New Modem

The new modem arrived this morning, I hope that it will last a very long time. I can't be doing with the hassle of sending broken ones and receiving new ones. Time consuming and frustrating.

All is well on the home front. We are starting to get things organised in the house. Himself is becoming a bit more pro-active and realises that if we are going to get interest in this pile then it must look appealing to all comers. There are just the 'little' bits that need doing, nothing major and we need to get some paint for the walls. I am happy with a paint roller, brilliant exercise, good for the back, shoulders and arms (I think and hope!). Got some stuff to put round the arched doorway to the kitchen as well as the kitchen walls, have prepared today and will start tomorrow (peut etre).

Have done odds and ends in the garden, weather permitting. We are getting little annoying showers, turning up when least expected and making us retreat to shelter.

Jensen is being better behaved at the moment, hope it lasts.

Have noticed the seasonal arrival of various birds. There is a Hoopoe lurking about near the barns, we have both seen it with its distinctive colour and flight. The Black tailed Redstarts have arrived this last week - no sign of the swallows or the Golden Oriole yet. They are a little late. We have had a Great White Egret around all winter which is a little unusual as they are normally in the southern parts of France. (I wonder where it sheltered during the cold.) Also spotted down the river, and in one of the ponds in the lane, a Little Grebe, I couldn't believe it at first. I have the most comprehensive book on European birds, a brilliant buy which is well used out here!

My love of all nature stems from my Father. He had a wonderful patient way of explaining things and enjoyed passing on his knowledge. I think that, as a boy, he would escape from his home (and his stepfather) and discover the world for himself. He would show how to grow plants, how to take cuttings and even showed me how to make a graft between host plant and new cutting (on an apple tree). I used to follow him about as a young child just listening to him and watching closely. There is a lot though that I have probably forgotten and I sometimes wish he was still around for more advice. He used to work at a sand and gravel quarry when I was small. It was also a magnet for all wildfowl and eventually became a wildfowl reserve. We would go there on weekends for picnics in the summer and count the different varieties of ducks and geese and try to spot other birds... Halcyon days!!