Wednesday, May 27

Milk And Beans, Beans And Milk

26th May
There's a farm nearby that sells milk hot off the cow’s teat - on my previous visits I'd turned up at the wrong time (too early they're still milking, too late the milk lorry has taken it all away). Today when I arrived at the dairy a woman was swabbing the floor, we chatted in French at first, then she asked where I was from and she started speaking to me in English Canadian which was nice and interesting so my return was considerably delayed - but I did have several gallons of milk with me.

When I finally got back to the house I discovered that Mme Costaud had cycled by to tell us about a bees nest up a tree in the woods that was all open at the back. I was mortified to discover that The Director had shown her my potager. Like everyone around here Mme Costaud's potager is massive and immaculate - mine is a mess, the beans especially, are weedy and smothered with aphids. The Director thinks that she gave him some advice about pruning but I suspect she was telling him to set fire to it and start again.

I returned Mme C's visit and found her dressed in her husband’s clothes picking her way through a field of tree-sized broad bean plants. M. Costaud was in the back yard, wearing a lady's veiled sun hat and chopping wood. I joined in with the bean-picking and was sent home with very large sack of beans for our household.

20 comments:

  1. Oh, fresh farm milk! I do hope that Julie, Pirate Cat, and the Camera Boys all got their share.

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  2. ah - okay - try being an ignorant american figuring out what a "potager" is for the first few sentences - esp when mme costaud's is "massive and immaculate".... whew, glad it was just your garden!

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  3. echoing Deborah! Sounds hilarious!!

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  4. Stef - Pirate Cat is dogging my life these days!

    XL - Julie, Pirate Cat, and I are locked in battle. Camera Boys already sick of milk pudding

    Deb - I love the word 'potager', potage means 'soup'

    Roshni - nice that you find it funny!

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  5. Cross dressing and growing beans. Again, I really must up sticks and move to France.
    Sx

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  6. y'all are a sly lil vixen, sugar! well done!! ;) xoxox

    (btw, i damn near choked over scarlet's comment! hilarious, honey, absolutely hilarious.))

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  7. You crack me up. I did not get any type of garden put in due to the move and I am devestated. One of the old geezers living close by has an enormous garden. I may offer my help. Maybe I'll get some beans too...but it looks like it will be corn.

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  8. she started speaking to me in English Canadian

    Eh?

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  9. I'm guessing that you're already wearing men's underwear but finding it a bit chilly Scarlet.


    Sav - I think we can both imagine Scarlet picking beans in her toy boy's thong

    Corn's good too Alphawoman - you start digging on Old Geezer's plot and you'll be making wendy houses together before you know it.


    Thank you Eric

    MJ - two countries divided by a common language? - I'm always hearing about people being French Canadian - she's an English one, sounds a bit like the same language as I use - but not quite.

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  10. Charming post. Just charming. Cow now longing for a bean garden and big floppy hat.

    You have the gift of making it all so real, Ms. Lulu.

    Moo!

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  11. Pruning is effing impossible. I bought a book on the subject to find that correct pruning today depended on having pruned correctly 2 years before. So yes, you should set fire to the whole lot, whatever it is.

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  12. Mrs Cow - Will it be a big floppy topiary hat?

    Inkspot - Planning big bonfire this weekend!

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  13. Ms. Lulu: Why, how kind of you to inquire!

    Yes, please, a big floppy Topiary hat complete with dragonflies, trailing bean tendrils, and a small soupcon of potage in a cute French pottery bowl.

    Moo!

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  14. Ms Cow - do be careful you are beginning to sound like a delicious recipe for oxtail soup

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  15. what else would go well with oxtail soup? i'll help provide...

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  16. Are you any good at bread-making Deb?

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  17. am very good at making bread - what sort of dessert should we shall? my suggestion is something lemony after oxtail soup...

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  18. Let's each do a citrus dessert Deb - and put them both on the table...

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