Etang Garbet

                 
Some rain at last, hopefully more next week then things might start to grow again!

Jasper is here for a holiday before he starts his higher education access course. After a walk here in Aleu to break in his new boots, yesterday we set off to the Etang Garbet from Coumebière - our first walk in a very, very long time. A late start as we had to take the sheep for walk first but we eventually hit the trail at 11.00.

Much cooler weather at last and the clouds hid the tops for the most of the day. At the lake we had a leisurely lunch and watched a golden eagle high above us, below the crags of Pic Caumale just on the edge of the clouds.

A fly fisherman caught a small trout whilst we watched but he put it back.

The only option for a different way back was to follow the normal route down past Garbettou. We passed a large group (difficult on the narrow bouldery path) and eventually reached the road from Aulus. The 250m climb on the road through 8 hairpins back to the car was further than I remembered and a bit of slog.

Still no rain

We've been promised rain for the last few days but all that materialises are cloudy skies. The sheep are escaping less now there is as little food outside the fields as their is within. Things are getting pretty desperate. If there's no rain tomorrow then we'll have to wait until September if the forecasts are correct and another heatwave is due at the end of August. Maybe this is the new norm' now we have fucked our planet over good and proper!

A juvenile cuckoo....very shy hence the cropped long distance shot (pixelly)

Much better shot of a young red squirrel which will complete a triglyph of wildlife photos (weasel and black woodpecker) in our bathroom

Bobbin rack

When sectional warping each "section" of the warp (typically 1-2 inches wide) has to be wound onto back beam in one go. Eventually as many sections are wound as are required by the width of the fabric to be woven. Typically, as my fabrics are in 8/2 cotton with supplemental threads in 16/2 cotton, my warps tend to be around 24-26 epi (ends or threads per inch). That means to wind a 2 inch section I would need 48-52 bobbins of warp threads!

A bobbin rack is therefore required to keep all those threads organised - especially as they may be different colours and/or thicknesses and in a specific order.  Fortunately, I was given a bag of 52 turned bobbins that a neighbour found in his attic. So yesterday I set to work building a rack out of mostly offcuts from other projects and some threaded 6mm stud (bizarrely a quarter of the price of plain steel rod of the same diameter).

under construction

finished!

 

Drought continues

The drought continues (apparently the worst in France for 211 years). The last few days the temperatures have dropped a little but remain in the 30's in the afternoon. The sheep, constantly trying to find green vegetation are escaping two or three times a day and now we no longer bother putting the electric fence on because they ignore it and in the dry conditions it is very difficult to get a good earth connection on the fence charger. As three years ago (the last time we had a drought), we 've taken to taking the sheep on 2-3 hour walks morning and evening so they can graze the verges etc and find what they need. Tiring as the morning walk often starts at 5.30am! For the moment, walks in the hills for us are on hold. There are forecasts of three days of storms in a weeks time, but the rain always seems to be "next week" but never arrives. It looks like a 'mast year' so hopefully the sheep will be able to make up for the poor grass with acorns in the autumn.

Somehow apples, melons, courgettes, squashes and butternuts are managing to keep producing but with a hosepipe ban strictly in force and limited supplies of stored rainwater the rest of the garden is desertified. We have no kiwi fruit, very few raspberries and the potato harvest was poor. 

With Architecture work still to complete, starting the new weaving project is on hold. This gives me time to research "sectional warping" a method of getting the warp threads on the back beam of the loom suited to long warps or warps with complex colour changes, which I hope will better suit my weaves. Further equipment is needed that I am gradually, buying or building -  a tension box, a bobbin rack, a sectional beam and a thread measurer.

Typical sectional warping set up

New arrivals!

After a lot of persuasion and two back to back heatwaves we have a pool! The galvanised steel tank should be much more robust than the more expensive alternatives. It has a filter pump, cover and doser to keep everything hygienic.

At last the loom has also arrived and is now assembled. Very compact and well engineered - looking forward to weaving on it once the yarn arrives.

 

Next weave

Hopefully the new loom will arrive soon - it's currently stuck in Lyons going through customs checks. 

The next project will be curtains for the two living room windows. I designed a couple of different fabrics, one a variation of "Summer and Winter" weave called  "Dukagang" inspired by Janet Philips fabric "Icicles"

The other a Bateman weave called "Bateman Blend" inspired by the fabric on the cover of the book "Weaving Bateman blend" by Margaret Franklin. To design the latter I had only a picture of the fabric to work from plus a little knowledge of Bateman blend threadings, which was an interesting exercise.

Next I decided to see if it was possible to weave either of the fabrics as a double cloth on my loom. This is a method by which two layers of fabric are woven at the same time, joined on one side so that the resulting fabric is double the width. The answer was yes! However after working out the new drafts, I realised I would need more treadles (pedals) than I had available. 

After more work to see if I could create a skeleton tie-up - one where more than one treadle is depressed at the same time to limit the total number of treadles (not an easy task to do on a countermarch loom!), I concluded that it wasn't possible to reduce the number of treadles to 14.

So 'double cloth' is out and I'll need a sewn join down the middle of each curtain, so I've opted for the Bateman blend design. I'll change the draft to allow for a pattern match at the seam...and I'll have to weave a colossal 12m of fabric! It's a complicated warp to wind with many colour changes and 2 different weights of cotton....Something my weaves inevitably have! I think sectional warping is going to be something to explore next - a method by which the warp can be wound straight onto a modified loom back beam in sections, rather than having to chain 700 threads each 12m long in the correct order and then attempt to wind them onto beam without tangles!

Dog attack

On Sunday morning before our trip to the lake there was a lot of baaing from the sheep and when I got down to the field some of them had got out and were running up and down whilst the others still in the field were also distressed. I assumed that the lambs had slipped under the electric fence and couple of mums had followed. I let all the sheep out and moved them up to the field at the Pla d'Artigue. They were very keen to go and I assumed I had them all, but when we got back from the walk and counted we realised that one sheep "tiny dancer" a five year old male was missing. We spent a couple of days searching then finally I found him and he had been attacked and killed by a large dog (attacked from behind and then had his rear end mauled). From the state of the body, on that Sunday morning. We're pretty sure we know the dog that did it, as it attacked our hens a couple of days earlier and is staying in nearby accommodation, but we can only surmise without evidence. We contacted the owner to let him know we suspected his dog and to make sure it was controlled, if I see it in the field chasing our sheep and lambs I'll have no option but to shoot it.

"Tiny" allowing the lambs to clamber on him

Dealing with the heat

The crazy heat continues and as much as possible we're sheltering in the cool of the house during the day and venturing out in the cooler evening. The sheep too sleep all day but are a bit noisy at night as the lambs run riot ignoring the baa's of their distressed mums.

One Susie's Persian silk trees which she's grown from seed and carefully nurtured for three years has its first bloom.

But you can only stay at home for so long, so despite the temperatures we've started venturing out - a short walk to Cominac from the house....

A trip to the river at Castet for a swim....

And today a walk upto the Etang d'Aube for another swim with Sheri and Michiel.

 

At last Faith had her lamb last night - "inkling" a little ewe. The heat wave continues with temperatures building to probably the 40's this weekend.

Hot dry days - the hay cutter broke but a temporary fix kept it running long enough to finish, the baler worked perfectly and the whole operation was completed almost single handed! A hot dry wind meant the cut grass turned to hay in a single day. The new tractor makes the whole operation much simpler.

The living room has also been repainted a saffron colour which is calmer and completes the job.

lambs and living room

Well we took Olive to the vet, she had a temperature and probably a stomach upset. The vet gave me daily antibiotic injections to administer and she soon perked up and is doing fine. Thelma had Bam-bam a couple of days ago, Blackberry gave birth to Joan yesterday and Audrey was born to Lately this afternoon....so we're waiting on Faith for the last lamb.

Three tough days on my knees and the tiling in the living room is complete and we've moved our stuff back in. The new arrangement of chimney and desk has made lots of extra space and finally we have a solid, level and flat floor without draughts. 

The orange wall is being repainted tomorrow to a softer "saffron" which is what we were originally after. Then all is finished(?) apart from the constant job of trying to remove the grout haze (a specialist product might be required).

As if by chance my new loom should arrive soon too! It's taken a 6 weeks longer to arrive than the date when it was first ordered but that was just as well as the late tile delivery also delayed the living room completion. It'll go between the sofa and the bookcases.

Settled dry weather from tomorrow, so hay making next.

From the searing heat to much cooler and damp weather. 7 lambs came in quick succession but the last four seem to be keeping us waiting. Olive, a ewe lamb born to truffle, is struggling. Very lethargic compared to the other lambs even though she is suckling well. She and Truffle are confined to the barn to keep warm, rest and hopefully be less stressed. The next few days will be critical to see if she can pull through.

Lambs

Puffle

Louise

Truffle

Chihero

The crazy heatwave continues with temperatures nudging 40 in the shade.  Another lamb on Saturday to Truffle - a girl this time- I spotted her at 6.00 am then sat just 3 or 4m away a fox, quietly watching! I chased it away. The crazy temperatures are causing the sheep to give birth at night which increases the chance of predators. Last night I was awoke at 3.45 by baaing. I found Louise in the barn having just given birth to a boy and the fox sat again close to the barn! He didn't hang around as soon as he saw my torch. Once Louise was safely closed in the barn I found Puffle in the middle of field also having just given birth thus time to to girl. Little else to do but stay up all night standing guard with the rifle in case the fox was after more than just placenta! Another seven lambs to come in the next week to 10 days. The sheep are now in the field in front of the house which I hope will offer some deterrent.

In between times, Architecture projects - my largest project goes in for planning this week and trying to progress the living room. Still waiting for floor tiles and few other odds and ends still to do.

First lamb of '22

The crazy heat continues with temperature in the high 30's, too hot to do most things though the work has to continue! Very early this morning our first lamb of 2022 (first offspring of Tiny Tim) was born to Chihero. Pretty sure it's a boy but it's hard to tell with tiny ouessants.

 

Lightning

Super hot and muggy today 45 degrees in the sun. Thunder rumbled all day and the inevitable storm came in the late evening.

 

More living room progress

Beams sanded - what a job! 15kg of sawdust lighter.

plasterboarding and electrics complete

fireplace tiled, ready for tape and jointing

 

 Fireplace under construction

sheep shearing