Noisette
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Posts posted by Noisette
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Were you by any chance a taxonomist in a former life? Or perhaps a taxinspector? ;-) Colombelle is one of the great undiscovered treasures of the SW. An interesting story lies behind it as it was considered too inferior to be made into Armagnac, the viticulteurs turned to the USA for advice on how to develop a decent dry white from Colombard and Ugni Blanc and Colombelle was born.....yum! Give me a minute and I'll try to weave a tenuous link with pesky caterpillars ;-)
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Plants with the suffix 'Thunbergiensis' are named in honour of Carl Peter Thunberg. Thuringiensis indicates that it was discovered (for the second time) by a German scientist in Thuringia. There you go ;-) Mea culpa x 20. With a couple of Hail Marys thrown in. I blame the second glass of Colombelle. (Look it up!)
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The solution to any caterpillar-related problem in the garden lies in a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis. It is specific to caterpillars (but not sawflies) and can be used both as prevention and cure. The powder is mixed with water in a sprayer and applied to pines, oaks, box or whatever, preferably before the infestation is advanced. It's one of the few effective products left on the shelves, probably because it's not a chemical and doesn't harm other forms of insect. It is a shame that it's not more widely publicised.
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[quote user="You can call me Betty"]Coincidentally, there was a forensic psychologist on TV a few days back and although I wasn't paying close attention to her interview, the one thing I did hear her say which resonated with me under the circs, was "You only die once, so you'd want to have the best death you possibly can" ..[/quote] That'll get the reincarnation fans going!
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Even worse is what ex-presidents cost the State during their lifetimes! If Macron loses the next presidential election, no matter, he'll be coining it for sooo many years afterwards. It's crazy!
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[quote user="soupagirl"]When asked "How are you?" the new accepted reply seems to be "I'm good", which really annoys me.[/quote] Oh yesssss..my bête noire too!
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But also for pleasure. Even in bad weather, driving here in France is a positive pleasure :-) At least in winter there are fewer camping cars and cyclists on the roads!
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Some people are never satisfied! :-) Here we are with glorious sunshine at last, and the endless mud is frozen solid. There's nothing quite like collecting fresh, warm eggs when your tiny hands are frozen ;-)At least it's not like living in wet Wales which is what it's been for most of the winter!
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Just a heads-up for anyone whose thoughts are turning to the garden...As we are all being encouraged to help save the planet, a lot of the products that we've used in the past are being withdrawn. BUT there's some very dodgy marketing going on out there. Take insecticides....if you look closely at the packaging of KB, Fertiligène, Naturen etc, the 'active' ingredient is...colza oil. Just that. An oil that you can buy in litre bottles in the cooking oil aisle for a couple of euros. The principle is that it suffocates insects. It probably also suffocates the plants that need to breathe through their leaves, but hey-ho. Then herbicides....'active' ingredient 'acide de géranium'. It doesn't work. Might as well use cheap white vinegar, or salt where nothing will ever be grown again. Then caterpillar control...Bacillus thuringiensis is a very effective preventative and cure for infestations of all caterpillars...processionary pine, box, olives, leeks, codling moth. It IS natural and only harms the caterpillars. BUT you don't need to buy separate products for each problem! They're all based on BT. Please, please read the (tiny) print on the packaging before you waste your money on these scams.....
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No problem there..I've been faking it for years......:-))
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We'll see, idun. I know what you mean about patches standing out. The paint will be arriving next weekend :-) At worst I'll need to do some walls in their entirety but at least they're not the very high ones! I'm getting too old to be clambering about on ladders 5m up....
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[quote user="alittlebitfrench"]Thank god for that. I have not been able to sleep for worrying.What is a paneer ?[/quote] :-)) It's given me a few sleepless nights too, sweetie, knowing that I'm flouting the advice of Complete France's very own Laurence Llewelyn -Bowen!;-)You don't know what paneer is? :-o How have you managed all this time? It's Indian curd cheese. Usually served in cubes lightly fried and with a spicy spinach purée. Palak Paneer. Bet you feel much better now...;-)
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Hi mint, Thanks for the link :-) Thirty minutes would be a big improvement over my previous attempt! A couple of days and gallons of very expensive full-cream milk, if I remember rightly ;-) Dinner invite will be on it's way when I've finished decorating ;-)
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cl32W8OgQoHope the above link works! It may be of interest to the brave folks on this thread, as well as anyone trying to ward off nasties.
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Just a quick update...it's sorted. Now, if anyone spots some paneer, that's the only other thing that I miss from the UK ;-)
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No problem ;-) It's lovely to be on the receiving end of ALBF's wit and wisdom once again .....even if most of us know that French paint is overpriced c**p ;-) . The smell of pee will blend in nicely with the cats' contributions lol.And well-spotted, everyone that read the OP thoroughly.....there are a lot of very high walls in this place, and the last thing I want to have to do is re-paint the whole lot! If push comes to shove then, yes, I'll use a delivery service. Re. the avatar, I tried to correct the orientation several times without success so will just have to put up with a cricked neck for now :-) The emojis don't work, either......
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A favour to ask......In order to avoid a major re-painting excercise, I need a can or two of genuine 'English' Dulux Apple White Rich Matt emulsion. Unfortunately, we've no plans to go back to the UK this year.So....if there is anyone within a radius of 100km of Miramont de Guyenne who is taking a car over and back within the next couple of weeks, and has time/space, I'd be most grateful if you could bring some over. Quite happy to pick it up from wherever, whenever and to settle up however suits you
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Could be, Quillan....the friends experienced the same drawback re. getting the Co back to do repairs, even under guarantee.
And yes, of course the better the insulation, the more effective any source of heat. For sheer, all-over, comfortable, work-free heating, though, GT takes some beating. Be interesting to compare notes in 5 years time[;-)]
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I'm a (NOT) 'rich guinea-pig'[:D] As I had to have a new system from scratch anyway, opted for geothermal wet underfloor heating. The (single-storey) house was very well insulated, which makes a big difference to the efficiency. Just come through second winter and wouldn't choose any other form of heating, although as remarked above, some form of back-up would be needed in the coldest weather or to cater for power-cuts. The system also provides for a 300l ballon which is supplemented on cheap-rate electricity. Can't quantify 'savings' because no idea what the electricity bill would have been without the system.
The layout of the pipework takes into account major fixtures and fittings, so these areas aren't heated unnecessarily. The only drawbacks I found were the laughable guarantee of 2 years (negotiated to 3, but still pitiful considering the outlay) and the lack of urgency on the part of the SAV, once the final bill was paid. But then, this is France!
P.S. Friends with air/air have had a lot of problems with the convertors breaking down, and the house feels coldddd.
Caterpillar tree destruction mk2
in Gardening
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