The météo’s radar is useless, I have discovered. As Denis and I chatted over our morning cup of coffee , I pointed out that according to the weather boffins we should have been taking shelter in the storm instead of sweltering under blue skies. Despite our early morning watering regime, saving the young fruit trees is going to take a miracle and the more established walnuts and almond ones are drooping under the relentless heat. We really need to find an alternative water source if droughts are going to become the summer norm so we are going to drill down through the parched earth and put a well in. Denis tells me that there is a water divining chap in the village who has an almost perfect success rate in finding such nectar and since the whole area was once covered in vines, there must be a source somewhere down there.
With most of the family having left by yesterday morning, except for my eldest nephew Louis, life in chez Rouffiac is beginning to return to a quieter rhythm. As much as I love my siblings (my sister and I having hugged out whatever the invisible issue was), I wonder whether the ties that bind are somewhat looser now that L’Horte and Pop are no longer with us, just the memories. New lives are being made, especially for the four eldest grandchildren who grew up at L’Horte and Simon, Bong and Moth (my siblings) have their own paths to travel. For Mumo and I, our home is here in this happy little village amongst friends. And woofers.
I love having Louis around. Not only because of his contagious dry wit but he loves to get involved in whatever needs doing here as well. Our attempt at glueing a 5 metre piece of liner to the seam half way down the back end of the pool ended up a complete failure as said glue dried too quickly but instead of ending up frustrated and hot-headed as I usually do, the whole scenario left us both in fits of giggles. I have also needed to get back into The Book after a three week absence from a decent tap tapping so Louis is keeping Mumo amused with various outings to museums and such-like. It is a lesson learnt, staying away from my computer for so long, it took me two days before I wrote something halfway comprehensible.
Finally, news on Yogi Bear. Thank you everyone for all your well wishes, especially Linda (his breeder) and Anne (another Bear aficionado) for all the support and advice. Well, I went back to the vet earlier in the week so we could discuss the biopsy results which, to be honest, were bit confusing even in translation. The data shows a definite problem with his liver, possibly hepatic toxicity or caused by stress or he could be anorexic. The last one I feel we can rule out. I’m relieved to say however that the Bear is definitely feeling much more himself and a second echograph done during our visit showed a marked improvement in his liver. In the meantime, I have been doing a lot of research on a more suitable diet – apparently venison and white fish are particularly beneficial which of course, is perfect for Bears……
“It’s nice having a Bear around the house” (Michael Bond)
Widow plus woofs 