We’re off

Monday morning and the wall begins.   I can’t believe how warm it is – sunhat and t shirts. But with the fetching sight of guantlets as well.   My job for hours and hours was to keep up a steady supply of rocks and stones for Nicolas.

So that meant putting the car to use yet again.   Poor vehicle; on the weekend it was wood, today it’s rocks.   And the whoppers go into the wheelbarrow as they are too heavy for the car.

I have found a few caches of rocks from some crumbling walls above the road near the forest. But I have to come up with some more tomorrow if I’m to keep up.   I think there are plenty up near the top potager, but I’ll have to work out how far that will be to struggle with my buckets of stones.

I had to set my alarm for 2pm as I had to dash to Aubenas to meet Andrew for a plant swap. Yesterday it was Leslie and Teo, and today Andrew. That’s my idea of a great week.   My curency is a stock of freshly uprooted raspberry plants.

I have kept the suckers alive all year – I usually just hoe off the escaping raspberries from the bed.   But I knew that everyone was in the market for the wonder fruit.   So I have been struggling past them all season getting snagged but knowing that they would make good gifts.

And in exchange I am blessed.   I have day lilies, violas, monardas, irises, winter jasmine and pelargoniums. And from Andrew I have my fantastic supply of tulips and paper white narcissus.

I suspect I have more plants from Teo and Leslie which have escaped my memory – I did unpack things in the dark last night. But I’ll see them tomrrow.

I have a huge planting day ahead of me.   Oh, yes, and I need to stockpile a small mountain of stones for the Wednesday wall work.