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Autumn’s arrival

Hello to you all

So Autumn has finally arrived – a bit of a shock to the system. We have got so used to the warm weather that maybe we just thought it would go on. Whilst the evenings have been getting cooler the days have remained lovely. Now suddenly summer clothes need packing away to be replaced by warmer layers. The pool has hit 17°C, so maybe swimming days are over for this year. Perhaps one last cold water dip? We were in Albi last week and noticed that Christmas things are beginning to make an appearance. How quickly the year has flown by, so full of plans, some of which we have achieved, others have been squeezed out by the myriad of unexpected events.

During the summer we worked hard to keep the house cool, dancing to the tune of the shutter dance and the times to open and close these wonderful elements of our home. Now suddenly the lovely thick walls, so great in the summer, have cooled down, the house is getting chilly in the evening. The time for woodburners is fast approaching.

Last night we finally had RAIN! The garden looks a little relieved. It was sadly too late for a lovely old and very tall tree in the neighbouring field. At 4.30am on Friday we were woken by the oddest sound, a soft thump a bit like a large pile of clothes falling somewhere. Max went off to see what had happened suspecting the cats, but returned a while later to report that nothing seemed to be amiss. It wasn’t until I opened the bathroom shutters that I saw the cause of the early morning disturbance. A mighty tree had uprooted and fallen along the length of our terrace wall but by chance below it. How lucky it didn’t fall in our direction. On reflection the sound of it falling was like a huge sigh as it gracefully and sadly gave up. This happened a lot last year after months of lack of water. I fear we may see the same this year. Our trees have either shed their leaves very quickly to save themselves or the leaves are hanging limply from their branches crying out for water. After the rain the garden looked fresher but I am under no illusion that much more water is needed to help. I am hoping that I can finally get out into the garden to do some tidying work as hopefully the soil will be beginning to be a little softer. Last time I tried it was like concrete.

Earlier in the week we took my son off to his retreat, a scenic 3 hour drive to the Dordogne and a wonderful place, Plum Village. We stopped on the way for a picnic lunch in Tournon-d’Agenais in the Lot-et-Garonne, a delightful bastide town we had spotted earlier in the summer on a different trip to Plum Village. We didn’t have a lot of time to explore but had a very quick look – another place to add to our ever lengthening list of places to visit.

Once my son was installed in his room and we had enjoyed a walk around the grounds, we set off for our return journey, stopping firstly at Eymet, the gorgeous town of our wonderful crêpe supper in August (see post Adventures Galore). As it was Monday of course most places (shops and restaurants) were closed, plus it was a bit early for the restaurants that would open to be open. We did take the time to explore a little more but decided to press on towards home and stop somewhere else.

The last time we passed this way we stopped at Monflanquin for a much needed coffee, so this was our next port of call (not a port of course!). Another pretty place, very quiet out of season and it being Monday. An interesting sighting of a man clad in bright yellow beekeeping suit shooting something at a tree caught our attention. It turned out that he was dealing with a hornets nest so we made a hasty retreat. The one place open for food turned out to be wonderful, a delicious meal and it was warm enough to sit outside. After our ‘fuel’ stop we headed home, through many a winding road, not much in the way of traffic but it was lovely to see the lights of home finally.

The weekend was dry so the garden finally got some attention. There is so much to do but we made a start pruning very overgrown shrubs and dividing irises, rather late but hopefully they will be survive. As I finish this the wind is blowing a gale. This is always a bit unnerving as we are surrounded by very tall trees. Fingers crossed that they are all well rooted into the ground.

Have a good week.

A bientôt

Ali xx

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