A Very Merry Christmas to all ...............

Wishing  A very Merry Christmas and a Healthy Happy New year to all our friends and guests from the gite who have indeed become our friends.

                                               

June through to September 2011 ......gone in a flash!

Little Al's visit to see little Ted

Well, the time just flew.
Thank you to all our guests that gave us yet another full summer season.
The weather was unusually hot early on in June and on the whole stayed that way through the summer.
Surprisingly the fish in the lake coped well as they just go deeper in the water, but that did not deter our guests who chose to do a bit of fishing whilst their wives enjoyed the shaded terrace.
Friends and family came and went enjoying their stay.

Friends and family

The fruit and veg in the garden did remarkably good depite the drought!

 

and the flowers bloomed........

A 2 day trip to Carcassone and a stop over in a hotel was a delight..........The castle could easily have been Hogwarts ..Harry Potters schoo!! and certainly the streets within the castle were Diagonal Alley!! very spooky but fascinating.

September the family arrived to chill out......... lovely.

And plenty more visits from friends..................................Spot the bambi in the distance.

 Our regular visitor the cheeky red squirrel..........................................

April - May summer arrived too quick...

With only a few April showers and the very warm continual weather in May our early spring aubrita and pansys flourished then went very quickly!!!

By mid May we were watering the garden late in the evening but at the same time trying to conserve water by using all washing up water in the garden!!
Sitting out in the evening listening to these little chaps singing to their loved ones is quite an experience!

       

 By the end of May we are well into our BBQ's every lunch time and enjoying welcoming our gite/ cottage guests arriving  for their start of the summer holidays.

   
The grass is looking a bit dry by now but flowers are looking good.

     
A much enjoyes siesta after lunch at the hottest time of the day is a must and its only May!!!!!

Young master Kermit enjoying an evening exploring. Is it an optical illusion he is bending the tree or does he really need to go on that threatened diet!!

       

March with spring in the air.

March has arrived with plenty of sun as we speak and it really feels that spring has arrived. Yes, its chilly in the early morning but by 10.30am we can be sat out having coffee!
March 26th the clocks move forward I think!

Lovely peacock butterfly enjoying the sun in March

The honey bees are buzzing!

The end of February is when the hunting season for ducks comes to an abrupt stop. Within days somehow the ducks in and around our lake (even though never shot at) can sense its safe to walk across our quiet lane and come across to the garden with love in mind as this is where they bring there wives to nest in peace and quiet.

A good sign for lots of fruit this summer.Enjoy!

This chaps brought his wife into the garden from the lake! to have a foot bath

Looking for Cheap Flights, something to make you smile.

Cheap flights here.......Fascinating Aida. Absolutely wonderful sit back and enjoy.

January 2011 at Gone Fishin

January at Gone Fishin has found us whenever possible sat out in the garden wearing wooly pullies having a coffee, but on the whole it has been a typical cold January with some sunny mornings and especially beautiful blue skies.
We have been delighted with our gite - cottage holiday lettings for 2011 and only have 4 weeks available for the rest of 2011 and can you believe it we have taken a booking for 2012!!!
We have taken time to explore Aiguillon, why you might ask, simply because having put together a comprehensive web- booklet exclusively for those that have booked at Gone Fishin on places to explore within 2hrs including Châteaux, museums, theatres, caves and frescoes and explaining in detail places with historic significance, and having given Aiguillon a full page of amazing history it has intrigued us to explore as we hope it will our guests in 2011.
We found this little gem of a place in Aiguillon Atelier Lunac. The lovely French lady showed us around her exhibition and her workshop.

Christmas Greetings to everyone..........

We Wish you all A very Merry Christmas and a      *********Healthy and Prosperous New Year.*********


              We look forward to seeing our returning guests in the Gite and "new" guests for 2011.
We have added a new little venture ( just to keep the wolf from the door!) only for in the winter months whilst the gite is closed, perhaps of interest to a fisherman... http://fishing-ticket-area47france.blogspot.com/

We had 2 new visitors arrive on the lake yesterday!

Unusual arrival for Dec, left after about 4hrs.

Winters arrived ..a thin layer of ice on the lake.

The one fruit that comes ready in December is the Kaki...often used to make jam but resembles a big soggy tomato when ready......it's horrible!!!!!!!

November been and gone in a flash!

November sees lovely changes of colours in the countryside, but also lots of activity as many of the late apples in the orchards are now being picked for commercial sale.
Alan is busy hoovering up leaves and more leaves, finishing trimming trees and I am busy spring cleaning the outside paintwork etc ready for Winter.

Alan hoovering the leaves

Even in November we have very warm sunny days.The ducks have already paired up for spring!

Lovely blue skies, a painters paradise.

This little chap is I think looking for a place to hibernate!

October at Gone Fishin Aiguillon in the sunny Lot et Garonne

Our last guests in the gite left us on October 2nd and what a delightful couple they were all the way from Australia. It's lovely signing off the gite on such a good note, certainly no complaints for 2010, a full house!.

We are eagerly looking forward to 2011 as we have 8 weeks booked already.
We have splashed out in anticipation for 2011  in the gite in buying a beautiful settee and 2 armchairs in fine Italian leather with lumbar support... better than what we have in our lounge!!! also for the gite we have bought a flat screen  TV showing UK channels and radio stations. We also have added an extra cupboard on the wall at eye level to save those with a bad backs from bending down.

Our new flower bed to cut down some work... No they are not gnomes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For a treat to ourselves we have slightly changed our garden so we can cut down planting so many bedding plants .... not quite got into gnomes!!...

Septembers Colours at Gone Fishin', Aiguillon france4two.eu

This time of year the landscape starts changing -the autumnal tones peep through and the  sunflowers and maize  being harvested allows an opening up of a totally different aspect of the countryside.
At Gone Fishin' we are still full on with the gite/holiday  accommodation, enjoying looking after the garden and orchard and yes,!!! we are still feeding the ducks.

To answer a query about Pigley who suddenly arrived last year 2009  and as suddenly disappeared no, he did not come back with a family we are convinced he landed on someone's plate!

Gone Fishin's wild ducks coming in to be fed (france4two.eu)

We enjoy keeping our websites up to date......  www.france4two.uk  This has replaced our dot EU site
We are still feeling elated that the terrapin was caught and dispatched, what we find amusing is the very log that sits proud in the lake where the terrapin sunbathed is now taken over by any duck that gets there first .... it seems to have become a sentry post!

Another predator at present that is being tracked by the local farmer is the magpie, what a menace it is .... taking duck eggs and ducklings and is also a pest to anyone with free range hens. Here is a trap set, the idea is to put the caged magpie where it is known there are magpies, they will protect their territory and go into the cage of the strange magpie to play heck! and voila it's caught!




The night time reveals wildlife out and about. Our little tree frogs shelter from the heat of the day behind the shutters as do the fruit bats. At around 4am when it nice and cool its surprising whats waking up!

Mr Natterjack Toad

The Tree Frog Faminly at Gone Fishin (france4two.eu)

Not to be outdone we have some wonderful plants that display their strong perfume only in the early hrs of the morning The Brugmancia (trumpet plant).

Brugmancia

..

Terry The Terrible Terrapin August 2010

August already! The ducklings (well, those that survived being eaten by the terrapin, herons, and buzzards) are enjoying themselves in the lake. From this week onwards they have one predator less to worry about .
All thanks to Gerard  a great fisherman, who not only caught superb specimens of Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Rudd and Sun Perch but caught Terry The Terrible Terrapin - 

Terry The Terrible terrapin Captured

His suitcase is packed ...the ducklings at last can swim in peace and quiet!

 

          

Gone Fishin in July

The summer is flying ....where has the time gone! We have welcomed back many holiday guest (some for their 4th year!) and of course guests staying at "Gone Fishin" for their first time, we are having a bumper season and have already taken bookings for next year...2011.

The carp in the lake are getting bigger every year this chap was caught in May 2010 .

Grateloup - a village just 10 minutes away had a celebration day of the new sails having been put on the recently renovated working windmill, other old working machinery was on display .

New sails on show at Grateloup

Also on show were working Oxon- warm work in such a thick coat!!

Oxon at work at Grateloup Village open day celerbration.

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!