Wild Boar lunch

The village of Lavausseau held a communal lunch yesterday. The pride of place were 2 wild boar turning on the spit. You can see the contraption used for turning the boar below - a Heath Robinson design utilising bicycles, batteries and oil drums. I can vouch that it tasted delicious, and that the 5 hours of lunch proved to be a happy experience for all.

Wild Boar 

Wild Boar 2 

Wild Boar 4 

Bluetooth Mouse

Bluetooth Mouse 
I've just acquired this new mouse. It is an Iogear Bluetooth optical version. It is very small, and, best of all, it is wireless. I was fed up with the trailing wire of my previous mouse, as it was never long enough. I already had a Belkin USB Bluetooth adapter that was used for synchronising my Ericsson T630 'phone with Lotus Organizer, so, as the Iogear mouse comes without its own adapter, this was an obvious solution. It uses Nickel Metal Hydride batteries which can be recharged via a USB2 cable overnight. I am very pleased with the product, and highly recommend it.

Home grown fig

Fig 
There is a huge fig tree at Bas Etang 2, and here is a sample. It tasted delicious.

Swimming Pool Fencing

Pool 
Legislation was passed last year in France that requires all pools to be fenced and gated. Pools open to the public had to have them in place by Summer 2004, but private pools, such as ours, have to be completed by 1st January 2006. So we bit the bullet today and ordered ours. It is a black plastic mesh version (try saying that quickly!) which will be delivered in a few weeks time. I have elected to install it myself to save 700 Euros. I will need a diamond tipped drill, as the posts will be fixed into the slabs around the pool. I understand that I can hire the equipment quite readily, but I am worried about cracking the stone slabs.

Lily pads in La Boivre 

The vista 

On our cess pit! 

Pampas grass

Selected views 
Isn't it magnificent?

The Folly at Bas Etang

Wendy House 
This was built by our predecessor as a rather large wendy house for his children. It has electricity, lighting and heating. Needless to say we have not spent any time in it yet!

Water levels

Water levels are dropping 

Almost gone 
The water level has gone down considerably in the Boivre, and the hosepipe ban is in force. The lower photo shows the tributary that has stopped flowing.

Our fruit harvest

Our fruit harvest 
Perhaps we don't take much care of the poor chaps, but this is as good as it gets at Bas Etang.

The main inhabitants of the garden

Our new friend 
We have lots of mole hills in our garden, but never actually see the critters. That is, until now!

The dry season

Field 
The lack of rain is taking its toll on the plants and grass at Bas Etang. The field shown here is turning brown, though there is still enough green vegetation to maintain an attractive appearance.

The Chateau

The Chateau 
We visited this chateau the other day. It is owned by a young couple from Belgium who we met socially. They were kind enough to invite us to have a look around. They have been spending the last 18 months refurbishing, with significant input from contractors. The progress was most impressive, and all the 8 bedrooms have now been completed. The previous owner was very unreasonable, and took all the movable fittings possible. Even the security system was sabotaged by cutting the wires. It had been in their family for over 300 years, so it was probably due to the angst from selling.