Grooming day

We've been anticipating today's grooming appointment for a while now. Tasha's original appointment was canceled last September when the groomer went on maternity leave for several months. The "new" groomer will still come to the house but, from what I can tell, she doesn't have a mobile grooming vehicle. She'll use the shower and tub sink in our utility room instead. So, this appointment has given us an excuse to do some long-overdue tidying up down there.

Looking west-northwest over the vineyards and toward our hamlet and the Cher valley beyond.

This shot shows how our hamlet is built on a high spot between two stream beds that drain the vineyard to the river.

Last evening we enjoyed (not) a few hours of stormy weather. Heavy, wind-driven rain pelted us between 17h30 and 20h30, drowning out the television's volume for for a while. The good news is that our roof repairs seem to be holding. I can see no evidence of leaks where there were not so long ago. Another weather system is expected to move through on Thursday. Temperatures are expected to drop toward the negative and some snow is predicted. We'll see what actually happens.

Monday's sunrise

The fog has gone. Clouds, wind, and rain are the order of the day. And probably the week, according to some of the forecasts. But, on Monday morning, some sun slipped through.

Looking toward the southeast from the deck. The maple leaves are almost all on the ground now.

It was a productive day. I carted the recycling away and I got the barbecue grill all put away for the winter. We also worked on the tidying up the utility room in advance of Tasha's home grooming appointment on Wednesday. This groomer doesn't operate out of a converted RV like her colleague. She wanted access to a shower and a tub, both of which we have in the utility room. Just a little more to do and we'll be ready.

Next steps

So... we have a battery charger that seems to have worked. We have a leaf blower to help clean up autumn's mess. We have an air compressor to pump up tired tires. And we have cold and soggy weather keeping us from getting much done outdoors.

Stairs along the Seine in Paris, August 2006.

So... what's next? I suppose I should put the battery back in the lawnmower and see if it starts. Something is making me hesitate. Maybe it's just inertia. I have to finish cleaning the barbecue grill so I can cover it for the winter. Again, inertia. I definitely have to make a trip to the recycle center. Our bins runneth over. Maybe I'll do that today.

In a fog

We are still fogged in. It's been weeks. Nothing but gray with low visibility. And everything is damp and dripping. Today is supposed to be a change day with rain moving in to replace the fog. Lovely.

The vines are now bare. Those round (dead) flower heads are Queen Anne's lace. Pruning will start before long.

I think I told you that I managed to get the dead battery out of the riding motor. It's a 12v battery, sort of a mini version of a car battery. And we got the charger that was "recommended" by the guys in the hardware store ("this is the one we use"). I read the instructions very carefully and very frequently and then hooked it up. It seems to have worked as it should have, even though it took about eight hours to charge. The next step is to put it back in the mower and see if it works. Then it will have to come out of the mower again for the winter.

The documentation (or as I call it, the fine print) for the mower says it should be stored with the battery disconnected, and to charge up the battery every four weeks or so to keep it happy. Oh, and Ken ordered a small home air compressor to keep the mower's tires plump. That should also come in handy for other flat tires around the house (wheelbarrow and hand truck, for instance).

Another one bites the dust

One of the growers who owns most of the vineyard parcels behind our house is at it again. She is replacing yet another parcel of old vines. At least I hope that's what she's doing. Many of the parcels that she's had dug up over the past few years are still lying fallow. And here's yet another parcel that she had dug up last week. Shortly after I took this photo, the pile of dug up vine trunks (visible in the center to the left of the orange backhoe) was burned to ashes.

I forgot the caption. So there's this.

There's another patch of vines just outside our garden gate, about five rows, that was pulled up, too. The vineyard is looking less like a vineyard and more like a construction zone (and a muddy one at that) these days. Remember the ravine? Let's hope for new vines, at least in some of the parcels, next spring!

The garden path

Here Tasha and I just left the house and are heading out for our morning walk. A lot of leaves have fallen from the tilleul (linden tree) onto the garden path (there are still a lot left to fall). Raking them up is a pain, but no more! We just became the proud owners of a leaf blower thanks to our hardware store credit. My plan is to blow the leaves off the path and onto the grass, them run them over with the mower (once I get that running again).

Looking west toward the vineyards at dawn on Thursday morning.

I tested the blower out yesterday in the driveway on the other side of the house and it works pretty well. It also has a feature for sucking up the leaves into a bag, but that looks like a lot of trouble in terms of emptying the bag and cleaning out the machine. We'll stick with blowing the leaves for now. Baby steps.

A month ago

I took this picture about a month ago, just after arriving back from my trip to the US. A throwback to autumn, even though we have another month of it to go.

Looking back at our hamlet from the vineyard road.

Yesterday, I stopped into the hardware store to see about a recharger for the lawnmower's battery. I had no idea what to look for and there is nothing I can find in the manual to tell me.I wanted to ask the staff what they would recommend for my mower. After all, it's the place where I bought the thing. I haven't pulled the battery yet, so there may be something written on it.

At any rate, after much consultation (with each other) and head scratching, the two guys that were helping me found what I hope is the answer. They pulled a charger off the shelves that I never would have seen myself because it was on an end cap and not with the other chargers. "This is the one we use to charge lawnmower batteries," one of the guys said confidently. Why he didn't know that sooner, I do not know. So, after some more online research, I'll probably get that one. I didn't buy it yesterday because, well, that's a long story. Short version: we have a store credit to use up and it's in Ken's name. He has to do the transaction.

I'm going to try to remove our mower's battery today to see what's written on it.