate them. In a situation where we cannot use pesticides or anything that will harm other animals or birds, we have to use methods such as drowning them in beer, squishing them or poisoning them with iron phosphate.

    Knowing that they will multiply and come forth when it rains gives us the tipoff to bring out our arsenal of weaponry to the garden at the appropriate moment. It is the cabbages or them and quite often it is them who survive leaving the poor brassica looking like a skeleton.

    We also learn that their sense of smell is keen but their eyes, which are at the top of two revolving tentacles sticking up off their head, is poor. These tentacles are also used to smell. They like the smell of beer. How does a beer loving, cabbage eating, revolving tentacled animal end up living in sludge? Our is not to understand the ways of nature. Ours is to know that some slugs produce a calcium enriched mucus slime that forms a shell. they are called snails or escargots, the French delicacy. This occurs mostly in the city where slugs can eat more eggshells for calcium.

    So even a Gollum like creature can perform minor miracles in its nether kingdom of sludge!