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.
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!
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
