Un nid de bourdiga

before orchardIsn’t that a gorgeous expression? It’s Ardeche patois (slang) meaning a nest of brambles.

And that is what they call wire fencing around farms.  It traps brambles because you can never get at the base to weed them.

Here is my very own nid de bourdiga. The fence that separates the orchard from the bank that leads to the road to the house.

It’s one of those things were I think; why didn’t we remove this before? This fence was installed when the stables were built and the previous owners had animals to corral.

We have no animals. Unless you count Artur who was hiding up at the potting shed all day. And Ulysse the horse who managed to escape today and had a ball cantering about the farm evading capture. new look orchard

We worked on him with a tried and tested pincer movement. I offered him an apple; while Jean Daniel snuck up behind him with the halter. Works every time.

But this fence doesn’t even have a gate at the end. It’s just an open lawn area that leads to the plum bank and further up the mountain.

So now it’s gone. I tried to stand in the exact spot for the before and after shots. But not having that leaning fence post as a reference point; I just had to guess.

So neat and tidy. And from now on, I’ll be able to strim the brambles when they emerge rather than waiting for them to snake down the bank and try and spread. Happy days. Cold, grey and damp, but I didn’t notice.