Busy Insects

Veins.I love the wings on the bee; so very squiggly.

Beetles on an alium-head

Rose Chafer

Photographing insects is a wonderful way to lose yourself to another parallel universe.These insects are so preoccupied with my flowers! Busy, pollen collecting. You get sucked into their task filled days.  I  follow  them trying to capture a tiny moment.



Bumble Bee. B.soroeensis Nests underground and interbreeds, producing numerous colour varieties.

Leptura 6-guttata.These are Longhorn beetles; a family of more than 20,000 beetles, mostly with very long antennae. They feed on flowers, particularly pollen. They are normally found in woodland.

Let Sleeping Bees

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There seems to be bees sleeping in my flowers.I  worried  that they might be dead. I
wondered if they were exhausted. I tried to find out more and I read that male bumblebees sometimes stay out all night  and  sometimes sleep in flowers . 

The temperature has dropped a bit, otherwise  I'm not sure

why these bees should appear so comatosed

Lettuce flowers.

'Here he is' 

Another tip trip across country, really hot.

Village Brocante this weekend. Villagers clear out their unwanted things and put them out to sell

the the whole family get involved. The house frontage is piled high once a year. There are dealers arriving too who show up to all the brocantes. They tend to be expensive. We tend to prefer the very small brocantes.  I bought some nice clothes this week. A girl selling off things she no longer wanted for 20 cents. Normally I am quite selective and try to only buy things I really like.

This is my brocanting hat. I just had to fix it with some garden rafia to stop the hole getting bigger.

we collected more things so we could empty it at the tip. Our rubbish really is rubbish even the people at the tip are impressed by the rubbishness of it. We have old plastic roof splintered in the hail storms. Things that have worn out fantastically after being acquired by us second hand. George collects useful bits off things,like plugs. I try only to buy things second hand, I really like anything useable and old. Anyway it's wonderful to have clear space in the barns. I did come back with some more flowerpots from the van from the flower shop throwing a load away. There were some things I would've liked an old orange cast iron cooking pot and an old looking box with a lid.I couldn't reach them though. 

It really is a bit hot. Not the best day for lifting heavy objects.

All the animals along the way were under trees or by water and the grass has lost its green flush.

Empty roads

Preporche. It was the scene of a brocante last weekend. 

A sweet shed or house in the fields.

Solstice Flowers

I have managed to create these areas of flowers with  found seed. The Evening Primrose was growing  in former  building ground. Those wild flowers are now covered by a big gravelled drive. I am doing guerilla gardening by scattering seeds by the village bins. I saved these seeds over 2 years ago. 

Cerinthe.

I have made a small place to put some of my plants to keep them warm. It's not pretty but  I have few found materials  to work with. As the plants grow I will add more blocks. There are chillies, peppers, basil,and aubergines. The plants are already growing really well in here. I am looking out for old windows now to create a greenhouse.

At last they are flowering. 

My vegetable garden is even by my standards becoming  very  busy. There is something in every available space. 

It's a bit of a squash. As things spread out I find myself having to create more space by digging things up and moving them. I am creating a spillover garden now. Fortunately I have a big compost heap to put back some nutrients into the ground in Autumn. The French describe my garden as an English garden, they talk about how they are tied to their tradition of straight lines and even the small selection of things they plant is quite confined. I have flower patches and things popping up having self seeded, potatoes for instance and this year poppies. This week I have been tying everything to sticks. I have been really enjoying using sticks to add a bit more quirkiness and support. I would be using driftwood, found objects and stones like Derek Jarman if I lived by the sea.

Larkspur. A lovely blue.

I just love these village houses, the colour of the painted door and shutters, the stone work an the panes of glass above the door.

We had a little drive out to look for a white jacket and black bow tie for George's dinner at Oxford. It was a really successful  afternoon. George found a wonderful jacket, spotless and fitting.  He also found a tie. He bought a sun lounger too. All these things were bought at Emmaus which is run by ex addicts and was set up by an Abbaye. He was called Abbaye Pierre. a renowned French man of the cloth, who decided to house the homeless of France by setting-up warehouses to collect donated furniture, clothes and bric-a-brac for refurbishment, and sale to the public. The homeless, -mainly ex-alcoholics and ex-druggies,- build living quarters in a private part of each warehouse.  Abbaye Pierre, who died in 2009, was truly a great man.
This Emmaus is a huge big warehouse full of house clearance. I was bemused by all these trophies. Who would buy a second hand cup? I thought maybe the plinths could be used again. I bought a couple of Creusot dishes, some sewing things, a piece of hemp cloth and a stack of  fluted cake tins.

More traditional barns. I think this one is part of the big Chateau we passed earlier.

Just after this we saw a Hoopoe on the road. The first this year.

A Vendre.

A lovely spot to live in a village.