Cottage & Countryside Living
July is here and you can definitely feel it. C'est chaud! (It's hot!) Because we live in a valley it always feels way hotter. We're in the process of making our own windows screens for the farmhouse to keep the flies out & the kitties in.
At the cottage with the hills & trees, it is so much cooler. So we have decided trees definitely need to be added to our land. I'm planning 3 so far in our personal garden: 2 dogwoods and a dwarf pear. I'm also planning on an arched arbor into the flower field and a pergola for a dining area. In the flower field I'm adding 2 magnolias & a flowering cherry. Then between our land and cornfield we're going to plant a row of trees. Our commune has a special program where you can buy small trees & shrubs for your land for a crazy low price. The goal is to create a better eco friendly environment & help with erosion, water retention, widlife, define borders etc. So today I'm finalizing the list so I can drop it off at the Mairie. We won't get our plants until late fall/early winter but that's ok. This is zone 8b so snow & freezing temps are rare here. I'll still be able to plant then. Plus I'll have the time...
This past week was also a big deal locally as the Tour de France-Stage 6 was held in our commune. Unfortunately we didn't head up to see it in person (it was really too hot, I had been working on the flower farm all morning & there is no back way to our cottage that wasn't blocked off for the race) but we did manage to watch it on TV and actually saw our cottage on air as they rode by! Got to admit, that was pretty cool. (Here’s a quick video of our village on the TV)
Besides by watching it on tv we got to see aerial shots we wouldn't have seen of the villages that surround us. I even learned a new way from our house to Mortain thanks to the tour de France route. Every part of commune really got into the race. There were old bikes all decorated up & down the route, colorful bunting hanging from the light posts, the boulangerie making special treats just for the event. It was quite a party! And it continues this weekend as tomorrow is Bastille Day. We've never been here to celebrate so kind of excited to see what happens here in the countryside. Did you know the French don't call it Bastille Day? They say le 14 juillet or le fête de nationale. Obviously the big show will be in Paris on the Champs Elysees but it will be cool to see what the villages here are doing. Practically everything is closed tomorrow except groceries stores which are only open until noon. We're keeping things simple: grilled skewers & sausages, cucumber salad, tomato & bread salad with burrata, French potato salad, deviled eggs and roasted peaches with pistachio cream & financiers for dessert.
This week I will be primarily focus on the salon getting it ready for our visitors. As for the flower farm, I have to work on seeding more grass rows, planting some perennials, hit everything with the molasses solution again and of course water water water, weed weed weed. Soon I'll need to start to net the dahlias and also get the logo & signs going. Our village is gaving it's first ever vide-grenier (community yard sale)next month and I'm hoping to have a table set up to sell off some misc stuff we don't want but also to have info on the farm and maybe even some posy vases & candles to sell.
But today... Today I am listening to my body and slowing down after a very long week. There are a million things I need to do but I am taking a day to rest, watch a movie or two, take a afternoon nap, hang with the kitties. No thrifting, no shopping, no projects, no yard work, nothing but rest & relaxation is on the agenda today. There will be plenty of things to do tomorrow.
Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!
À bientôt
Jenna
Sunday Saves
Things that caught my eye this week:
11 White Flowering Trees That Will Elevate Your Garden Since our personal garden will be a mix of white, green and pops of blue this was a great find.
10 Traditional French Desserts for Bastille Day via Molly Wilkenson
Meet the woman making a Bayeux Tapestry replica on her own from scratch Bayeux is a little over an hour from our cottage. September is the last time you will be able to see it here in Normandie for 2 years as the museum goes through a restoration and the tapestry itself goes on loan for the first time ever to the British Museum in the UK.
You Can Start Over at Any Age Here’s How I Did It (Twice) via Substack. This one really resonates as I am starting all over again….at 50+and in a new country
What’s in my online shopping cart this week? In no particular order: This book, these plates, this tablecloth, this eye cream, this ceiling fan, this dress and this doormat. *
How to Prune Raspberry Bushes for a Bumper Crop of Delicious Fruit I recently discovered some raspberries plants hidden in the back garden on the farm. This fall they will get relocated so they can be cared for and harvested.
Know your cheeses and their seasons: which to eat in France in July
Striking horse who ‘galloped’ along the river at Paris Olympics flies to breathtaking summer residence This was so cool to see on the TV. We are heading there next week to see it in person :)
Merci beaucoup for following me here on Substack. Please note that some links are affiliate links* in which I make a small commission at no additional cost to you when you shop from those links. It helps me to continue to create free content like this a well as on my social media channels. XO- Jenna