Back at last

So finally France has started to open up again which means that at last I have been able to get back to the chateau for the summer. After loading the van up with so much stuff that will hopefully be useful for the summer - BBQ, hammock, swing chair and of course lots of building stuff too - I set off on the long drive from Austria! The drive back here was quite easy as the roads are still pretty quiet and I did not encounter much in the way of problems getting across the border. However what awaited me at the chateau is likely to take a bit longer. I think the weather here has been a mix of rain and sun so the lawns have turned into hay fields! Therefore the first

job was to get out a strimmer and cut a path through the overgrown grass from the electric utilities room to the main entrance so that Serge our electrician could reconnect the temporary electric box. Then there was a job we did not do last year - clear away the overgrown growth in front of the garage, then I could reverse the bus right up to the garage and unload it.

Next urgent action was needed in the lawn mowing department! I have organised to buy a very large ride on mower from a friend in the UK. Of course due to corona it is impossible to get there and have it shipped over here. One of the downsides of being in Austria or France is that they do not really use Ebay like we do in the UK so an on line search for any second hand ride on mowers was fruitless.  In the end I opted for buying a new one that was on offer in one of the big garden shops. Not really big enough for the chateau but it will be fine for the back gardens when the large one arrives from the UK. Always good to have a new toy!

After lunch and having got the mower back here and out of the bus with the help of two large planks it was time to try it out! It did a good enough job even though the grass was really too long for it and I needed to do several runs over the same area. I did the area in front of the outbuildings and also the lane down to the lake and old gate. It was a huge improvement!