Troubles with Termites – September 2013 – January 2014

The beginning of September was unseasonably cold, unfortunately for Gil, Susan & Peter, all of whom came to visit. Sitting by the pool was more of an ordeal than a pleasure. Happily it warmed up again later in the month when we spent a few days with Sandra & Allan, admiring their provencal view, olive trees and developing vineyard. We also discovered en route the wonderful Auberge de Vieux Puits in the Pays de l’Aude.

Back in Lalinde my plants from Pepinieres Filippi arrived and I planted up the now relatively weed free border in Walnut Terrace. I also planted white and yellow iris in the bed by the gate, unfortunately I omitted to remove the labels and they were nicked within days, the peach coloured ones I planted on the escarpment above the lower cave have survived. We also replaced the kitchen hot water tank, so thick with calcaire that it was barely heating enough water for a single washing up.

The carpenter appeared to repair the kitchen floor just before our departure, and exposed a vast colony of termites. Peter was sent off to obtain hydrochloric acid, but it rapidly became clear that this was an extensive problem, hard to know how extensive as the parquet extended in continuity through the kitchen, dining and sitting room areas. The carpenter departed leaving a much larger hole in the floor. Happily Heidi, pragmatic as ever, rescued me from despair and undertook to organize the inspection and treatment of the entire house. We decided to concrete and tile the floor in the kitchen, we had been considering tiling it anyway, and were advised that the rest of the area, once treated, did not require replacement.

The treatment was done in our absence. When we returned in early December Nick & Jon had ripped up the kitchen floorboards, and burnt them, along with several of the kitchen units which the termites had begun to destroy. We spent a couple of weeks cooking in the microwave in the back kitchen and hoping all would be restored before our New Year guests arrived. It was.

Meantime the Jardins du Perigord team had been busy in the garden.

My “Mediterranean Garden” was planted

Thanks to Jan we made contact with local artist Liz King Sangster and husband Graeme. It had occurred to me during the summer that the bare expanse of garage wall might be improved by a trompe l’oeil, and Liz agreed to undertake the project, while Graeme found a local macon to resurface the wall before painting started.

The landscaping team also did some planting along the borders of the unusual stone runnel which had taken the waste water outflow from the kitchen before we replaced the fosse,