Monpazier is looking very beautiful if quiet. Preparations are well underway for our Christmas Eve dinner and celebration of this wonderful time of year. We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and prosperous and healthy New Year.
I found this absolutely beautiful little bird nest hidden in the aucuba japonica while preparing the flower bed for winter. Although we can’t pretend to be experts we believe it belongs to a ‘coal tit’, known as ‘mesange noire’ that live in the garden.
Now that the cooler nights have arrived the beautiful little tree frogs are back hiding behind the shutters. It always seems a shame to disturb them but they are back each evening.
We had these mushrooms appear on the new grass area where the old concrete cattle yard used to be. They are known locally as coulemelle and are edible often being served with veal. Its always a surprise the plants that appear in newly imported soil.
With the changing of the clocks autumn has definitely arrived and the sunsets have taken on a different hue. However they are still absolutely breathtaking.
Faure comes from the Occitan language and is a family name meaning ‘blacksmith’. As Les Faures was once associated with Chateau Biron and provided ironwork for the estate it is very aptly named. All that remains now is a rather blackened area in one of the barns where the fire must have been. It is … Read more
Each autumn there is a small poultry market in Monpazier square where much prized cockerels and hens are for sale. Being a country area self sufficiency in fruit vegetables and eggs is very much an ongoing tradition. The French country house with roaming hens a very common scene.
As our wonderful summer continues we are being treated to the most beautiful and glorious cloud formations. It is simply imperative to take time out to enjoy the scene.
This is definitely the time of year when I come across Praying Mantis in the gardens. As I deadhead and tidy up straggling plants I have to keep an eye out for these wonderful creatures in order to make sure my secateurs don’t cause fatal damage or even injury. They have a way of looking … Read more
The new grass area in what was once a concrete cattle yard has blossomed this year with the most wonderful display of wild achillea. While it might look tidier to have a mown lawn the beautiful little flowers attract so many insects that we have decided to allow nature to have the benefits and wait … Read more