The Dordogne – Hot and Humid.

Sunday August 7 th 2022.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic and a very important wedding we haven’t visited our house here for the last three Augusts , I think we had slightly forgotten the effect the weather can have.

According to our neighbour there hasn’t been any rain for weeks, everything is bone dry and leaves are beginning to drop from the trees already.

We have quickly dropped into the French routine of getting up early, 7 am’ ish whilst still cool ( 20 degrees at 8.30am) and arriving at supermarket/ vide greniers as soon as they open. It’s possible to be outside until approx noon by which time the temperature has risen to 35 degrees, we shut all the shutters and leave the windows open but it still reaches 28 degrees in the house. We are pottering at getting the house and garden ready for visitors using the cooler morning and evening times.

The weather this year has had a disastrous effect on our fruit trees, when they were in blossom there was a heavy frost, a month later gale force winds, then a hail storm with huge hailstones and now a drought, needless to say there isn’t one piece of fruit on our apple trees, plum trees or peach trees. However the vine which can push roots down to a great depth is doing well and we have plenty of grapes.

This morning we managed to visit two vide greniers, one in La Fleix and one in Montpon, both were about half the size of the same ones we visited four years ago, not sure why. We did however manage to spend some money on a variety of items.

We bought two carpets for our small lounge for 12 euros, a collection of toys for our grandsons impending visit for 5 euros, a chair that apparently you use to sit babies in whilst bathing them or giving them a shower for 4 euros, a small vase for a euro, a picture for 2 euros, a kilo of courgettes to feed our daughter and son in law who arrive on Tuesday, and last but not least I splashed out 20 euros treating Michelle to her own electric strimmer ( I know I’m too kind) it’s made by Wolf so a good make.

It’s now 8 pm still 32 degrees so I think it’s time to water a few plants with a cold beer in my hand.