Un couple dans un jardin ( up dated september 29th )
A couple in a garden
English version below the pictures
C’était mardi dernier, le 26 septembre. J’ai commencé par écraser les tiges et les feuilles de haricots verts que j’avais retirés du sol après la récolte en les coupant, les racines restant dans le sol. Les racines ont des nodules qui fixent l’azote atmosphérique et rendent le fer plus fertile . J’ai eu deux seaux de morceaux de haricots verts que j’ai ensuite répandus sur le sol comme une sorte de fumier vert.

Crushing the green beans broyage des haricots verts ( photo J. Fauquet )
It was last Tuesday, September 26th. I began by crushing the stems and leaves of green beans which I had removed from the ground after the crop by cutting them, the roots remaining in the ground .The roots have nodules that fix the atmospheric nitrogen and makes the soil more fertile. I got two buckets of bits and pieces of green beans that I spread on the soil like a kind of green manure .
Ensuite, j’ai bêché le sol. Cet après-midi-là, j’étais plutôt en bonne forme et j’ai réussi à labourer tout l’ emplacement où étaient les haricots verts. Je me suis dit que j’avais restitué au sol ce que j’en avais obtenu. Ou presque! C’était satisfaisant pour l’esprit mais le lendemain, mon corps hurlait, trop fatigué, disait-il!

digging the ground Labour ( photo Janine Fauquet)
Afterwards I turned over the ground. On that afternoon I was in a rather good shape and I succeeded to dig all of the surface where those green beans were. I told myself I restituted to the soil what I got from it. Or almost! It was satisfying for the mind but the day after my body was yelling, too tired, it said !
Pendant que j’étais occupé à travailler le sol, ma femme Janine n’était pas loin, elle ramassait les haricots verts dans un autre patch. Nous nous sommes encouragés …
Nous étions tous les deux penchés sur le sol pour écrire dans le livre de la vie.

Janine picking the green beans (cueillant les haricots )
While I was busy to work the ground , my wife Janine was not far,she was picking up the green beans in another patch . We encouraged each other..
We were both leaned to the soil to write in the book of life.
____________________________________________________________________________________________ UP date September 29th : Michaelmas . Today We celebrate the archangel Michel and the Michel ( and also Raphael and Gabriel )
C’est la Saint Michel aujourd’hui ( et aussi Saint Raphael and Gabriel )
Célébrons ce jour de la St Michel le 29 Septembre. Ce jour est encore un jour d’ été , la lumière est brillante .
C’ est la fête de tous les Michel , Michelle et Michèle . Ce nom est celui de l’ archange Michel . Les anges sont souvent cités dans la bible mais trois seulement sont nommés ,Michel , Gabriel, et Raphaël .J ’avoue que j’ai toujours aimé ce jour de la St Michel.

Mount Saint-Michel in Normandy France Photo 2009 Michel Fauquet ( The parking lot now is off)
At the top of the monastery dedicated to the Angel Michel.a golden statue shows it killing the evil ( figured by a dragon )
Let celebrate Michael ‘s Day ( Michaelmas ) on September 29. This day is still a summer day . The light is bright
It is the celebration of all of the Michel , Michael , Michelle , Michele . This name is the archangel Michel ‘ s one .. The angels often are mentioned in the Bible but only three of them have a name : Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
I always loved Michaelmas .
A beautiful day in the garden, Michel and Janine! We also recycle the spent plants by putting them back in the gardens as compost.
Wishing the two of you many, many more seasons to come, to write in the book of life. Love to you both, Lavinia ❤
Thanks for this kind comment, Lavinia . Yes gardening gives to us lessons about life .
Wrangler helps some but its mostly mom and me
Perhaps Wrangler would like a motorized gardening ? 🙂
He likes to run our tiller but that is about it.
You look good in your photo. I have no clue about gardening, so I just don’t understand what you said. 🙂 Oh dear!
To be simple I will say green beans bring to the soil as much as they receive from it! 🙂
What a pleasure it must, working outside! Wonderful.
Yes, it is a communion. Thanks, Nicos.
I did not have a garden to go work in, so I went to the Amish food stands instead. It is just as well, I don’t have vegetables that grow like theirs.
You both look wonderful! I love the fact that you work together. 🌹💚🌹
The Amish are renowned and their veggies are certainly very good . You have the art to cook with them, Rachel..
I know it’s the gardening and the fresh picked produce that keeps both you and Janine young and healthy… Our creator put our first father in a garden…That’s where mankind started.
“Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden, and there he put the man he had formed”
I like this reminder , Françoise . yes gardening is also good for the soul.
How wonderful you can work together and maintain a garden!
And this gives a good ambiance in the air, Bonnie ! 🙂
That’s how I like to make use of the plants after the fruit or vegetables have been picked. Makes the soil richer and easier to di, and reduces the amount of amendments to the soil you have to use. It is nice the two of you can share the garden work, too!
You wrote about the soil in a better way than me , Doug . This exactly this.
I regard you and Janine as a kindred spirits to me when I see what you do to improve the soil, not just use it! Besides improving the soil, home-grown green beans are tasty eaten raw off the vine or steamed with nothing more than butter, salt, and pepper.
“easier to dig”, not “di”!
There is a symbiosis between the soil and this plant that brings much to the garden and the gardener!
Hehe – I was wondering, as I read, if your body would be ‘not thanking’ you the next day.
This was a wonderful glimpse into your world and garden. I found the mulching of the green bean stems to be very interesting.
Yes Lynn, the day after I took a rest ! 🙂
Yay for gardening! And gardeners like you and Janine! A beautiful and interesting post, Michel! And I love seeing you and your hat having adventures!
(((HUGS)))
am sorry , Carolyn ? I did not wear hat :). But I cannot wear anymore hat to work in the garden because with the sweat it gives me naughty buttons on the forehead. I got a surgery for that two years ago.
Reply
Happy Happy Happy Name Day, Michel!
What will you do today?
(((HUGS)))
That is quite the spread of green beans! I did not get any in the ground this year, although they are one of my favorite vegetables to grow. You must have more than enough to can or freeze for later. I miss working in the garden; it is just so satisfying to reap a harvest of delicious edibles from a seed you trusted to the good earth.
” to reap a harvest of delicious edibles from a seed you trusted to the good earth.”. This senstence is wonderful, Susan . The gardener may measure the powerful life contained in a tiny seed in a welcoming soil.
Reply
Thank you for the gardening lesson. I have never heard that about green beans. Michel, your garden was one of my greatest inspirations to try to garden. You have always encouraged me—since my very first attempts eight years ago. I am so grateful for you, because it was a very foreign and fearful thing for me. Thank you! ❤️
I have to tell you, I truly admire how hard you and your wife work, and how you always work together. Your such a loving couple.
So, a gardening question: how many green bean plants do you sow? What is their yield? Do you have beans to preserve for the winter?
I apologize for the typos in my comment. Hopefully, it is still understandable. 🙂
Hello Caroline , I sow proups of 4 or 5 green beans spaced of 25 cm on line . I sow 4 meters long lines .Greean beans do not resist to the frost so we sow and crop from the end of spring to the end of summer . My wife janine preserve much of them in jars by sterilization. Thanks for your kind comment.
Bonjour Papa, nous te souhaitons une bonne fête .le soleil est présent..nous vous embrassons bien fort Carole
Merci Carole , j’ apprécie beaucoup.
Michel, How wonderful it is to dig in the soil! Isn’t it like magic how a little seed becomes a big plant that gives you food?
Dian
Yes , Dian, I always have beeen amazed by the power of the vegetal production .You are quite right.
Happy name day/Michaelmas, Michel! It is a great fortune that you and your wife can share the work with the soil and walk in the garden of life together. Many blessings to you xoxo
J ‘ aime ton expression ” jardin de vie ” , Louisa . Très jolie .?
Maybe when I retire, I will learn to till the soil as well 🙂
You both look well ❤
Oui , tu devrais essayer Marlaine . Cela est très apaisant.
Ahhhh, harvesting the last of the garden veggies and now time to put the garden to sleep for the winter. John and I need to do this too. He has been weeding and I have been cutting lilies to the ground. Hope my Piriformis muscle holds out so that I can be of some help. PT for the last 2 weeks and 3 weeks to go. I love the fall season, except the endless clean up. Yes, gardening teaches us to be patient and enjoy what we reap. Mother Nature has her ways. We just need to listen. Have a great weekend. ❤
I wish your piriformis muscle remains quiet and your knees too, Marilyn . Take care of you, please be prudent.
You are using natural fertilizer,Uncle Michel, no wonder you always yield good harvest! You and Janine look so lovely in the photos.
I try to be more ecologic, Isabel.
Michel, I admire you and your wife for your ambition. It is a lot of work to keep gardening the way you do it.
We celebrated your day yesterday with our great grandson, Rapael’s birthday. It was a special day!
The Monastery is very beautiful.
Barbara💞
So, Barbara, we have both a Raphaël in our family ;: your great grandson and my latest grandson ( a twin ) 🙂
What a nice post! I do miss fresh vegetables. I remember a post when you were beginning to prepare the garden spot and they were building a street nearby. I worried that the fumes from the autos would harm your soil.. Seems that you and Janine together make a perfect team in the garden as well as in life.
You have a good memory, Ellen, . yes a path has been made along the end of the garden but only for the promenade ( at feet or bike ) but not for the cars …
And yes janine loves the garden as much as I like it ! 🙂
So glad that you can encourage each other!! ❤ You have the most wonderful garden I've ever seen. So productive! Happy Michaelmas Day! Thanks for sharing your pictures! 🙂 Love, Rhonda
Thanks Rhonda for your compliments and your encouragements;
La plus belle terre du monde. Celle que nous travaillons de nos mains …
Et de merveilleux haricots en sont ici la récompense! Bravos à vous chers Michel et Janine!
Amitiés, AM
Le haricot comme les autres légumineuses est une plante précieuse puisque elle enrichit le sol;. Merci pour ton commentaire AM.
So glad you both got time in the garden. It is beautiful. Here’s to many many more seasons in the garden.
Thanks Elizabeth for this warm comment.
Lovely garden with wonderful people in it.
We were fortunate with Irma – only lost power for about a week and some tree branches fell down. Outside of that, we lost the contents of the fridge. We have our health, so – very fortunate.
All of the best to you and your family.
What a relief, Yvonne, to know you and your family are safe and without damages on your house..
Happy October. 🙂
Thanks Keith.
Michel, you and Janine are such hard workers in your vegetable garden! It’s all worth the it though, with the wonderful fruits of your labour. 🙂
In a garden, Marion, work always is waiting for us , again and again ,but we have a reward .
You both have worked so well during the summer , I hope that during the winter you both enjoy your wonderful harvest.
Garden offers charms in every season, Julie . 🙂
Happy Name Day! I can understand why Michaelmas is your favorite.
Good to see you and Janine working in the garden together, laboring in love.
“laboring in love.”: well said Suzy. ❤
Le 29 septembre est toujours une belle journée ! Parce que c’est la Saint Michel bien sûr et qu’on a une pensée particulière pour toi, c’est aussi l’été indien et la merveilleuse saison des champignons mais cette année est à marquer comme exceptionnelle : tu bêches en chemise, sans veston !!!!!!!!! 2017, l’année de la chemisette !!! ha ha !
Vous embrasse tendrement
Véro
Merci pour ce commentaire , Véronique. Cela me fait plaisir .
Oui ce jour -là il a fait exceptionnellement chaud et j’ ai d’abord tombé la veste puis le pull bleu-marine ..;mais j’ en suis resté là ! 🙂
We have most of our garden’s plants ripped out – all that remains is some tomato plants. It’s a bit of a sad time, to me, to see the end of the growing/harvest season – but then I remember that it will come again next spring 🙂
We had bad luck growing green beans last year – maybe because we chose a particular kind that we don’t eat and so we weren’t familiar with how they should feel/taste/grow. I may try to convince my mom to attempt green beans again next year.
Lovely photos, as always!
Green beans can be eaten on various ways . Besides they can be preserved for the winter by sterilization in jars . Normally tis plants does not ask rich soils since they make them fertiler. We grow a variety giving long green beans easier to place in jars to sterilize.
http://michel-fauquet.blogspot.fr/2017/10/les-dahlias.html
Thank you , once again, for inviting me into your world. I so love seeing you and Janine working in the soil. You are both True People of the Earth and sow Love and Peace! ❤
You are such a good example, Nancy. ❤
I learned something about gardening by reading your post, Michel. 😀 😃 💗 💖 Your garden is wonderful!
Take care,
Linda
Via the blogging we teach each other,Linda ! 🙂
(((HUGS))), prayers and ❤ for you and Janine!
October is flying by in my world! 😮
HUGS!!! 🙂
Wow – no wonder your body was aching. Try doing some stretches before and after gardening. That might help a bit.
Interesting post. And it’s nice when a couple can work together in the garden, sharing the chores.
Gardening is good for the soul even though the body thinks something else. Enjoy your fall season.
yes Marilyn we always feel good in the garden