Sunday 1st July......Vide Grenier, then to a Grande Fête 1900 - 1930 in Champagne Mouton

Sunday I woke up to beautiful sunshine again and decided to go to Verteuil to a Vide grenier. Another lovely setting by a river and made a purchase...


                                                         Verteuil-sur-Charente


The village of Verteuil-sur-Charente is located in the department of Charente of the french region Poitou-Charentes.
What makes this village a bit special is the massive Chateau which can be seen for miles.
When you arrive in Verteuil-sur-Charente and you see the Chateau it will remind you of a fairy castle with it's five towers and watchtower set on rocky outcrop overlooking the River Charente.
It really does dominate the village and has been in the La Rochefoucauld family for centuries. 

Vide Grenier

Vide Grenier

Beautiful setting, the River Charente.

In the River Charente around the village you will find a variety of fish and its rippling shallows are very popular with fly fisherman.

My Purchase

Grande Fête 1900 - 1930, in Champagne Mouton

In the afternoon we went to the Grande Fête 1900 - 1930, in Champagne Mouton, the village turned into the 1900's, it was really interesting and local people dressed for the occasion, the sun was shining and everyone had a lovely time, it was interesting to see how things were in times gone by...

Champagne Mouton is an attractive, Charantaise town with many original features and some important monuments. The church has been named as French National Monument since the 1800s, and is well worth a visit if you enjoy ancient architecture and artefacts. There is also an original Lavoir, or communal wash house in the town, which is in good condition and creates an interesting picture of life as it used to be in Champagne Mouton.

Saturday 30th June....Busy Weekend

      What a busy weekend, but a very enjoyable one, and the weather has been beautiful and warm.

                                                                 Saturday

Very Classy Interior

Saturday we went out for a lovely meal at le-rejallant in Condac,   the setting is by the River Charente, it was a beautiful warm evening and the food was lovely.

The River

The Terrace overlooking the River

The Restaurant

In the evening we went Chasseneuil to see Nuit Des Bandas, they were really good, we saw about 5 big bands playing. It was a lovely warm evening and the ice cold Beer was flowing very well.

    

Hissing Sid...Western Whip Snake

Another hot day today, so haven't done much gardening, just watered the Jardin and Potager, but now I have done it , it feels muggy, enough for a storm.



Last night we came across these..just outside..heat got to them too :-)


It occupies all types of habitat with a preference for dry, quiet areas – open woodlands and land which is left to scrub or fallow, sometimes to be found near rivers or other wet areas. It is an extraordinary hunter; its prey varies with local availability and it will take small mammals, small birds, frogs, lizards etc. It has also been known to eat adders and even its own species. 

Once I got over the shock I had an Apero..


The abbey of Affligem was founded on June 28th, 1062, and was known to have been brewing beer in 1574. The brand name is used under licence from the monks of Affligem, by the Op-Ale brewery in the neighbouring village of Opwijk. The brewery is now owned by Heineken International, who have renamed it the Affligem brewery and market the beers internationally.

Then had a lovely tea cooked by Hubby, Homemade Fishcakes with a Chilli Dip..yummy...

Then Maisie decided to eat my Blackcurrants...

The Salad Garden..

Had a day in the Potager yesterday trying to keep on top of the weeds, some creepy crawlies about that make me tip toe... :-) and some horrible looking bugs that I have had to treat, but still The Salad Garden is looking good.

Lettuce

Cucumber

Cherry Tomatoes

Celery

Beetroot

Had a lovely lunch in the garden, although it was rather hot, but sat under our Pergola in the shade..

Lunch

Lunch

After lunch took some photo's of Bees on the Lavender

Bees

Apero time..

Henri Hedgehog who visits us at night..

Hedgehogs.

Depending on the species, the gestation period is 35–58 days. The average litter is 3–4 newborns for larger species and 5–6 for smaller ones. As with many animals, it is not unusual for an adult male hedgehog to kill newborn males.

Hedgehogs have a relatively long lifespan for their size. Larger species of hedgehogs live 4–7 years in the wild (some have been recorded up to 16 years), and smaller species live 2–4 years (4–7 in captivity), compared to a mouse at 2 years and a large rat at 3–5 years. Lack of predators and controlled diet contribute to a longer lifespan in captivity (8–10 years depending on size).

Hedgehogs are born blind. The hedgehogs are birthed with a protective membrane covering their quills, which dries and shrinks over the next several hours.^[7] The infants are born with quills beneath the skin, like pimples, and pass the skin after they have been cleaned.^[8]

Another Beautiful Day...

A busy day so far, but we have thoroughly enjoyed it, called in at Condac for the Fete Du Pain and had our breakfast, Pain au Chocolate had a lovely look round, looked at the Restaurant , we have eaten there before, the setting is beautiful. We then went into Ruffec to the Vide Grenier, it was busy with plenty of stall , there was plenty I could buy, but had to restrain myself, weather glorious, then stopped and had some lunch, my usual Frites and Beer, they also did a platter, your 4 courses.. :-) washed down with Beer. Home now and going to sit and relax in the garden, refreshments ready for this evening......COME ON ENGLAND....a win hopefully, the end of a perfect day....

The New Pergola...

The new Pergola is now assembled and looking good, just needs the base doing, no grass, but a gravel base perhaps. Just about to have our Apero's in the early evening sunshine...

Hubby cooked Dinner, Moroccan Chicken with Couscous... yummy..