Acacia Trees

That tall tree, not in my garden sends out roots apx ten metres distance and up sprouts a new tree. I allowed four to grow in my garden for they were not there five years ago and by last summer they were wonderful with their shady foliage and hammock hanging strength.....but then I noticed their roots!
In the Autumn a friend pruned three and chainsawed through the trunk of one that was in my potager but then roots have been a different issue!
In September a friend sawed one, then in February, Italian helpers sawed down another two and recently a paid gardener took out the fourth.  He and I scraped back the earth until he could get at the narrower roots with his lopper and then with persistent rocking the evil roots came out. I can now plant the potatoes in the 4th part of my potager.
HOWEVER, that acacia tree used to have another tree section that fell into the neighbour's land about two years ago. Now, this main trunk is pushing over the single breeze-block wall which is being held in place mainly by the mound created by the previous occupant of my house. Also there is bedrock there.
The wall was not broken like this in the Autumn.  There has though been a hairline crack for five years. Last  Summer the wall was straight and fine!
The good news is that the neighbour will employ someone to remove the tree and its roots (I hope) and rebuild the dividing wall. She is very conscientious, responsible and caring and does not wish anyone to be injured.  She said "Je se mefier". 
Her garden is really wild and I love it like that and said so but she is remorseful for not paying attention... a kind of out of sight out of mind... and like me ... she has other things to do and cannot cope with so much land.

My gardener erected the new pergola. 

My veggie plot is now divided into four sections by a strip of lawn wide enough for the mower.

The garden beyond the acacia tree.

There are three of these to dig out!

Camelias

A Japanese element in my courtyard. I have three different camelias but two need blue frostproof pots to match the first. I love that the flowers fall whole and when laid on a dish indoors or laid on another plant still look delicious for days.

Through the blue of rosemary

This one has set up a lead branch ready to climb and has bloomed profusely in the last two months.

This is a darker pink one called Kumasaka but the photo doesn't demonstrate that!

This a different style of Camelia

Violets

This week I am determined to do a morning and evening walk after having lived in almost closed orders!  The walks are very leisurely. Bimbling even! There is a little black and white pony in the field that was recently sold. The big GREAT DANE sort of dog seemed playful in his HUGE garden but I am glad he was behind wire fencing...although at one time I thought he was surely able to scale it!  Descending down the lane I came upon a beautiful heavy smell and stepped back to identify.. inhale the scent.. deep, melodious, heavy, fleetingly it escapes to return in the nostrils....

And as my mind made the connection with those sweet sugary drops that aunties used to have in their pocket, I saw their purple hue.... violet violets.  Later I spied yellow celandines.
Nice to speak French to a stranger and English to an American.
I am beginning to be less 'off the wall'. Is there any hope?
Postscript: 
But that was all written a week ago because I push postings forwards. The walks dd not materialise after the good start to the week when I concentrated all Monday, was proactive and clear several piles of "things to achieve"! OK there is more which has stacked up for quite a while... but I am tidying it!!!  After a Yoga morning where I had to use muscles `i did not know I had, I idled over copious quantities of tea with a gardener who will help me finish the courtyard project. The larch will go. Thanks Tim for your help on this disturbing decision. Then the GP, bank, Tours sadness,  IKEA visit to check out kitchens,  a car service and thank goodness the electrics on the remorque are repaired.   The bill was within my estimate. No electricity this morning bu then on my frequent search in the street for a helpful resident, the neighbour chez lui only for the weekend turned off all the trip switches until we found the culprit.  The steam from the kettle hits the cupboard above, then condenses to the wall prise. Depressed, I rallied to a bath and drove to a plant sale, where plants were 25% more than Leclerc yesterday or so listless one would not have wished to own them! Then I did a walk and now my head feels better!  The death of an expat has haunted me to keep things simple... but it seems he's left quite a lot of administrative headaches! At least I do have a UK will.

Yesterday's roses for a 7th birthday

La Vie en Rose

Tulips and Hyacinths

I love to watch and wait for tulips to dance in their vase. The hyacinth bulbs have struggled and are uneven in strength... so the race is on for the three to flower!  Below is my brand new artisan made glass protection plate - a Christmas gift from my dearest cousin... an incentive to get my kitchen replaced / revamped at as little cost as possible, as quickly as possible,  but to my satisfaction!

Hope

Pretty white bells nod sheepishly
as they raise their heads in January
blooming amidst ground ivy
glistening gems of purity.
Sheltered in the grassy glade
pointing leafy sword-like blades
treasures on a dry stone wall
full of Heavenly Hope.
Snow has not yet fallen
when flowery drops appear
promising nature's glory
for the coming future year.

Hellebore

I think these are Stinking Hellebore! Two different plants - two pics - but they seem to have different leaf structure.... one has fat leaves, the other thin...

Just appearing in local French woodlands - quite common in the village river valley.

Fire Salamander

I had to research the name of the animal whose leg was squashed on the road yesterday morning.  Black with yellow spots...  I have seen live ones in France but not for a while.  This was either the remains of roadkill or animal kill or dropped by a bird of prey and flattened by vehicles!  I didn't take a pic of the remains!
http://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animals/amphibians/fire-salamand
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/59467/0
11h
POSTSCRIPT:
Lest We Not Forget - as we move through and past 100 years of relative peace in humankind when human nature strives to love and care, 'midst oft times struggle against others, in order for survival.  So many people suffered such terrible torture. It is an understatement.
In humility, I bow my head for them, for all those who died. 
Listening to the Remembrance Service there are so many tunes I remember from childhood and concerts at Kneller Hall, Royal Military School of Music and also from playing church music for over 23 years.
When I am laid in earth reminds me of so many moments in my past life....
but also of my grandfather who fought in the WWI and lived to the age of 76 on part of a lung, his remaining lung and the other collapsed with shrapnel.  His oxygen bottles were always by his chair.
Also I sang this whilst at college when with the drama students we performed Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas".

Mussels and Moules

I bought a kilo of fresh sea mussels on the Ile d'Oléron. They travelled in two cool bags within my cool box with ice which was still ice the following day in my fridge! 
Moules marinières recipe:
Chop a red onion or shallots and garlic. Gently sauté in butter. Add chopped parsley or if you have none, dried parsley and if pushed use rosemary and sage as I did.  Add a quantity of water, white wine, pepper, salt and bring to the boil. Add the washed mussels... mine didn't have any beards to remove. This must have been done in the harvesting process! All mine were closed.  Stir the mussels in the sauce. Put a lid on the pan! When they have cooked for ten minutes in the sauce, if there are any closed ones, they are discarded. Pour the mussels and juice into a large bowl and enjoy eating using an empty shell as pincers!!!!!
REMINDER: 
1. Discard all open mussels before cooking; discard all closed mussels after cooking! 
2. Don't eat mussels if you have been ill eating shellfish; probably you have an allergy to them! 
I couldn't eat all the sauce and mussels so they stayed in the fridge overnight. I washed the empty mussel shells with boiling water which extracted herbs and onions.  In that liquid I  slowly cooked risotto rice and some sliced carrots and at some point added the mussel sauce, again cooked slowly and this risotto was delicious for another day

The Common blue mussel (Mytilus edulis - Linneaus family: Mytildae, 1758)) is the most commonly farmed mussel species.  Bouchot means a 'shellfish bed'. It is a traditional aquaculture technique for harvesting mussels. The mussel is grown on ropes strung from wooden poles in the sea, which results in grit and barnacle-free mussels with a good flavour.  A rope-grown blue mussel is a bouchot mussel in France. According to legend, Patrick Walton, a Scotsman, ran aground in the bay d’Aiguillon, Normandy in 1235. He stayed and hunted seabirds as he had done in Scotland.  He drove wooden poles into the ground near the coast and stretched nets between.  Mussels began growing on the pole. He realized it was more profitable to raise shellfish. Normandy remains the leading producer of bouchot mussels.  In France, bouchot mussels are protected by Appelation Protection d'Origine status.

Dark Eyes

Trailing fuschia not hardy to frost!

Alliumflowerhead

Make way for new growth.  Some weeks or months ago, old leeks were dug into the ground as green manure because they had bolted into flower stalks.  I cut the most advanced one and put it in a small vase on the exterior window-sill in full sun because of its form and its promise of hope to flower.  This week I was blessed as it opened to reveal pretty, delicate flowers.  I set it before 'the money plant' my daughter gave me, which has flourished over ten years or so.
This last week I cleared the first early potatoes and planted new leeks topped and tailed, after digging in household vegetable matter and sprinkling compostage of ammonia plus lime on the soil before plantation! Hope they are edible in the future!
I am hoping for a quiet week that treats my body and mind as delicately as pink and white leek florets.  Being between Workawayers I need to gather in, as well as sort my admin tasks and storage of; it is the bane of my life!  The garden still calls for attention but it looks pretty until that grass grows again! 

Today I feel better.  The last 24 hours were spent drifting in and out of sleep, reading, drinking tea, keeping quiet, apart from speaking to my son.  Because we don't keep in touch and rarely communicate because of technological expense and difficulties, I feel powerless to support him from such a distance. Then latent anger or frustration gets released into tears.  I really don't want to be angry with him! He is worth all my love and care!  Yet, he has his life. I have mine. I suppose it is because it appears to me that he shows no interest and in the past I have excused him, that he is getting on with his life but it isn't only me that feels neglected, that feels we would like to share.  I know that I rather wore huge grooves in the record so that the record broke into shards! That I called Wolf too many times! Layers of guilt, resentment, fear, pride, love are on both sides!  I know he loves me! It is a conundrum of Mothers and Sons!  My daughter and I seem to be adults and friends together as we have worked through the difficult times.....of course we dont see eye to eye on everything but we do try to support each other.
I am a poor role model because factors which did not permit me to be friends with my mother and father excluded me from such a privilege of adulthood parent-child amity.

Joy in Abundance

My cousin Anne has a friend who grows flowers to sell at local markets. She specialises in Pinks and Peonies. Her name is Jo. I met her many years ago - a delightful person.  I could not resist the purchase of peonies for my cousin who gained enormous pleasure from seeing them on her table everyday for the week that I was there. Their perfume was so delicate...

Lily of the Valley

May 1st ... Labour Day.... to celebrate workers...
MUGUET.... Lily of the Valley is the symbol and this year it was neither early or late but in bloom on the day in my courtyard pots.

I continue my work ... into the 5th year of owning a French house... Believe me, it is NOT the same as owning ENGLISH property...
Many people in UK know that one should not spend more on a property than the value of the property... and some people / properties do get into negative equity.... yet, in France... unless one can do all the work to a quality standard oneself and not necessarily have UK ideals...one loses an arm and a leg for idealism........and one can quickly become in negative equity or not depending also on currency exchange.

I love the fact that my house requires WORK but it's a slog and much better when I share motivation from someone who can help me!
You see, I chose to stay because I love the space and sense of freedom as well as a reasonable sense of privacy from neighbours that this house gives me ... as well as those circular walks or cycle rides when I see no one for one or two or more hours!!!
I love my house for the space I exist in, though recognize there is more space to accumulate ... and THAT has to be resolved.

Imagine the freedom of being able to play piano at any o'clock!
Imagine the freedom of being able to play rock music / classical music LOUD full volume!!!
Imagine the peace and stillness with hardly any intrusive noise from BIG WIDE WORLD traffic or otherwise.  Nothing awakes me... not even the alarm clock at the moment because I am so shattered!
When the shutters are open I see the light! Haha!
AND SO... those are some of the reasons why I have remained in France despite adversity of a loss of a loving companionship as well as living in isolation!!!
BUT. there is Hope for Clarity and increasing happiness on the horizon. I have friends, young and old, and I have fun! I have started to take responsibility for myself and do not feel abandoned by even me and I don't accept any one blaming me and rejecting me ... for they need to look at their inner self.
I can laugh again! I am grown up! If I need to play and enjoy life then I can! If I need to WORK in my house and garden I can!

Have got to play a new record in 2014... create new stories...let go of the past...creating something from it!  Work towards wherever I might be in 5 years time!

Metallic steel blue anemone

Steal the blue of purple anemones - one of my favourite flowers

Quince blossom

 Closed shutters..................not a metaphor ... but they are down by the riverside!!!!!!! 

History of the Battle of Tours / Poitiers 732 AD plus Nature Reserves

The BBC recently aired a programme "In Our Time" presented by Melvyn Bragg.
I quote from the programme blurb: 

In 732 a large Arab army invaded Gaul from northern Spain, and travelled as far north as Poitiers. There they were defeated by Charles Martel, whose Frankish and Burgundian forces repelled the invaders. The result confirmed the regional supremacy of Charles, who went on to establish a strong Frankish dynasty.  The Battle of Tours was the last major incursion of Muslim armies into northern Europe; some historians, including Edward Gibbon, have seen it as the decisive moment that determined that the continent would remain Christian.

I have provided these links for anyone who enjoys history:

 http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/tours.html

http://www.histoire-pour-tous.fr/forum/moussais-86-la-bataille-de-poitiers-en-732-t9979.html 

I can't find my own photos of Moussais... possibly pre this computer's photo system.  It is quite an interesting outdoor museum / exhibition but last time I was there it looked as if it needed TLC.   It is sited near the lake of St Cyr which is heaving with waterside visitors in Summer but in Winter there are more avian visitors and it's good to walk around the lake... nearby a golf club! Also it is not far from the Reserve Naturelle de Pinail...where  now that mining for millstones has ceased there is heathland and small ponds, a haven for wildlife.  A group visit might be a good idea???????

Glow worm

I saw one of these tonight and poked it gently.  It did not move but kept shining its little light on the steps up from the chateau to the High town. I've never seen one this close before!
With thanks to Wikipedia as I did not have my camera with me!!!!!! It is a female Common Glowworm (Lampyris noctiluca.)

On my crepuscular walk, I gained one lettuce, borrowed a DVD about the Magdalennian caves (it won't read on my Mac) discovered information.....heard one lady complaining that it was too hot!!!!!!!!!!!       non non non j'ai dit
I absolutely LOVE THIS weather!!!!!!!!! It is in my Mediterranean blood!

I do like this!

Chamber Music and Irises

I love the colour of the Siberian iris at Days on the Claise.

At the weekend I attended a wonderful concert in the beautiful church of St Pierre de Maille.
During the interval, at the table where refreshments were served, there was a delightful bowl of pink irises. Impressionant! I had never seen that colour before.

A few days later my French neighbour was weeding her garden when I admired her peonies, roses, clematis in a very English country garden. Sometimes in summer the aroma in the air is breathtaking. When I exclaimed about her different coloured irises and told her about the pink ones, off she went to show me the catalogue for Cayeux : a business that sells irises in UK and France. 
I was very impressed.  I suppose I could plant irises at the end of the garden on the bedrock rockery.
I have now researched that one is supposed to cut off each faded flower and also  with a neat diagonal cut prune each stem before the roots are divided.  I am not a gardener but try hard!
This year my irises flowered abundantly. They were a pale lilac and had been taken from rhizomes from my friend's garden 2 to 3 years ago.  Neither of us remember the irises flowering in the past! All these associated irises 'stem' from the same small sample I acquired on a walk 'somewhereinfrance'.

The chamber music was exquisite:

Schubert: Piano Trio no 2 Eb major opus 100 D929
Faure:  Piano Trio D minor opus 120
Brahms: Piano Trio in Cminor opus 101

These photos were taken at Vicq when the Gartempe was flooded:

It's a shame that such resplendent kings do not linger for the summer.

Hornet

I think it's a European hornet (apx 4 or 5cm full length) which obliged photogenically and sleepily. It wasn't bugging me so I let it beeeeeeee BIG and BEAUTIFUL.