Down South in Stanton Prior

 Sunday 22/05/22

The very photogenic Cosmo in relaxed mode

On Friday we swapped our normally low stress-levels for a travel day.  We usually have a gap between sits but on this occasion we had to get from Soudley to a village outside Bath in a bit of a hurry - something Bokkie doesn't do particularly well.  It was hard leaving Ash, we really bonded with him but that is the reality of house-sitting.

Bokkie performed well on the 150 mile trip and was rewarded with a tank of British diesel; we had been nursing our relatively cheap French tankful until this trip.  Diesel is the most expensive we've seen it to date and it was the fist time we had spent more than £100 on a tank, £115 for 65 litres - eye watering!

Stunning views with Bath in the distance

Our neighbours have this stunning moss-covered water-feature outside

We're settled in a lovely barn-conversion in a tiny village nestled on the outskirts of Bath.  We have a Dalmatian, Cosmo, to look after and, apart from a habit of stealing anything and everything off the kitchen counter, he seems quite relaxed.  The views from the house are amazing and the walks around the area are lovely so I think we're going to enjoy it here.

Walkies with Cosmo

The owners have converted the lawn and orchard into a lovely meadow area

We have Bokkie booked in for her MOT next week so hope that goes well.  We're only here for two weeks so we'll spend out time exploring the area and relaxing.

Enjoying our time in quiet Soudley

 Monday 09/05/22

We are kept amused by the antics of the sheep and lambs outside the house.

We're loving our time in Soudley - we both agree that this is the best sit we've had in the UK so far; the house and location are fantastic and Ash is an absolute gem, our favourite dog in the world.  

Ash's happy place - Bishop's Wood walk.

He is no trouble at all, never barks, is extremely well behaved and obedient, and all he asks is that we keep him close and give him cuddles.  Walking him daily, on or off leash, depending on where we are going, is an absolute pleasure.  On the rare occasion he gets out of our sight in the woods, two short blasts of the whistle and he streaks back to our ankles - fantastic!  

We had to keep Ash on a leash as the duck were just too tempting.

The Wharf campsite, wharf and Tavern, a lovely walk away.

We had a spell of cooler weather so would light a fire at night, but it is slowly starting to warm up again which is nice.  We have a really easy routine here, having the dog means we get plenty of exercise and the garden keeps us busy enough so that we aren't bored.  The lovely kitchen means Toni gets to do some cooking and baking and I eat like a King as usual, not a bad life, really.

Spring is a lovely time in the UK

The first of the Peony blooms

Bonus videos:

Working Ash in the field is fantastic, it's wonderful to have such a well-trained dog!

We asked one of the ewes if she was also impressed...

A Springer in Soudley

 Thursday 28/04/22

A blog update for those wondering what we're up to these days.

We're looking after Ash, a highly trained Springer Spaniel, and three hens in the county of Shropshire in the Midlands.  

The lovely Ash with the lovely Toni

Our three egg factories.

We had a relatively uneventful crossing on the 12th; using the train to cross the channel is usually very quick and easy so it really suits us.  We camped for a few days near Wendover Woods to see Charmaine before travelling up to the sit.

Bokkie is an old hand at squeezing onto the train now.

Brexit queues on the UK side - guess who pays for this?

The lovely view from Bokkie at Hill Farm Campsite.

This is, by far, the most peaceful setting we have had in the UK as it is on the edge of a tiny village, surrounded by farmlands.  Getting Bokkie here was a bit challenging as the roads are single-track for the last few miles but we managed fine.

Sometimes it is nice to drive something more manoeuvrable than Bokkie.

Charmaine getting to do a check-up on a relaxed pet for a change.

Ash absolutely loves his walks...

but is just as happy getting a cuddle

We met the owners for a couple of hours before they headed off and got on very well with them.  The property we are looking after is fantastic and we have the use of a vehicle so Bokkie is resting and getting some repairs and upgrades.  We are kept fairly busy with the routine of letting the hens out, walking the dog, rinsing the dog, a bit of gardening, cooking, reading and lighting fires in the evening.

A bit of a gloomy morning but lovely countryside on our walk in Bishop's Wood

It is a lovely part of the world to see and we're lucky that Charmaine can pop in for the odd weekend even though it is quite a long drive for her, we can spoil her with Toni's cooking (and I wash her car).

The house owners are enjoying themselves on a long-awaited, five week Caribbean cruise so we get to enjoy their home and pets for a nice long spell - heaven.

Wrapping up in Brittany

 Sunday 27/03/22

The cherry blossoms look like a wave breaking across the pathway

We only have two weeks left at our sit before we begin the 'Brexit-shuffle' back to the UK.  

We're using the rest of this year as an opportunity to spend a bit more time in the UK (and nearer Charmaine), and have quite a few house-sits lined up in England,  as well as a return trip to the farm sit in Portugal later in the summer.

Bokkie has been spruced up with a few odd jobs and a good clean, and we're looking forward to taking her on a long drive, even though the diesel price is making us wince a bit.

Spring is certainly the time for renewal.

Although the daffodils are coming to the end of their time they have given a magnificent display this year, the beauty of this garden is that the next show is already underway with poppies and tulips

Interesting story:  while we were busy getting all of Bokkie's stuff together I saw I had forgotten the front screen hanging in the hangar where I had left it to dry.  Toni saw a little bird fly out of the screen and also what looked like the start of a nest being built in its folds.  I went to roll it up to stow it away and was about to drop the leaves out of it when I saw there was a full nest deeper in with four tiny eggs.  Panic stations!

You can just make out one of the four tiny eggs.
Unfortunately we need to take the screen with us!

We managed to slide the nest into a piece of drain pipe so that we didn't disturb it too much and made a new sling with an old potato sack and plank.  We then relocated the nest and crossed our fingers.  Amazingly, a few hours later when we went to check, the parent bird had returned.  

I thought it might be a robin at first (except the eggs aren't blue) and now think it might be a chaffinch or tree sparrow.  We only catch the briefest glimpses when it flashes out of the nest if we approach, but we are absolutely thrilled that it didn't abandon the nest and eggs.  Hopefully they can go to term.

Luckily the new home seemed to meet with approval.

Spring is really a lovely time of year, especially when you are looking after such a wonderful garden.  We have relaxed completely into the lifestyle here and it will be a wrench to leave, but lovely that we get to see family soon.

A lot of crêpes in Brittany

 Friday 11/03/22

Spring is in the air

We're lucky enough to stay quite close to one of the premier Crêperie training schools (yes, you need a license to make proper pancakes in France) and, every now an again, when they do training sessions, they invite the public to sample their students' fare. 

Specials of the day: forest mushrooms, and spinach and cheese.

French equivalent of a Ham and Cheese sandwich, mine with an egg on it.

We visited the school in 2018, shortly after arriving at the sit for the first time and were keen to go again so snapped up a booking when we found out they were open again.  

It's really good value and an opportunity to practice our limited French.   As expected, we had a lovely meal: two savoury galettes and a sweet crepe with a choice of fillings - very tasty and filling!

Desert: pear and chocolate.

Lemon meringue, yummy!

Although we are still getting storms passing over Brittany, Spring is definitely in the air.  When the sun manages to break through, it was a real warmth to it and the flowers and butterflies are starting to dominate the landscape.  

A lovely peacock butterfly

Just look at the size of the Stag-beetle larvae!

We're really enjoying the mix of relaxing, gardening and even a bit of socialising as our time here slowly winds up.  In the middle of April we'll head back to the UK for a few house-sits and some family time for a few months.

Daffodils in Brittany

Thursday 24/02/22

We've settled into our Brittany-routine with a mix of garden and indoor work, as dictated by the winter weather.  

We split up for a while for quick trips back to the UK to help Charmaine move house (which was successful),  and its been nice to get back to the slower, French life that we are lucky enough to enjoy here.

The highlight of this particular time of year has to be the stunning display of daffodils; the owners have so many of them and so many variations - they are  simply glorious!  We've been lucky this year in that they only started flowering after the storms that have just swept through so many of them are still standing - a stunning display.

We know this means the Irises will soon follow as the garden start to prepare for spring.  What a privilege to be able to enjoy this spectacle.

Of course, now that this is an award-winning garden, we feel additional pressure to keep up the standards.  We've already planted 200 onion and shallot sets and are chitting potatoes which will be next to go in.  It's not all relaxing and looking at the flowers, you know. 😉

'Gardener's gold' -  beautiful compost for preparing the beds

Digging in the compost and fertilizer for the potato and onion bed

Onions planted and bird and cat protection in place.

We really do love this place!

Back to Brittany

 Sunday 23/01/22

Early morning walks are the perfect way to start the day

Our home for the next three months, hidden behind the trees

We've moved Bokkie out of the hangar so she's getting some fresh air

After a fantastic but busy trip to South Africa we managed to scoot across continents into France just as travel opened up.  

We're back in familiar surroundings in our winter sit for the next three months. Our tans are fading away fairly quickly, or maybe they're being worn off by the many layers of clothing we're wearing.  We miss the heat that we had in SA but are loving the slow pace of life in rural France, this really has become a home-from-home for us.

Three of our favourite things in the world - The fireplace, Jess...

and Jasper, relaxed as ever.

We've spent the last week in the garden with the owners so it's been great to get their input and ideas for the property.  They handed over the two cats this morning and headed off to cross the channel - now we will look after things here until April.

Although less diverse than in Kruger, the bird life here is absolutely fantastic!

The Robins are always around in a frosty garden.

Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit (L) and Blue Tit (R)

Nuthatch

We will blog as and when we do some interesting stuff: until then assume we're hibernating and winter gardening!