I feel much happier that we don't have rats the size of cats so close to the house.....

Mike and I are a bit stiff and tired today, we did our first apple pick day yesterday in a difficult orchard with Ann and Graham, but as it was their first time, by four o'clock Ann was done for so we packed up and delivered a full trailer load of apples to La Capitanary.  We are getting together again tomorrow to clear our orchard and then to Jacqueline's orchard on Thursday to finish the picking by the end of the week. I had relied on Jacqueline to let Jean-Jacque know that we would start in his orchard on Monday but I had a bad feeling that their paths would not have crossed and I was right,  we ended up breaking and entering to get through his garden to his orchard and I was waiting for the big horror  with arms articulating with disbelief that someone could make their way to his orchard....and I was not disappointed. Jean-Jacaque's dog called Doggie came flying  to the gate and barked like his was going into a veritable doggie type paddy followed but his master looking a little bewildered but once he saw it was us he went all shruggy shouldered on me and explained in three different ways that Jacqueline does not have his phone number because he is not in the book and the number she was calling is his Internet number and she does not know how to leave a message on the answer phone, and at 84 I am not surprised she shys away from modern stuff, she does not even own a washing machine or microwave. Jean-Jacque does however speak good English and showed off his skills despite the fact that it is easier for me to communicate with him in his language but at least the others got to communicate with him as well.  For the first time ever we had a picnic in the Avenue which is Brevand's listed tourist attraction and we often see people parked up having their repas on the picnic tables looking over the Marais and over to the sea. I was tickled pink as we sat there, with our guests to Brevands, waving as cars drove by, we were tooted and waved at by our nieghbours and village kin. Ann mentioned that we seem to know plenty of people and it is not until you stop and think about it, and yes I guess we do.
When we got back from our day yesterday I busied myself opening doors and letting HOSS our into the field when I realised that Mike was out in the road bashing something with a spade and when I went over I was Horrified to see that he was knocking the stuffing out of the biggest rat I had ever seen. At first  I thought it was a coypu but realised it was a proper rat, the size of a cat. We pondered on this all evening and I mentioned that I was unhappy to have a rat that size so close to the house and this morning Mike having pondered on the problem all night declared that the rat most probably fell off a farmer's trailer passing by and that is why it was concussed and just sitting there waiting to be bashed, so I feel much happier that we don't have rats the size of cats so close to the house.....