Tree surgery

And that is exactly what we did. We came back with a bucketful of produce  tomatoes, peppers, a huge cabbage, and a book on trees. Michel did come back with us and we did a walk around the property. He thinks it will only take a morning to do all the tree work up near the pool and the potting shed. Amazingly efficient. But the cherry trees will have to wait until spring. But they definitely need a tidy. And we may get some maple trees. There is a local variety which Nicolas was able to instantly describe  Acer monspessulanum – which should do well here. They don’t mind the wind, and have a beautiful autumn colour. So we may plant three of them up on the top terrace way near the woods. We have some lovely gentle autumn colour, but not that fiery stop and gasp red which you always want at this time of year.

There are plenty of brambles to dig out on the top terrace. I noticed that when Jan and I went up there for a sunset walk last night to take the final holiday photos and look at the water supply. (It’s low. But Jean-Daniel has said the same thing, so I know it’s not just us.)

And there is more indoor work next month to get through. Bernard and Florent came up to help with the insulation of the water pipes that are outside. The polystyrene and bags of straw had to go down to protect from the cold. And I need more insulating wool for the top water tank. And we are going to seal up the first floor windows a bit more securely. All this work for the cold is new. But it’s fun. We have to leave the heating on to ensure the pipes don’t freeze. But only just ticking over. And hopefully next week it will all be activity. New roof, new decking around the pool, and best of all – hopefully some good sun tunnels to get some light into the house. In summer it was easy we just opened all the doors to let in light. But in winter it really is necessary to leave the lights on in the daytime just to see through the gloom.