The dépendance is the centre of attention - Update # 28

17 June 2015

Once G and I had booked flights for our next holiday at La Fromagerie, we began to consider the little dépendance and what we could achieve with it. G wrote to Tom to ask him for some internal dimensions, so that we could begin to design and plan the space.

Tom wrote back to say that he was between jobs, and would be able to start right away with the floor, at least. So, within 24 hours, he and Gregg had begun digging down, to give us the best volume possible.

They dug out about a cubic metre of soil and slate.

This is not going to be the Ritz, you understand, but merely an extra bedroom for guests/family. It won't be big enough to have a toilet, but it will have electricity, and there'll be room for a bed and tiny living space.

We have asked Tom to join the internal walls and lay a concrete floor, which will be overlaid with a wooden floor. He is also going to construct a bed platform - above head height as you enter the building - which we think will have ladder access. The design means that if you're upstairs, sitting with your back to the road-side gable end, you would be able to look through the glazed A-frame towards the barn itself.  The bed platform should leave enough space below for a small sofa or a couple of little chairs and a reading lamp. You get the picture.

This is going to be our Stone Tent; the one we envisaged when this adventure began.

One man went to mow - Update # 27

17 June 2015

In a message from neighbour Laurie, she mentioned that our grass was at an all-time height, weeds were sprouting from between the stones of the little stone terrace, and our lovingly-planted and mulched plants were in danger of being overwhelmed. It's been a warm Spring, with daytime temperature reaching the early 30s, and there's also been a fair amount of rain - perfect for all things green. Being a model neighbour, Laurie offered to do some gardening for us and (despite our protestations) spent a good few hours there weeding one hot day in May.

Funny how, when the barn was a barn, the land around it looked fine as unkempt paddock/meadow, but now that it's a home, the same untended effect has the potential to look sad and bedraggled. G and I don't want to become slaves to the manicured lawn, clipped hedge and formal flower bed suburban cliché, or anything, but we don't want the place to look neglected either. We had in mind to keep the property perimeter close-cropped, as well as either side of the grape vine, around the trees in the orchard and around the edges of the terraces; the rest, we are happy to dedicate to wild meadow, for the benefit of bees, wild flowers and untrammelled Nature.

Probably a bit difficult to convey to any local, but there you go.

We have always had the good fortune of J-M's sporadic efforts at keeping the grass down, on his death-trap ride-on mower, but we are uncomfortable about relying on his goodwill and energy, when he has a fair amount of land to tend himself - next door and over the road. So we decided to get in some help. Enter John R, Stage left. Another ex-pat Brit. and recommended by Brian the electrician.

He spent a few hours clearing and whipper-snipping the place, knocking it into shape, and went back again yesterday for another go.

BEFORE - Oh dear, perhaps that's just too 'au naturel' 

AFTER - it does look better... I guess. But where's the natural meadow we wanted?

The weed mat is working, up to a point, but if only we'd had time last August to put down lime between the stones...

BEFORE - I rather like this snaggly look in the orchard...

AFTER - ...but I can see this looks more tended

The before and after photos show that it is once more looking tended, but we are a little bemused - or is that amused? - by the Nature 'meadow' we have been left with. It looks as if John simply forgot to do one sweep with his mower, and any wee sleeket, coward, timorous beastie found there would feel a little stranded and conspicuous, I would imagine :)

See what I mean?

It doesn't look intentional!

The border plantings look happy!

Especially these ones :)

Never mind, we will be back in the Correze in August, and we can discuss the finer details with John then.