blog 11 April
It is that
time again and the grass needs a proper cut and pick up, but like snow in
winter and drought in summer we are not prepared and shocked and surprised that
we are at that time and nobody else is there to sort it out for us…
For those
for you who have not been paying attention, in July last year the mower with
all the bells and whistle to lift grass and dump it stopped working. We ordered
the bits from our local mower man but as they showed complete inability to
order the parts and give us a price after waiting till October we told them to
stuff it and Mike would mend the parts over winter which needless to say he did
not and here we are needing to cut and have no Mike
set to and straightened and welded and bashed and banged and swore and blasted
his way to mending both struts, fitted them, and off he went on the first
proper cut of the season. Half way through I watched him march off the field
saying she’s blown up and my heart dropped into my gut at the thought of a major
breakdown at this so special time it was just too much of an upset…...
Mike
found the break and we went to our not so local farmer and tractor shop where
muck under your nails and holes in your jeans is acceptable if not obligatory.
We ordered the bit in the utter belief that we were going to get what we needed
to mend our fabby mower and get back to work. I called the oh so very friendly
parts man the next day as in the excitement
of him not being phased about ordering our parts we had forgotten to ask, how much. There is no way of knowing he said
until it arrives and it will be here in three days’ time. In the meantime Mike
and I went around the Cherbourg peninsular twice looking for a backup mower
that will get the job done to a fashion when the main mower is out of action.
And look
what magically appeared in the tractor shed. We saw this on offer and the
salesman said that he would bring it round to us let us try it out to make sure it is the right machine for us, he
meant correct colour to go with green I think and then we just fell in love and
had to have it. In the meantime with all
the excitement of a new baby in the manger the call came from the tractor shop
and when I asked how much he reverted to
local slang and I though he said 600
Euro and when I asked him again he really actually said 650 Euro. I felt like I
had been robbed at gun point. We gathered our hard earned euros into a little
envelope and set off to pick it up. Mike, with his unbelievable ability and
skill fitted the gold plated part and did swear he would throttle the engineer
who designed the mower, but we were in business and today we both set off, me with
the new baby and the mike on the old bloater and you will never guess what…. The
old bloater broke down again and needed two belts replaced and in doing that
Mike also found an oil leak….needless to say I had a great day, baby cuts like
a dream, empties like a pro and frankly if Mike thinks he is getting his hands
on her he has another thing coming…
I now have
a pet cockerel who marches around the drive and garden cockadoodaldoodling and generally
being gorgeous. He is not allowed in
with the other hens because the other cockerel has taken charge in there and
will not tolerate another boy on the block so I have separated them and I like
having him around looking cute.
Mike and I
had our 5 year health MOT given for free to everyone in France and although we
are both good for blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes the doctor who gave
us both a real checking over stopped in his tracks and specifically with much
finger wagging warned me to lose weight. He asked me how big my babies were and
then sucked in air and said you must do this… and I said ….oh bugger.
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