Verdun?

No, near Vernoux. But the mud is of similar consistency.

The day started wet and gloomy (now there’s a surprise) and just going out our front door means you start off in the mud.

I’m counting the days until we can sort out our courtyard.

Still, I made the most of the damp by going visiting.

Teo and Leslie live 45 minutes up in the mountains, so I loaded the car with weedproof fabric, calamagrostis Karl Foerster grasses, some hostas and a few months worth of garden magazines and squelched up to their mountain top.

And when I came back down a few hours later I was the happy owner of six hornbeam trees. Plus sopas and home produce of heaven – honey. 

And by a miracle, it had actually stopped raining when I got back,

So planting and shifting mud it was.

You can barely see the six hornbeams here among all the mud.  But they are going to replace the wall that fell down at the entrance to the house.  And I’m even considering planting a double row of trees to make a thick hedge and hide this hideous eyesore.

And look at the mud! This used to be a sward of lawn.  As soon as spring hits this mountain I’ll be out sowing about an acre of grass seed all over these bald bits.

But the main picture of the day needs explaining. It’s my new mud wall.  How to get mud to stick to a steep slope?

Add rocks. Stand on the pile and stamp it down and keep going until you reach the top. And have someone help you shovel wheelbarrow load after wheelbarrow load of soil into the gap. Lucky me to have some help.

Sorry the pictures are so graphic and mud coloured.  But that is my consuming task right now.

All I need to do is keep on building and adding soil and boring you all witless with updates.