My window work has continued – the upstairs window sets and the door into the barn are finished and I’ll start on the downstairs porte-fenetres tomorrow. My timing’s not been great so I’ve had the glass out of my bedroom windows in a week when the night temperature has consistently been 2C.
I’ve been to two seminars in the last two days aimed at expats, one in Josselin and one in Rennes, and have a lot of information about healthcare, income tax, wealth tax, pensions, assurance vie, le bouclier fiscal and lots of other things that we’ve known we have to do something about someday – I think that day’s approaching fast.
In the garden the fruit trees are all moving along, the flower buds on the peach, the nectarines and the crab apples are swelling (there are some green leaves showing already on the crabs). The currants and the gooseberries are all showing leaf and about half the raspberries have shoots pushing on. The daffodils around the fruit trees have big buds on and the ones I planted six weeks ago after I came back are through the grass on the drive and in the field. The roses – all varieties that we have grown at other houses before in our life - are all moving at different speeds; Lady Hillingdon is furthest on with three inch red shoots closely followed by The Alchymist on walnut store (bright green shoots), Paul’s Himalayan Musk has lots of half-inch shoots on and Kiftsgate is the backmarker at present but looks healthy. The clematis are growing strongly and the grass is growing very strongly indeed; grass cutting with the John Deere is effective but I have to cross the 100m wide field over a hundred times to complete it – that’s a 10km walk every time …. About half the lilies I repotted are through the soil and the potatoes I have in the bathroom are sprouting red shoots. I’m hoping to get the second digging of the potager beds done next week.
And, a review of February:
Max Temp: 13C
Min Temp: -1C
Frost days: 1
Rain days: 11
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