Turn, Turn, Turn.....

It's all change...again....almost. We've been busy preparing for a move, packing odds and ends into boxes, digging up and potting some of our veg plants: Courgettes, Toms and Aubergines have all taken to this unexpected transplantation well, so hopefully they'll be fine and survive the move and the change of climate:

A Courgette recovering well

And whereas I'd expected to move North, to the Hebrides, or Lewis, to be more exact, instead we're heading a fair way South, to our house in the Alpujarra region, in the the Sierra Nevadas of Andalucia.  J had second thoughts on moving to Scotland at this time. She was always unsure about it, but seemed to have been in favour; now, however, the die is cast. We've arranged a one-way van hire from Kent to Alicante - a good three-hour drive away from our place - leaving France on or about June 28th.  For now, we're trying to ensure we have electricity as soon as possible after our arrival, and also internet/phone services.

The plants will all go on one of the roof terraces where it will be hot and exposed.  However, we've nothing to lose in taking them with us and trying our best with them over summer.  Not sure that Charlie will approve of the move, and that worries me.  There are lots of  feral cats in the vicinity and he's not the most sociable of creatures, to say the least. But I remain hopeful that he'll adapt fairly fast - he was a feral himself when a kitten - and the house is plenty big enough for him to find refuge from other marauding beasts and the sun, if needed. He has sort of settled in here, though he seldom comes into the house these days!:

 Jack will have no problems, save for the interior stairs with his dodgy arthritic hip/haunch. He has lived down there for a while in  the past, and knows his way around.

Ironically, perhaps, the Peas are almost ready for cropping. Another week should give us some:

And the Beans are not far behind, but far enough for us to miss out:

We'll leave those and the Celery, a few Aubergines and others for Frank:

Including the Hens, which I'll miss.  One of them seems to be a mutant WereHen, with furry/feathery feet.  It would have gone down well, and probably felt quite at home on Lewis - if we'd been able to take it over, which given MAFF's daft rules seems unlikely!

We have decided to go to SPain cos we really must try to get rid of the house, and as the agents down there are manana-bound, it will mean we can chase and chivvy etc. Hopefully we'll sell it before too long then we must make a major decision on where to head for. I still favour the Hebrides/Lewis overall. But only time will tell. J can retire in October, so we're also taking this into account in our planning.