So, we slipped into October and it started to rain..yet to stop!!! I think this is day four but you tend to lose track of time after awhile (didn't read this in the small print LOL). The amazing aspect of all this being the lack of mud, by now in Waitoki the infamous clay would have liquefied to trench-like conditions. I suspect it is the stone in the ground that allows drainage so within half a day of raining the ground is almost dry..shall see how this is January perhaps.
The clocks are yet to change so it is quite difficult to get up early enough for school, markets etc. I think they go back at the end of this month... suffice to say the chickens are not quite so demanding in the mornings!! I appear to have lost two over the last wee while, I found a hole in the fence in spite of a knee locking electric wire just alongside..a hungry fox I presume, I think owning a shotgun will be handy but first I need to take a test (of course in French) so it maybe sometime before I can tackle that.
I am happy to report I have found someone up the road who is selling his whole bee keeping operation (has developed an allergy..can happen so it appears) so I have bought three hives, extractor, suit, smoker, bees and many other bits. I shall pick it all up when the temperature drops so the bees are quiet! I am both excited and a little nervous but having read about them for awhile I feel it is time to get on with it..
Markets are going well in spite of my shockingly poor French, some people are not amused but on the whole they seem to be okay with my stumblings.. occasionally I get to say something that is understood and this feels great. The organic market has finished for the summer so I am back at Carhaix, between here and Huelgoat I manage to sell around 9 trays. I imagine the girls will take a break over winter as I do not plan to install lights etc. I feel they give enough over the year so a well deserved rest is fine with me.
The renovations are slow at the moment, I think it is something to do with doing it alone, quite unmotivating at times and overwhelming..although I do think it is a particular stage as everything is a mess. Once a few things such as a floor are in place the rest will follow. Also aware that the cold is soon to arrive and therefore this limits how much I can remove at a time.
Last Sunday I went to an artisan market in Locarn, there I met a chap who grows industrial hemp for oil, foods etc. He is always looking for people to grow some as he needs more seed than he can grow..After DuPont effectively killed the industry in the 50s France developed 5 strains of hemp that are have a zero THC rating and they now supply hemp growers worldwide. The great thing about hemp is that it requires no chemical intervention and of course the whole plant can be used. He would want to buy the seed at approx €1/kg (getting approx a tonne/ha) that leaves us with the straw...very good for building/insulation. Shall keep you posted on this one but it does sound like a great way to use some of our land and something that NZ should be growing by the truck load...
All in all we are well as we settle in for our first winter, have missed the boat for many things in the garden but we knew this would be the case on year one. Next year I shall have more time (and contacts) to get a plan together, hopefully will have built a glasshouse/potting shed that will give us the ability to grow many things we currently cannot...
Still no news on green beans so I shall have to stop selling coffee and just roast it for us. I reckon the best approach would be to have a mobile coffee machine at the markets etc. although the French are not so keen to stroll and drink/eat I am sure enough will try it and discover coffee can actually taste so good. Will require quite an outlay if it is truly mobile such as the machinery etc. but I shall think about it for awhile..perhaps I can incorporate it into my market stand or my landrover!!
Okay that is enough for now (the rain has stopped!) I shall attempt to post a couple of pics re the 'kitchen'....
R
PS Kids are doing much better in school. They are now speaking 'fake french' to each other and Lola was correcting Rod's pronunciation the other day. Funny.
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