Uncle Rob managed to do a bit in between babysitting!

Mouth almighty!

She's never without something in her mouth. A chip off the old block.

The family's getting bigger by the day ...

A few weeks ago we arrived back from the market in Villereal. As I was trying to extract my daughter from her car seat Sarah screamed "What the %*&$ is that ????" She was staring, mouth agape, up at the top field. I followed her gaze only to discover these two at the end of it!

Say hello to Giddy and Gerald! We had no idea where they came from until the following monday when Patrick, one of the lads working on the place, explained that he had dropped them off. He told me that they were being looked after by a friend of his but then his friend called to say he was going to kill and eat them so Patrick offered to take them back. Not having any place to put them he thought that we should have them! It would seem that we're not that far from Battersea after all .....

Of course, this has really thrown the goat among the donkeys. Binny, who had for all this time ruled the roost (Ahhh, poor old Chalkie and Doris) was now been challenged by the really hard and smelly Gerald. I'm not sure that the poor old thing was even aware of the threat. She started to chew the horns that were seeminlg being offered as a kindly gesture by the new arrival. And that's when the manure hit the fence.

And this is Dipstick. The lead dog in the 1996 Walt Disney adaptation of 101 Dalmatians. She's staying at kennels run by a guy we know not far from us. I kid you not !!

Progress down on the farm

The front of the barn with its new windows where the doors used to be ... well, still are .. kinda ... Unfortunately, gone are the old chestnut trees where once roosted Chalkie and Doris. We've levelled the large bank to the back of the house and will plant some trees and stuff.

More barn pics ...



Between the house and the barn and around the well we've laid some gravel. It's begining to look a bit like a Tesco car park. Anyone want to buy a tractor ?

The new parking area at the gable end of the house. The stone wall to the left, we're told, is typical of the region and is known as "rocher" or "to rock" ... You rock my wall, baby!

Me old mate Debs and Steve and Rachel ... Sept 2006

Here are a few pics of Debs, Steve and 16 month old Rachel. Debs is a superb chef and Steve just doesn't like to be outdone so we ate like royalty for the week. It was also the first time that Poppy and the very clever and gorgeous Rachel met and they got on like a house on fire.


Debs and Rachel are the one's on this side of the fence!

Su and Kev's flying visit in August 2006.... finally!

Caption Competition !!

Various from July 2006

The Good Life down on the farm ...

We found Bambi here hiding in a ditch across from the house one day. Her mum had obviously told her to stay put until she could come back for after dark. Sure enough the following morning she was gone. Just as well really as the list of new arrivals at our place was getting longer by the day.








Some more new arrivals, Rose Mary and Minty. These three little beauties arrived in style in the back of the new car. They're 5 months old and will spend the rest of their lives mowing our back garden...









The girls arrive for their first day at work. I have to say a very big "Thanks! " to Bernard, the ever obliging brother-in-law, for scrubbing the sheep shit off the upholstery.









The 2006 spud harvest! If these get the blight we'll be getting the first ship out of here to New York.












The Vache Blonde d'Acquitaine is a rare breed cattle found only in the Lot-et-Garonne. Unfortunately, their numbers have been in steady decline recently because some idiot keeps ripping their testicles out.









Our new 15 year old ISEKI TX 1000 tractor! Made in Taiwan. It has loads of cylinders and gearboxes and stuff.











This Little Piggy is not quite the latest addition to the farm but she's, by far, the one who eats and sleeps the most. She's fattening up nicely though and now weighs a colossal 13 lbs and is 60 cm (23 1/2 inches - almost 2 ft.) long !!!

Poppy at 3 months ...

This set of photos is dedicated to Poppy's Auntie Su who lives in Italy. The poppies, coincidentally, are from our own garden. Tune in again soon for "The Good Life" update ....