The plum tree

Remember the plum tree that Ken planted in the corner of our back yard some years ago? I posted this photo of it flowering in early March. The flowers are gone now and the dark red leaves have taken their place.

Many more leaves in the woods now than a month ago.

I got out yesterday to run a few errands. I had a birthday card to mail. I had to go to the blood lab in advance of my upcoming routine doctor visit. Then I stopped at the grocery store for a few things, one of which was motor oil for the lawnmower and rototiller. I didn't change the oil in either machine last year, so I need to do it now. I was out and back home before 09h00.

Wired

Or, more accurately, un-wired. These are some of the guide wires from a vineyard parcel that's being dug out. I'm assuming the parcel will be re-planted with new grapes, but if I understand the process, that probably won't happen until next year. There are three larger parcels nearby that were plowed up last year. I'm expecting that they'll be planted with new grapes this summer, once the warm weather (high hopes) sets in.

Bundles of rusty old wire.

We're back in a chilly spell. I haven't seen any freeze warnings, yet. Frost danger lasts through mid-May in France, so we're not out of the woods.This morning's low is about 7ºC (45ºF) at the house. The high is expected to reach a lofty 13ºC (about 55ºF) this afternoon.

Mower mishap

I started cutting the last part of the yard on Monday afternoon around 14h00. Everything started out fine. I was in the north forty, but then it all went south. The self-propelled feature of the lawnmower quit. I had to stop because, with my back, I can't muscle a lawnmower around the yard without a little help. The first thing I tried was to turn the adjustment screws on the cable that activates the drive wheels. No change.

The back yard, all mowed, Tuesday morning at about 08h30. Ken's done a really good job tilling up the vegetable garden plot.

I turned the mower over on its side, reached underneath, and found the lever that the cable activates. It moved back and forth just fine. I righted the mower and started it again. No change. I turned it over again and turned one of the drive wheels. It turned normally. I tried the other one. All ok. I took the hub caps off and checked the gears that turn the wheels. All seemed normal. Righted the mower, started it up again. No change.

Now I was starting to swear. The mower is pretty new. I went into the house and dug out the guarantee papers. Two year guarantee. I couldn't remember when I actually bought the mower so I had to search through bank records to find the receipt. That took a little while, but I found it. I bought the mower in August of 2019; just under two years. So I decided I'd have to take it back to the store. However, the store where I bought the mower is farther than our 10 km driving limit while we're under confinement. Curses! I hopped in the car and drove over to our local Bricomarché to ask them if they could do the repair or did I need to take the mower to the other Bricomarché where I bought it. I already knew the answer: I would have to take it to the other store. Ok, I thought, confinement is over on Monday. I can take the mower in next week.

Once home again, I got to thinking. I Googled Best Green tondeuse tractée panne de traction (Best Green lawnmower self-propelled broken self-propulsion). Up came four YouTube videos. The first one was a guy who was trying to fix the self-propulsion on a mower model very close to mine. One of the first things he said to do was to check the belt. Ken had actually thought it might be a belt issue; that was a couple paragraphs up.

So I went back out with my trusty tools (consisting of a ratchet set, a handful of screwdrivers, and a box of Allen wrenches), turned the mower over on its side, unplugged the spark plug, then got to work removing the blade. Once the blade was off, I could see that, sure enough, the belt had come off. After searching for the right size screwdriver, I finally got the belt cover off. The belt was not broken, so I put it back in its guide on the turning thingy (that's the official name for it) and reattached the cover and blade. After reattaching the spark plug, I started the mower back up. It worked!

By this time it was about 17h00. I decided to finish cutting the grass. And so I did.

I am extremely happy that I don't have to schlep that lawnmower over 30 km to the hardware store (and back) just for a slipped belt. And who knows how much time they would have taken to fix it.

Another one bites the dust

Another few vineyard parcels out toward the end of the road have seen their last days. Over the past few weeks, I've seen the guide wires removed, the stakes pulled out, and many of the vine trunks taken away. The next step will be plowing up the ground, along with the remaining vine trunks.

Not much remains in these old vineyard parcels.

These must have been very old vines. I know that one of the larger parcels (just beyond the trees in this photo) that was dug up last year had the oldest vines owned by that particular grower. Out with the old, in with the new.

Vineyard view

The vineyards out back are mostly prepared for the new season. Pruning and pliage are done, the growers are plowing between rows as weeds begin to grow, and now leaves are appearing on the vines. The clover in that one parcel has been cut and plowed in, allowing the nitrogen stored in the roots to be released as a natural fertilizer.

The vines are busy producing new leaves.

We've just read that the practice of planting clover or other cover crops in vineyards is gaining ground in the effort to reduce or eliminate the use of chemical herbicides and fertilizers and to help control erosion. The practice is called enherbement. I'm hoping that this test was successful and that we'll see more of it out there. Already, most of the parcels out back have grass growing between the vines. That's the simplest form of enherbement because there's no need to seed and plow each year.

Seedlings

The tomato seedlings are up! This year I've planted only two varieties: roma and marmande. I thinned the seedlings down to one per pot before I took this photo. I will plant six romas and nine marmandes (there's one extra in case I lose one), significantly down from the number of tomato plants in previous years. The total number of plants has to be a multiple of three because I'm using my tripod stakes to support them.

The seedlings will enjoy the warmth of the green house for the next few weeks before going out into the garden plot.

I've also planted zucchini (in the round pots). One seed came up, the second has been eaten by something. I planted another seed yesterday to replace it. Not in the photo are pots of chard seeds that have yet to sprout (I just planted them yesterday). Once the garden plot is ready, I will also start planting beans. I have purple pole beans (same as last year), green beans, and yellow beans.

Parasol demi-lune

Now that the weather is getting nicer (we got up to over 21ºC, almost 70ºF, on Friday), we're using the deck a little more. We're still expecting the renovation work to get under way sometime this spring, so I haven't put the table and chairs out yet. But I'm grilling and enjoying sitting out there a little. And, I put out the new umbrella.

The new umbrella on the deck. Ken likes the way it matches the emerging red maple leaves.

Like I mentioned before, it's half an umbrella, or half-moon, made specially for balconies. I hoped it would work on our deck (which is not a balcony in the technical sense). It does, mostly. The umbrella is almost too tall, but I can work with that. And, although I originally wanted the green color, I find I like the red just fine.

A different angle, kind of distorted. The deck will need to be emptied before the workers start the renovation.

The good weather got us out into the yard yesterday. Ken did the first pass in the vegetable garden with the rototiller. I got last year's Jerusalem artichoke flower stems pulled out and did some weed killing in our driveway. I also transplanted some of the tomato seedlings into individual pots. They're still small, but they look good. They can't go into the ground for another month (frost danger), so they're enjoying the spa-like conditions in the green house for now. Photos to come.