A bird in the hand

I’ve admitted before that once you’re up and running with gites they are really not much like hard work – apart from Saturdays when they need cleaning of course.

Personally I manage to avoid that by claiming I need to cut the grass -coincidentally this mowing takes me exactly the same amount of time as Mrs B spends sweeping and mopping.

Finding a cleaner to help who is willing to be paid ‘legally’ with the cheque d’emploi system – rather than ‘cash in hand’ – is slightly more complicated. I don’t know why because it doesn’t cost the person any extra, but i guess people like the small of real money. Anyway the search continues.

This week, and last week as well, a new challenge has presented itself.

The people staying in the house have happily gone out exploring each day, and left the bedroom windows and shutters open. Fair enough, their choice.

But they seem not to have noticed that the local bird population had moved in during the day, and perhaps were sleeping in there at night as well, for all I know.

The birds nest on the left in the picture was retrieved from one bedroom last week. Then this week we found another, in a different bedroom. It seems a shame to have to throw out birds nests that have taken so much trouble to build, but I can’t really see a big choice – much as people on holiday like to be at one with nature, I doubt if most want to have it with them in the bedroom.

Doesn’t seem very hygienic either, come to think of it.

That’s the thing about living in these country places – leave your house unguarded for a few months and when you return you will find it is like Watership Down in the living room.