Tasha again

Just another photo of the back yard with Tasha. She likes to inspect every smell, likely hoping to find some critter to chase. Callie used to find hedgehogs and go wild, but they more or less disappeared when Bert joined the family. Now that he's gone, maybe they'll come back.We get the occasional squirrel, but the most common visitors are the birds. And Tasha likes to chase birds.

Tasha inspects the fence line on the north side.

The biggest critters we've had in the yard are the deer. Once in a while, one will somehow get in, often by crashing through the fence at a weak point. The last one that got in had me and Tasha working together to herd it toward the open gate. It turned out that we weren't working together after all and I had to put her in the house and herd the deer myself until it found the open gate.

Tasha Tuesday

Tasha helped me out in the yard and garden the other day. Here she is watching birds, just before they take off and she chases them. Or maybe it was a car going by. Ever vigilant.

It's time for a bath and a trim.

After a soggy spring, we're now in a summer-like cycle. Dry days, warm afternoons. It feels like summer up in the loft at night. We're sleeping with the windows open and a fan on. Outside, the soil (such as it is) in the vegetable garden is drying out. A little rain would be nice. I could set up the sprinkler, but I don't think that's a good idea while we're in a drought. And we still are.

Happy hamlet

Here's Tasha inspecting the newly planted grape vines in one of the vineyard parcels out back. On the other side of the road is a parcel that's been replanted since we moved here. I can't recall which year it was. Maybe five years ago? Maybe ten? It could even be fifteen.

Looking easterly toward our hamlet on a sunny afternoon.

Today is Pentecost Monday, a holiday in France. I think it's the last spring holiday before summer vacations start.

New vines

Yesterday afternoon, Tasha and I walked by the vineyard parcel out back that's being re-planted. It's only about half done. Work will probably resume on Tuesday, this being another three-day holiday weekend (Pentecost). There's a metal thing in the ground next to each new vine. I don't know what they are (maybe support stakes?), but I saw them being installed by hand earlier in the day. That's a lot of work!

Hard to see, but the vines are the little red things sticking up through the dirt.

You can see who I believe to be the vigneronne (grower/winemaker) driving a mowing tractor in the background. She's the latest (forth generation, I think) in the family to take up the business. She did her university work in grape growing and wine making, if I'm not mistaken. We still see her parents around now and then, but much less than we used to. Grape growing is hard work!

Planting grapes

Trucks, tractors, and other vehicles gathered out back yesterday with a crew ready to plant new grape vines. The grower has been working on the parcel for months (grading and fertilizing), and yesterday I saw it being finely plowed before the planting started. From what I can tell (I'm only observing and I haven't talked to anyone), the planting is aided by GPS -- there was some kind of receiver/antenna thing with blinking lights on a tripod next to the parcel as the crew worked. The vines themselves come grafted onto root stock, encased in some kind of waxy substance. Two guys ride on a planting machine attached to the back of a tractor loading those "plugs" into it. The machine then plants them at the right depth with the right amount of space in between, two rows at a time. The waxy stuff will melt away as the vines sprout leaves and grow.

Over-zoomed phone photo of trucks and tractors out in the vineyard.

I haven't been out to see the result, yet. That'll be later today when Tasha and I go out for our afternoon walk. I'll try to remember to take the camera. The next thing they'll do, I think, is put wooden anchor posts in the ground at the ends of each row. Later, like a year or more from now, metal posts will go in along the rows and guide wires will be strung to support the vines and their fruit. This is all based on what I've seen in the different parcels that were re-planted over the years.

And speaking of agriculture, I planted a row of green bean seeds in the vegetable garden yesterday. I'll plant a second row in a couple of weeks, and maybe a third row a couple of weeks after that.

I don't give a fig

Well, more like I don't get a fig. Our fig tree has produced more figs this spring than I've ever seen, especially for the spring crop. There's also a summer crop yet to come. The problem is that they're all hard as rocks. I'm hoping that they'll ripen and that we will be able to enjoy some before the birds and insects get them. I should do some research to see if they will ripen off the tree. If so, I could harvest some now.

Figs on our tree. There are a lot more than you can see here.

I think that huge vineyard parcel out back that was prepared for replanting over the past two years is getting its new vines soon. There's activity out there this morning and, a couple of weeks ago, one row of vines was planted. I don't know why only one row went in. Ah, the mysteries of wine making. I'll get a closer view when I take the morning walk with Tasha.

Chickpea salad

For some reason, we have a surplus of chickpeas in the pantry. Probably because of sales, but it could also just be forgetfulness. So I went on line to get some ideas for using them. Chickpea salad on the site Natasha's Kitchen caught my eye. I didn't even know our dog had a blog, let alone that she was a first rate chef. LOL.

Chickpea salad with tomato, cucumber, corn, avocado, feta cheese, and cilantro.

It's a pretty easy salad to make and it can be varied almost infinitely. I added corn kernels to the mix. The dressing is a simple mix of olive oil with lemon juice and garlic, but almost any vinaigrette-style dressing would work. I grilled a couple of Toulouse sausages to have along side. A good summery lunch!