Wow, Jane. bet that was tough.
I was in Brazil in 76 and came home for a holiday in '77 and everyone kept apologising for the weather and saying âitâs not like last yearâ when to me it was a perfectly reasonable UK summer.
Todayâs cheerful news⊠watched a beautiful osprey flying along âourâ valley.
Iâd seen it a few times recently, but always too far away to be really sure⊠but today, it came to visit us and thereâs no mistake.
OH and I sat quietly, enjoying the moment⊠until our friend finally dropped like a stone⊠presumably spotted âlunchâ⊠way down belowâŠ
2 Likes
I thought they were N. American raptors found over water? Are they in France? Hen harrier? Eagle?
Many years ago, a friend reported a strange birdâŠ
I went to check things out and found, yes, as I thought⊠it was an osprey.
At that time, although I was looking at the bird and knew darn well âwhat it wasâ⊠I still queried with my brother (the family specialist on such things).
He informed me (rather scornfully) that provided the habitat and food were available, the bird would be quite happy⊠no matter what the books said about where it should or should not be!!
Next time he visited, I boxed his ears (in gentle sisterly fashion)⊠
Since that first sighting⊠we see them from time to time⊠and Iâve even watched a heron âsee-offâ an osprey⊠in the fields below our SdFete⊠that was spellbinding stuff.
1 Like
Mainly in Corsica during the summer months.
But can rarely be found elsewhere in France. Never seen one here so must have been a fine sight!
1 Like
Thankfully, I am not the only person who has seen these lovely birds, locallyâŠ
rather like Bee Eaters (beautiful birds) ⊠you canât mistake 'emâŠ
and yes, we watched ospreys during a holiday in Corsica⊠there, they had nested on some rocky outcrops and we were on a boat, out at seaâŠ
"Le Balbuzard pĂȘcheur est un des rapaces les plus cosmopolites du monde : il est prĂ©sent dans tous les continents sauf en Antarctique. Autrefois largement rĂ©pandu en Europe, il a vu ses effectifs dĂ©cliner fortement au cours du 19e siĂšcle ; concurrent de lâhomme, il Ă©tait victime de vĂ©ritables persĂ©cutions. Il est alors devenu trĂšs rare en France continentale, sa prĂ©sence Ă©tant principalement signalĂ©e au printemps et en automne, lors des passages migratoires.
@SuePJ the osprey is now in 18 departments of FranceâŠ
Revenu naturellement sâinstaller en forĂȘt domaniale dâOrlĂ©ans au dĂ©but des annĂ©es 1980, occupe aujourdâhui (2019) 18 dĂ©partements rĂ©partis sur 8 rĂ©gions (Grand Est, Bourgogne Franche Comte, Ile de France, Centre Val de Loire, Pays de La Loire, Auvergne RhĂŽne Alpes, Nouvelle Aquitaine, Corse)âŠ"
Interesting link⊠Saison 2022 - Balbuzard pĂȘcheur
1 Like
A pair nested at the bottom of the hill where my prep school was in Scotland, we used to watch them, stunning.
2 Likes
Todayâs really cheerful newsâŠ
OH and I saw 3 frogs in the erstwhile frog-free pond, on our usual evening stroll tonight ⊠hurrah.
They are much later arriving this year⊠but at least theyâre here⊠hurrah again.
1 Like
Theyâll go anywhere there is a large enough body of water to provide them with a good food supply. There are summer visitors in France, but mainly further north or near the eastern med coast. Itâs not impossible to find them elsewhere.
1 Like
Just back from another long hike - very hot, but along the way came across a lovely fig tree dripping in figs, so picked a few, 1.5kg to be exact and they are absolutely lovely and sweet - delish with some goats cheese 
7 Likes
Crikey, round here (11), the tree would have been picked clean by the birds. We have to net ours along with the peach tree, otherwise the birds get most of the soft fruit.
Licking my lips in anticipation⊠yummy.
âOurâ fig tree is doing very well⊠itâs on one of the properties which we guard for the owners. They visit every Summer and never get to enjoy the fruits fresh from the tree as they donât ripen until early autumn, after they jet off home⊠
I do put some in the freezer for them⊠but thereâs nothing quite like a freshly picked figâŠ
1 Like
I used to park my traffic under my fig trees and then everyone picked the fallen ones off the roof, all warm and jammy.
When the figs are ripe, I run the gauntlet every morning⊠avoiding gueppes and frelons⊠picking a good bagful every time and munching (on the spot) the ones which are toooo ripe. Fabulous.
The good news - all 3 of the kestrel chicks have fledged today from the nest in our gable wall.
The bad news - they pooed so much the grass underneath the nest is all dead (not ânegativeâ really - much rather see the kestrels than a little patch of green).
6 Likes
Today is full of cheerful news⊠orange cake is now gently cooling and Iâve already had enquiries about when I will be dishing it out around the villageâŠ
We watched âourâ osprey performing tricks again over the valleyâŠ
and, finally,
keeping the best for last !!
Iâm glad to say, we had a wonderfully long chat with our daughter in UK⊠seeing her lovely smiling face is like a tonic.
6 Likes
Our house is really, really clean. Well the half that Chrystelle has just completed anyway. Franâs bedroom and the kitchen have been completely hoovered and mopped to within an inch of their lives. The kitchen window has never been so clean, so much so that I think we will not have to use the lights so often.
She has been here for 2 hours, apparently persuaded her bosses that 90 minutes wasnât enough and I suspect that they have âstolenâ funds set aside for the 3rd aide de toilette per week who hasnât materialised.
Done no end of good for my French as well, I now know what a balai-brosse is, and she wants one.
And she will get one, I promise.
2 Likes
She sounds like a diamond, Iâm sure youâll treasure her
1 Like
Good news - hope Madrid is next!
The Plaza de Toros in Mexico City â the worldâs largest bullfighting arena â is no longer a venue for bullfights. The bullring closed its doors indefinitely last month after a judge issued a suspension on bullfighting in the Mexican capital. This is the first time in its 76-year history that the 50,000-seat Plaza de Toros has been legally prevented from staging bullfights.
Judge Jonathan Bassâs decision was based on Article 13-B of the local constitution of Mexico City which guarantees the â right to a healthy environment â and recognizes animals as â sentient beings.â
3 Likes
Next winters heat and hot water source arrived yesterday in the form of 16 fagots of dry seasoned oak.
Not so good news is I now have to stack it in the log store.
2 Likes