37) Home produce

All of a sudden the walnuts have started to look like proper walnuts.  Despite having only one tree, it seems to produce vast quantities of noix.

They do take quite a lot of cracking, but they are well worth the (quite considerable) effort.

The figs on our (fig) tree have also suddenly started started to swell up and ripen, having been rather worryingly small until recently.  They are really delicious, but I fear they are going to all be ready at once (we are thus investigating methods of drying them).

We have also begun to plant a herb garden.  It may not look much but it was an enormous effort to dig up all the weeds, not to mention a labyrinth of knotted roots formed over years and years of neglect.

Unfortunately, we discovered another hornet's nest.  This time in an old half dead tree, just near the little house again.  These weren't Asiatic hornets, though, just ordinary "European" hornets.  Quite big (and loud) enough to put the fear of God into me.  Straight on the phone to Monsieur Delsol, and he was round the same afternoon.  The mole also seems to be back (together with a friend), and I suspect the explosive charge must have just missed him.  Our amiable assasin is now my best friend, and he has offered to blow up BOTH moles free of charge.

He has already dispatched the poor unfortunate hornets.  I never thought I would feel sorry for a hornet, but he bought me the queen to show me how much bigger than the others it was.  It really did look so very sad.  Once so proud and powerful, ruling a complex community of potential warriors, and now covered in a noxious white powder, and dead.  Very dead.  Probably for the best.  It was right by G's bed of saffron crocuses....... too terrible to contemplate.  But sad none the less.