The Joys of moving house

We have some friends here that have just moved house into Huelgoat from a few miles away and having visited them in their new house it jolted my memory about the differences between here and the UK.

Based on their and our experiences it seems like anything that isn't actually bolted down to the house is fair game to be taken away by the previous occupants. Things that are taken for granted to be left in the house in the UK seem to be taken all the time over here. For instance although the curtain poles seem to be left the rings themselves were taken from both our houses also it comes as a little bit of a shock to come into the house when you have bought it to find just a light-bulb dangling from the end of a wire, you may expect the shades to be taken but the pattrice and pendant that is screwed to the ceiling?

In our case we also had to negotiate the purchase of the towel holders, mirrors and even the soap holder in the bathroom!

Although the actual purchase is made easier by it being carried out by one Notaire rather than solicitors acting for both sides in the UK the costs are a lot higher, anything around 6-8% of the purchase price for the Notaire and even more for the agent.

Of course this is countered by the lower house prices over here, our friends bought a detached property with gardens on all sides and a gate into the woods at the rear it has 3 reception and 4 bedrooms plus a huge garage/cellar that extends under the whole of the house for the equivalent of under £100K You would struggle to buy a flat for the same amount in the UK.

Moles

We have had moles on and off in our front garden ever since we have moved here but by putting down more repellent every time we saw a mole hill we seem to have contained them.

Last week for the first time I saw a mole hill in our back field close to where we have our vegetable plot, but as it was only one I didn't bother about it. Big mistake! Yesterday I went out and counted over 20 of them. How is it possible that a mole can just pop up into the middle of what is a field and create havoc in such a short time?

Attribution: Mikiwikipikidikipedia at en.wikipedia

Apparently a single mole can burrow up to a 150 feet in a day and have a gestation period of only one Month! What chance have I got?

I think when I get my plough and rotavator in action in about a Month's time that may deter them other than that If I could catch enough of them I could offer them to Tesco's, they seem to buy any meat!

The last bit of winter

as I'm writing this it is snowing outside which seems to make a bit of nonsense of the heading, but we have had quite a few sunny days recently and although it is cold at night and in the wind I find I'm outside more and more in the day.
 I am so glad that we bought this house, It's not everyone's "cup of tea" with all the ground that we have. I have had several people say to me that they couldn't contemplate looking after it all but it suits us down to the ground and I'm never happier than when I'm outside working.

I have been busy clearing away all the winter debris from the drive at the rear of the house which is very therapeutic as It is like getting rid of winter. I managed to get the real lawn cut this weekend as well which is a bonus. The first cut of the year is always the worst as all the grass has to be picked up, I must have put about 8 barrow-load into the  compost heap. Now that it's been cut once, providing I do it on a regular basis I can just mulch the grass and leave it.

I'm also busy chopping and splitting wood ready for next winter, I've struggled a little to get enough dry seasoned wood this year but I reckon from now on I should be fine.

 I can see that the art of it is to continually cut and stack wood in advance. It is Sunday morning and I have the wood burner on chucking out heat as I type.

Tractor (Chinese)4 Mike (British)5

Success at last! After an hour's round trip into Carhaix to buy an extra length of chain ( don't even ask the cost ) I attached it to my existing chain and started to heave it out with the chain block, after about 10 minutes of heavy pulling I realised I was pulling the tree out of the ground! Off it came yet again to attach it to a bigger ( much bigger ) tree I finally managed to get it on firm ground and was able to drive it out. I had detached the link box which was still stranded in the bog but it was fairly simple to attach a chain to that and drag it out with the tractor.

 

 

As I said the good thing to come out of all this was getting to know my neighbough, I returned his chain block and was promptly invited into the house to share a bottle of wine. Bottles of wine seem to get drunk over here just like having a tea of coffee but I can live with it :)

 

on a separate note I was chatting on a forum I belong to, with a friend who is going to visit in the Summer, he happened to say " watch out for the youdig when you are out walking" I had to ask him what a "Youdig" was and apparently it is local folklore for a peaty bog or marsh with evil spirits. As I am certain he has never read my blog up to now I thought it was very apt.

 

As I now didn't have to buy a winch, I used the money to buy myself a new sawhorse for my logs, a big improvement on the old wooded one that I had inherited from the previous owners.

 



Tractor 4 Mike 0

Yes, It's still stuck in the mud although it does make a nice garden ornament!

On a good note though my French neighbough from across the road who I am on nodding terms with came across to see me today carrying a chain block, He doesn't speak one word of English not even "Hello"

  It was quite old but fully usable, however the main problem was where to attach it to, the large stone that was the obvious place wasn't suitable as It kept slipping off, I next tried around a tree but the problem there was it was at an acute angle and as the back wheels are up to the axle with the frame sitting on the ground it wouldn't move at all.
At that moment my neighbough arrived to help bringing with him a length of heavy rope so between us we decided that we needed to pull it directly from the front in a straight line.
So we attached the rope to the chain and managed to find a tree root to fix it to.
Well the good news is that we managed to winch it a foot ( I only need to winch it about 6 feet to get on dry ground ) The bad news is the rope broke!

At that point I was exhausted so I gave it up for today and will go out and buy some more chain tomorrow...........Watch this space!

Tractor 3 -Mike 0

Well day 4 and the tractor is slowly disappearing into the ground, Australia bound! I have now given up on the idea of chaining a log to the wheels. I am going to do nothing more to it until Thursday which is market day here in Huelgoat. Once a Month there is a lorry and trailer full of hardware and tools  sets up and this is the week they arrive. I have taken a look through their catalogue and have found a very reasonably priced ( 30 euros ) hand winch that will pull over 2 tons.

I am going to attach it with a chain to the front of the tractor and the other end I can attach around a large rock buried into the ground.

The weather here for the last couple of days and the next few to come if the forecast is to be believed is superb with sunshine all day. We are both making the most of it and getting out into the garden, Avril has been busy cutting part of the lawn for the first time and I have been out with the chain saw and axe stacking up logs for next winter.

Of course we have also made time for a bit of relaxation in the sun on our decking area!

A day of up and downs

Still no success with getting my tractor out of the mud, in fact it is further down than it was before. The problem is now that the bottom of the tractor is sat on the ground so at least one of the wheels has no grip whatsoever!
After spending an exhausting few hours in the morning digging and trying to get ramps under the wheels to help it I gave it up and am leaving it now until Monday. I have one plan that involves chaining a wooden post across the two front wheels which should stop the wheels from spinning and force them to ride up over the post. If that doesn't work I'm going to have to find a tool hire shop and try and hire a "Turfer winch" which I can attach to some trees nearby and hand winch it out.

So all in all not a great start to the day!

The day picked up substantially in the evening however when we went with some friends to a St Valentines Night dinner and dance. This was held at the Hotel du Lac which is situated in a lovely position overlooking

 the lake. It was very well attended, although we we one of the few English people there, The dining room was set out lovely with red hearts etc on all the tables.
The food was superb with 4 courses and as much wine as you wanted included in the set price. The French people seem to eat in a different way to the English and I have to say I like it. The meal is spread over a lot longer time so there was time to dance in between courses . By the time we got home it was nearly 2am.