Big achievement in the veg patch

So, this is the bottom end of the veg patch. We all spent Friday sorting it out. You can see the frame of the new polytunnel. At the start of the day this area was covered in brambles and ivy and sloped. The trees on the boundary were over hanging and you could not see the field beyond. The chickens and geese enjoyed picking over what we dug up!
You can see two of the beds in the picture that currently have raspberry canes in them. These are to be moved to the perimeter to make room for more veg. There are three more beds the same that we have dug over ready for planting.
When the cows are in the field they hang their heads over the fence and watch me!
Once I have started planting the chickens will be shut out as they dig up everything I plant. I have a thornless blackberry growing along one fence.
This year I will try to grow...peas, beans, red onions, spring onions, kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Also squash and courgettes. In the polytunnel will be tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies and peppers.
I look forward to getting going. Weather has stopped play in the garden for the next few days but there is still plenty of time to get going.
I always feel very happy when working in the garden.

Big step forward

so, daughter and husband are now in their new home. They moved in yesterday to a new house. This used to be a small cow barn attached to our house. It had an earth floor and was very dark. It is now a bright and sunny one bedroomed house. We still have the outside decking to do to give safe access to the front door and the garden needs lots of work to get it looking good. It will all get done eventually.
This morning we are meeting at their house for coffee and a discussion to plan our next project. This has to be to finish the other two Gites. A lot of the work is done so we need careful planning to be sure of the order of things and that we have the necessary materials on site.
We have also now created pathways around the place having had 13 ton of scalpings delivered. Things are shaping up well.
P took the corvette for the CT (mot) yesterday and it passed. So we now have all the paperwork to apply for French license plates. Means another trip to the prefecture. I hope that is the last thing with officialdom for a while.
My French driving license has still not turned up. I obviously misunderstood the phone conversation! Not hard to do! My piece of paper to show the police runs out 4th April so I very much hope it arrives before then. I dread dealing with the prefecture again.
My polytunnel has arrived and I hope we will assemble it tomorrow. I have lots of vegetable seeds waiting to be planted.
Sadly I lost a duck this week. They have been roaming ever further from our property and I knew it was only a matter of time before a fox arrived. She was always the last to come home and was often in the field alone. I was always hunting for them and herding them back. P saw the fox take her.
I have now refenced around the duck area with chicken wire which has stopped them getting through the fence. I have also closed the gate between them and the geese as Mr Goose is aggressive just now due to Mrs Goose laying eggs. Very much hoping for Goslings this year.
So, the busy time is fast approaching with lots to do in the veg patch. Need extra veg this year to supply daughter and sil!

Plodding onwards

the world seems to be going crazy just now. I dread seeing the news each morning. I am always first up and never put the tv on, trying to delay bad news.
So, a full week done of the blood sugar diet and I have lost 6lbs. Not bad. I never thought I could cope with drastically reducing my carb and sugar intake but I have done it and so far do not miss it. My portions have greatly reduced too but that may be because I am unwell. I have been unwell for a few days and have pushed myself to keep going. Today I went to see the doc. I have a chest infection!   On antibiotics for six days. I have been told to stay in the warm as there is a risk it could become pneumonia. I was also checked out for Zika as there have been two cases in Paris. All clear on that front thank goodness. Something else I discovered is my blood pressure was a little low where before doing this eating regime it was a little high. For now I feel very rough.
We have reduced our prices for the Gite in the hope it will bring some bookings. We are all worried at the lack of them. Probably due to the referendum and the illegal immigrants problem.
Daughter is now moving into the cave! Curtains are up and most of the furniture is in. It looks really good. Hubby dealt with the last bit of plumbing today. Next we have to do a few bits in the Gite before it goes out for rental on 12th March. Then we will crack on with finishing the other two Gites.
As always plenty to do here.