We are on the home stretch – three retreats in a row remain for Summer Camp 2026 season! Last week was a final break in the action – a week without guests to do projects and get the Chateau put back in order. During our weeks off there is plenty to do around here, and we get a little more flexibility in our time off and how we spend it. Let’s start with the fun stuff!
We had a lot of events in the sky to see on Wednesday. We were in the path of a partial solar eclipse AND there was a meteor shower. Someone had the foresight to get solar eclipse glasses, so we sat in the garden to watch the big show from 715pm to 830pm. The eclipse was about 90% coverage inn this area, so was very cool to see. However, the cows didn’t seem to like it much – as the eclipse was at its peak they made a fuss and then went suddenly silent. Around 1130pm we went to the terrace to watch the meteor shower and got to see several shooting across the sky.
Thursday was supposed to be the hottest day of the heat wave at 101F, but it turned out that we got two 101F degree days in a row – lucky us! I am so hoping that was the last heat wave of the season as I write this in front of the open window in a long sleeve top at 7am (the first morning I remember being in the 60’s). We had decided to combat the heat by taking a day off to float the river. The first time I did this was with a totally different volunteer crew, so it was a very different experience. The last time we rented an eight person stand up paddle board. This time we rented a paddle boat with a slide (yes, most everyone did go down the slide that looked like it was meant for a five year old). We hung out at the riverside bar afterward and had burgers and fries and a couple of cocktails.
We started work early one day (typically we start at 10am) so we could have a couple of hours at the thermal baths in the afternoon. There were a few trips into town to grab things that we tried to make into fun outings as well. Saturday evening we drove to a nearby town to see a band and dance. The people that do the landscaping at the Chateau are British and he has a rock band called Thunder Snow. They tour all over the world and do a lot of hard rock covers. There were a surprising number of Americans at the bar, all around my age (as were the band members) and I met a blonde woman from California named Barbie – you can’t make this stuff up!
There was an art drive (like an art walk, but you drive from town to town) featuring local artists. Patricia is the lovely painter who teaches watercolor workshops during our retreats. She hung her paintings at the Chateau and folks came by between 10am – 7pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday to check out her collection and chat with her about her art.
As for the work this week, we had a long to do list and have gotten a lot accomplished: weeding, tending to the extensive gardens, catching up on laundry (mostly bedding), etc. The bane of our existence right now is getting the pool vacuum to work. There has been a series of issues with the pool throughout the summer. It had an algae bloom and we couldn’t get the pH balance just right. And now that the water is looking good, we can see to the bottom and it is a sandbar! Finding the right vacuum and getting it hooked up to the filter has been the latest challenge that we are exploring again this morning!
Guests arrive on Wednesday this week and they are a group of Women Founders so they have a schedule packed with workshops around growing their businesses. I will only teach yoga twice this week but will do pick ups/drop offs and a trip to the thermal baths. Looking forward to hearing what each of these women has going on!
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