Veggie update

It was touch and go for a while with the courgettes (zucchini) this year. I think they languished too long in the greenhouse before getting planted outdoors. But they've come through and now they have blossoms, so we should get a good crop.

One of two zucchini plants in this year's garden. I think two will be enough.

The yellow flat beans are climbing vigorously up the trellis at the back of the garden. I'm looking forward to an abundant harvest (knock on wood) starting later this month. Their predecessors, the snow peas, are done now. The heat wave did them in as they prefer the cooler weather of spring.

The yellow flat beans are looking good so far.

The other plants are growing well, too. They're mostly tomatoes (some with fruit already!), but there is also kale, peppers, and a few eggplants.

The heat is back

It's not as bad as last week's heat wave, but the air is hot and still again. Friday's high temperature was in the low 30sC, the mid-80sF. The same is expected today. The vegetable garden is having a good time. The zucchini are starting to flower now.

The tall grasses and wildflowers are competing with the grape vines in some places.

Today is the official start of school summer vacation. Tourist season is under way. The châteaux and zoo are big draws in our region. It doesn't mean much to us except that there is more traffic on the roads. We'll probably see our Parisian neighbors a little more over the next two months.

Little grapes

The grape flowers are disappearing and grapes are forming on the vines out back. The cycle continues. As summer goes on, the grapes will get bigger until the onset of fall, then they will change color before the harvest gets under way. But let's not rush things.

A bunch of baby wine grapes.

We are expecting a friend from San Francisco to arrive today. However, when I checked his flight status this morning, I found out that his plane had a mechanical issue and was diverted to Newark, NJ, where it still sits as I write this. At this point, our friend will certainly miss his train connections, so we'll have to stand by to see when he actually lands in Paris and what he decides to do. I'm writing this and posting it early to let him know we're watching, in case he accesses the blog en route. Traveling can sure be a pain in the derrière.

Neat and tidy

The growers out back have spent the last week trimming the grape vines. They have a special tractor that's fitted with spinning blades both vertical and horizontal. As they drive up and down the rows, the blades trim the sides and tops of the vines.

The summertime vineyard.

We're having very normal summer weather now. Dry, pleasant, and not hot. Our high temperatures are in the mid to upper 20sC (mid to high 70sF). The vegetable garden really loved the heat wave and the tomatoes had a growth burst. We have blossoms already. I've been doing some weeding and, of course, watering. I'm back in control for the time being.

Inside the house, we're slowly getting things back to normal. I'm expecting the builder back today to finish up some details. Fingers crossed!

Don't let the stars get in your eyes

These little flowers look like stars. I'm not certain what they are called, but they grow close to the ground around the edges of the vineyard parcels. When they're fully open they look like tiny petunias or morning glories.

These could be "liseron des champs," but I'm not sure.

The plumber finished his work on Tuesday morning, and the builder is getting very close with just a few minor finishing touches to complete. We're starting to put things back together and reorganize.

Now we have two half-baths in the house. Let's see... do two half-baths add up to one whole bath? Ha! The expression "half-bath" doesn't exist in French. The room with a toilet and a sink is called a WC (Water Closet). The salle de bains (bath room) is where the bathtub and/or shower are. That way, someone bathing doesn't block access to the toilet. Très pratique. Our salle de bains has a tub and a shower stall, along with a large sink. Oh, and a bidet. While there is traditionally no toilet in a salle de bains, that is starting to change. There are toilets in the "bath" rooms of some of the rental houses we've stayed in recently.

We still got roses

Not all the flowers burned up in the recent heat wave. These pink roses are in our back yard. The plant is in a relatively shady spot and that may have helped to keep the blooms fresh looking. I have plans to rip it out, though. I just don't like where the plant is and it's spindly and not very pretty. Except for the flowers.

A pretty shade of pink. And the French word for pink is "rose."

The plumber came on Monday and got the small sink and basin off the wall (in pretty good shape, too) and installed the new one. We like it much better, and it's much more in proportion with the room. I don't have any photos, yet, but they're coming. Ken has some photos on his blog today if you want to see them now.

The builder is expected back today for some minor drywall work and finishes (like a shelf and the baseboards). I'm not sure when he'll be completely done, but we should have two functioning WCs by the end of the day. Yippee!

Walnuts

The walnut tree that grows out along the vineyard road is covered in nuts this year. It seems to me to be more than there were last year, and the year before. The nuts will mature and will start dropping in the fall. They're usually too small to be worth gathering.

Young walnuts on the tree.

The heat wave has broken! Sunday was still hot, but much less so. And this morning it's downright chilly outside. Our high today is only expected to get up to 24ºC, which is about 75ºF. I'll take it.

Our builder came by on Sunday afternoon to ask if he could come in and get some work done. Of course, we said! He got the framing and drywall installed in the downstairs bath. The next step is the taping and mudding of the joints, before undercoat and paint. Then the plumber can install the new toilet.

I assembled the new cabinet for the upstairs sink early Sunday morning. I let the plumber know that it's ready to be installed. I'm hopeful he'll come over today and do that. There's still some taping and mudding to do on the drywall upstairs, but that's a lower priority than getting the downstairs done.