Ouch!!

Here is today's lesson:
When using a chainsaw, always use two hands to hold the chainsaw, and wear gloves.

I should be relieved I didn't cut my bloody hand off. Quel con!

In full Spring mode, I had cut back a hazel nut tree and was using the chain saw to cut up the trunks and branches for firewood in a few years. My chainsaw is quite light, it has a 40 cm blade. Fiona was using shears to cut off the smaller branches, some of which we'll keep for kindling and the rest will be put on the bonfire.

I had developed the lazy and dangerous habit of sometimes holding a slimmer branch in my left hand and the chainsaws one-handed in my right, and using the chainsaw to trim off twiggy bits.

Suddenly the chain bit into the junction between twig and branch and pulled the branch (and my hand) into the chain.

Some choice swear words followed, followed by the immnse relief that my stupidity had only inflicted a small wound and not left me handicapped and unemployable.

Because I'm a craven coward I decided immediately that I didn't have to see a doctor. A doctor might decide to stitch it! Lots of thick dark blood pouring out of it convinced me that it was flushed clean. Obviously I wasn't going to be catching tiles at the factory the next day. I phoned in to tell them, and the next day saw the doctor to get signed off for a day or two. The toubib signed me off for a week! Happy days! The weather report says subshine through to Sunday.

Plant Exchange

Last weekend we went to our friends, Philippe & Christine Egalité, near Villebois Lavalette for their annual plant exchange. They've been doing this for thast 4 years, friends arrive with seeds and cuttings and cake. Everyone takes home new plants. It is such a fine plan.
Philippe & Christine are well whacky. He plays a pile of instruments and makes a living hosting workshops and going around schools showing kids how to make instruments ouit of anything, vegetables, junk, old tins, pipes.
His alter ego is "Père Cucu" who is a malignant forest gnome. As Père Cucu he puts on a pixie hat, a green beard and french blues, and clogs strapped to his knees as he kneels in front of the audience. So he appears dwarf height. It's horrible. His shows are excellent. he has produced a few cds which he has sold to friends. For you I have uploaded L'Oiseau Migrateur and Petit Cougna. It has an African sound because of the marimba.

L'Oiseau Migrateur
Petit Cougna
Mousse


In this pic unfortunately Phillippe has his back to us. You can see Fiona and our snake gourds over on the right.

Some textures

From around the house and garden

Photos by Fi.

Amateur Archeology

I mentioned in this post that I had to build a gate to replace a temporary fence thing that we had put in place 5 years ago.

Well, the gate got built OK, and even got hung OK, but because of the slope of the ground between the pillars I knew I'd have to level the ground under the gate.
The gate of course had to be hung level. If you hang the gate to follow the ground, it won't open.
And I didn't want the black bitch digging under the gate. So I bought some cement blocks (parpang in french) and started digging a wee trench to bed them in.

Only to discover hidden stone paving slabs between the pillars.

Un fortunately they ran with the ground too, plus they are about 6 centimetres below the current lawn surface so I couldn't expose them without creating a swimming pool.
But what an example of how stuff gets buried and disappears. Only to be dug out by archeologists years later. And in 200 years if someone digs again, they'll find my stuff laid on top.


I decided to lay the blocks on top of the stone flags, simply bedded on sand to take up the difference in level. Behind me is the village church.


Hey! It looks like a grown up did that. You can see our little garden and garage and a runaway laurel hedge that I will shortly cut right down to ground level and allow it to regro, but at a manageable hight.

Today's project is rebuilding my little blue trailer that has rotted away.

The Day of the Triffids

Earlier in the year Fiona and the kids planted some Snake Gourds. The pack of seeds showed some nice twisty gourds painted all zigg zag and pretty like snakes. That'll be fun.

Our neighbour Jean-Marie called us to show us the gourds.

We hadn't noticed them because they had grown over the wall and were hanging down in his garden.

What the hell is going on? Snake gourds? Bloody Python gourds, Anaconda gourds more like. They've taken over his wall and there's tons of these beasts.

The Minister for phallic references was unavailable for comment.