The vendage has begun. ‘Tis the season to get ready all the stuff that makes them merry, in other words, the grape harvest is in full swing. Tractors hum gently through the vines and along with their larger mechanical harvesting counterparts, cause long lines of traffic on the surrounding roads. Despite their reputation for keeping one hand on the horn and a foot on the accelerator, the French motorists appear to hold these humungous vehicles in high regard – silently biding their time until a dual carriageway pops up. With most of France taking August as holiday time, there seems to be a flurry of activity everywhere. Summer is coming to an end and boy, what a summer it has been.
The poor terre has suffered through the dry season despite my sneaky watering with the hose. We don’t get hosepipe bans here, unlike the UK, but unnecessary use of water is still frowned upon. After 6 weeks of scorching blue skies, we finally had a drop of rain. Hardly the downpour promised (the odd thing around here is that it can rain in the town next to yours but you don’t get a drop )but enough to make the plants stand upright for a day or so. The only noticeable difference in the weather now that it’s September is that the nights are cooler – the thermometer is still hitting 30 in the daytime. Naturally the bloody pool is still without de l’eau as Lionel is back at work and only coming here on Saturdays but at least my earth mountains are slowly disintegrating. I would suggest that anyone wanting to design an outdoor gym should consider piling tonnes of dirt in one place and then moving it somewhere else. Of course, all this could have been done with a digger but anyone who has one is, guess where? On a tractor amongst those vines. My trusty wheelbarrow and I have shifted over half of the stuff already even with the interference that is Arry who feels the need to remove selected rocks for his own personal cayou sanctuary.
It’s hard to believe we moved to Rouffiac a year ago. The property bears little resemblance to the one we took the keys to. The apartment has had a complete overhaul (and I intend to add the hidden space above it next year), the main house has been all but knocked down inside and the downstairs now completely renovated and the garden has been blessed with new plantings and an almost pool. With Autumn on the horizon and hopefully, Denis back in full health, we can get started on the vegetable garden and tractor shed. I might have finished my mountain relocation by then.
I was reminded via email this morning that it’s time for the woofers’ annual check-ups. Frankly I’m not looking forward to taking either Neo or Mo, neither has a particular fondness for being poked about and I can’t find Neo’s muzzle. As much as they all seem perfectly healthy to me, some are starting to show their age. Simi, Gizmo, and Yogi Bear are all over 10 years old now and spend most of their days lazing in the shade or in Gizmo’s case, lazing on the sofa. But like fine wines, they are best left to settle……
A few fascinating facts about wine
– it takes 600-800 grapes to make a bottle of wine
–one vine can produce 3 bottles of wine
– one acre of vines can produce between 2000 and 7000 bottles of wine
– and Rouffiac d’Aude is right in Languedoc, one of the largest wine-producing areas in France although only a fraction of the stuff is exported. We do like our wine!
Widow plus woofs 