May and June at "Gone Fishin"

We are fortunate to be all but booked up in the Gite/apartment here at "Gone Fishin". Some new guests to the area and others returning. An unusual amount of rain this last week but at last the summer we know has arrived.

As usual the drakes from the lake have been bringing their wives over to the garden to nest in safety, we had a surprise in late May when we noticed a duck had laid 2 eggs in with the hens, at the same time one of the hens were feeling broody and decided she would sit them. Normally there would be no chicks as we do not have a cockerel! but to our surprise and I think the hens surprise the 2 duck eggs hatched!!

She made a wonderful mother far better than the duck, but sad to say only after the second day one duckling disappeared, but the surviving duckling had us and our gite guests in laughter. We placed a large bowl in the garden and the duckling would go for a swim as if in a gold-fish bowl , with mum and aunties looking astonished.
We nicknamed him Donald, he survived about 15 days but sadly mum could not keep up with him and he just disappeared. Three mums have been  successful in their sittings .

Do visit our new website So much to see and do on holiday all here             

First ducklings arrive today!

Ahhhhh how sweet is this....  

Having hatched under a Mulberry bush! she then takes them for a walk around the garden before going across the lane to the lake.
                          

She is greeted at the waters edge by 2 drakes both claiming to be dad, hey ho!

Catch up with Gone Fishin in March .

March is turning out good weather in this lovely area of the Lot et Garonne.
Night temp extremely cold, going down to anything between -1 to -4 C, the mornings are beautiful blue skies but white underfoot , by 11 am coffee time we are sat out in the garden and by lunchtime the temp is up into the  30's which for us means lunch outside, a few zzzzzz's after lunch catching the vitamin D rays!! Our usual quote of the day is "This is the life". Long may it last.
The lake is a bustle of activity with ducks doing what they do best this time of year (making whoopee) herons calling in for a quick snack! and the dreaded cormorants that can cause damage to our fish stock, not so much eating them but just by spearing them for the hell of it. We have a few tricks up our sleeves which at present is keeping the cormorants at bay. Do take a peak at this very interesting clip at the BBC click Cormorant swallows pike                                      

BBC reports on the storm in South West France

Thank you for all the emails of " are you both ok". Yes, we have escaped the storm with no damage. Apparently we will get a similar storm arriving Wednesday after lunch. 


February is one of those months we keep our heads down, catch up with a bit of decorating in the house and just enjoy life.We do keep spotting the arrival of spring out and about and feel that very soon we will be sowing seeds in the garden and getting ready for our first gite guests of the year in May.


Below is a good link about the storm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7848719.stm

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit the region on Sunday.

The impact of the storm was felt from the Channel Isles to Barcelona, but the strongest winds and heaviest rain were concentrated on south-western France.

Snow @ Gone Fishin

Snow took us all by surprise this morning. The "girls" (hens) took one look and decided it was breakfast in bed, all nine of them.

The ducks just seemed totally confused as the maize landed and simply dissapeared.

Pigley gone but not forgotten!

This last week we noticed that some of the ducks have been pairing up already (it certainly does not feel like Spring). Poor Pigley seemed to be left out.
A couple of morning there was no sign of Pigley so Alan and I would go for a walk around the lake to see if we could find feathers ,which would tell us if she had been pounced on by a fox, nothing.
Later in the day we would see her come flying in!! not the most graceful birds - usually a belly flop landing.
As the days went by she came and went and appeared to be increasingly on her own. We wondered if it was instinct that she was restless and needed to find a husband... now for the last 3 days no Pigley at all.
So we can only presume she flown off to find one of her own, her fate does not look too rosy being that its still the hunting season and has lost her protection now she has left our lake.
Fingers crossed though that she does not return to us with a family.. buying the maize does not come cheap and she became quite greedy, if a duck was coming to eat close by to her she would pick it up by the tail feathers and shake it!.

BBC's Terrapin feature is here at Gone Fishin!

We couldn't resist the opportunity to show off our Terra of the lake . He or she has been with us for about 4 years and only shows itself off sunbathing in July-August.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8434389.stm

The lake does become that bit lower, leaving just an edge of a log showing proud of the water which becomes his beach towel.
To think he was once someone's pet..... to feed them just click within the tank with your mouse and watch!

Duck not on the Christmas menu.

We are pleased to say that we are in an area where there is no right to hunt without permission.
Hunters are very respectful of our wishes.... proof of the pudding is the wild ducks that reside around the lake.

Young Pigley (the Muscovy duck) arrived out of the blue last April and seems quite content ..so far.

Watching the weather in France.

Sadly (I think!) no White Christmas for us here in Aiguillon. Should you want to have a look at our weather just click the link http://france.meteofrance.com/france/meteo?PREVISIONS_PORTLET.path=previsionsville/470040/20090713150000T
The one thing we seems to notice at Christmas time in the shops ...would you believe is the abundance of boxes of chocolates.
As soon as The New Year is in they all disappear and its one heck of a job to actually buy a decent box of chocs for a present.
 Well, we are off for a last wander around the shops, we hope you all have a Wonderful Christmas and thank you  for your warm Christmas Greetings.

Gone Fishin

Last September we spent two glorious weeks at Gone Fishin. From the moment we arrived we were made welcome. The gite is very nice and immaculately clean, the bathroom is huge.

You have your own barbecue area in the garden, together with gazebo, table and chairs, and loungers, lovely to lie and relax with a bottle of wine and watch the day fade into night and see the stars appear one by one.

For us the jewel in the crown was the lake, two minutes away across the lane. A stroll through the wood and a walk round the water leads to a variety of places to sit, but our favorite was the one closest to the gate where we would sit at the picnic table in the early evening and watch the sun go down over the distant hills.

The weather in early September was truly excellent, with sun every day we could not have asked for better.

The gite is in a rural position, but it is not isolated, with lots of lovely places in easy reach to visit. There is a supermarket in nearby Clairac, about 7 minutes away by car, but there are some large hypermarkets a little farther afield. Dining out is no problem as there are lots of places to go.

If you crave peace and quiet to unwind completely, or you like to get out and about and explore the area, Gone Fishin is ideal, you won't be dissapointed.

We are returning for another visit next year.

Margaret and Roy

A Merry Christmas to all...see you soon.

It's just started snowing!! even though the forecast was for Thursday.

We are feeling Christmas has all but arrived, so with that in mind we hope you like the card!

Here we are in the summer of 2009.........

PRICE UPDATED IN 2017. THIS NOW REFLECTS UPDATE ....Just 390 per week. This is not a fishing holiday .It's a bonus. It's free.

2 acre private carp lake 

Jenny & Alan .... A warm welcome awaits, you arrive as guests and leave as friends