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..

Walking in Sunshine...

Beautiful day today, nice to wake up to Blue skies and the sun shining and the air being lovely and warm. Out walking the dog, lots of movement in the long grass so I have my Camera at the ready.......jump...I miss the Deer that jumped out of the field right in front of us, and Maisie well, she was on another trail and missed it too.  A mother Stone Martin jumped out to meet us and saw us and jumped back in again, I don't know who was the most startled her or us..walking through the bridle paths we could hear the birds singing away, I must try and record them. Walking past a Sunflower field we saw 2 very young Stone Martins, couldn't get the camera ready quick enough so a bit blurred, but they just ran for it in the open field..and again Maisie oblivious to whats happening.

Hubby bought me a new terrace set for an early Birthday present, had our cuppa on it when we returned..looking good, I have also got aPergola, pictures to follow.

Just had our lunch in the garden, Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil and Balsamic vinegar, with Melon for afters...mmmmm

Catch up..

Catch up time as our telephone line has been down due to the post being knocked down, France Telecom have done a temp repair after 8 days of being offline, only in France would you get repairs like this...

Sun is shining..

It is a beautiful start to the day, sun shining and quite warm. going to take Maisie (our dog) out for her walk, hopefully see and capture some wildlife.

Been out walking with Maisie ,Florence & Evie, although the cats got tired and needed some assistance,back now and doing some gardening, hubby cutting the grass and I have planted some more Geraniums, time for our late lunch...Goats cheese & Tomato tart with basil & Pesto...Bon Appetit