Responsibilites

I suppose owning a puppy is the closest I will ever come to parental responsibility! I am getting used to balancing the puppy's needs of firm, fair treatment, our needs for a life and the demands of our continued project. For the first time in my life I am up at 6.30 and by 7.00 have walked for a mile or so. By 7.15 the dog has been fed and we have had tea and by 8.30 we are usually up and ready to go, having done all our morning jobs. Gremlin, in the meantime, is growing up faster than we can keep up with and is certainly living up to all the breed characteristic of being intelligent, strong willed, energetic and loving human company, especially ours. Ian is also warming to him as well although the walking is definitely my responsibility!

The dry summer has been particularly bad for the vegetable garden as even with watering, the high temperatures have burnt a lot of the leaves. Also, as it is the first year of growing on my patch and I did not have much time to cultivate the soil I was not holding out any high hopes. So, it was too hot for the spinach, the peppers are tiny, the aubergines have not flowered and the potoes have produces a minimal crop. However, for some reason the pumpkins are enormous and will be ready for harvesting soon.

Locally the farmers are pessimistic about the sunflower crop this year, which is way below what it should be. With the cost of fertiliser, seeds and the labour to sew and harvest they need a good yield just to break even.

 I am still going to the nursing home on a volunteer basis. It takes quite a bit of energy but it helps with my French and I love the engagement with the residents. We will see how it progresses over the summer!

Ian is off to see a friend over the weekend so I have a few days here to myself to catch up with some writing, admin and do my tax return!