days off without much snow

On my first day off I had expected to be heading for the slopes to ski, but with the beautifully warm weather, blue skies and sunshine, I decided I would rather enjoy a good hike instead.

In the view from my front door, I can see across Saint Lary village and the valley across the other side and away towards the mountains in the distance,  There is a road pass that rises to the lowest part of the valley over there with stunning 360 degree views at the top.  that was to be my destination.

The road and then hiking trail that I joined, part of the Atlantic to Mediterranean Pyrenean GR10 trail, took me in exactly the right direction to reach the pass, col d’Azet and I spent a very enjoyable day hiking up through quaint mountain villages, past miniature working farms, through patches of woodland, through fields of pasture, over babbling streams and, nearer the top, across more open moor type land rising to the ridge and view on the other side.  

Strangely, for the end of December, the vegetation remained lush and green, insects and even a butterfly or two whirled about in the air and tiny lizards, basking in the warm sun, darted to safety as my foot steps warned them of my approach.  Violets flowered under hedgerows in places and catkins plumped themselves, imagining that spring had already arrived, in preparation for wind blown pollination that doesn’t usually happen for another three or four months.  I marvelled at the power of sunshine and warmth on our natural vegetation and prayed, at the same time, for cold winter weather to arrive promptly and put a stop to the untimely advance of the season before it was too late.  

I had already had a conversation about cherry blossom that someone had seen in a neighbouring valley and feared that if things advanced too far before the real winter set in, we would see disasterous harvests of fruit next year.  If the flowers open and are then frosted, they come to nothing, the resultant fruit, that usually takes the better part of spring and summer to ripen, has no time to form and there is no chance for flower buds to be created again before winter real sets in.  The trees are then in a weakened state through this unnatural effort and start up again in the following spring  less able to protect themselves from disease and insect attack.

I averted myself from dwelling on such possibilities and concentrated on the majesty and grandure of the landscape, marvelled on the immense power of bye gone glaciers that carved the landscape millions of years ago, the constantly changing scenery, that we will never see, over millennia, as the iberian peninsula constantly pushes against the rest of europe, forcing these ancient mountains to resist the ever present attack of natural erosion, whilst, on the surface, we busy ourselves with every day life as if it is the most important thing in the world.  To be outside in such amazing natural scenery can put everything into perspective, even if it only lasts an afternoon or a day, it’s a joy to behold and something to be remembered on other occasions.

On the third picture, Vignec, where my flat is, is visible in the distant valley.

rocket stove cooking

I love my Rocket Stove.  I’d seen them here and there before, mainly home made affairs, cobbled together with old baked bean cans and old oil canisters and I’d had it in mind to build one of my own one day.  In Dorset I was caught with my guard down, at the Scythe Fair, where I saw a professionally forged, easily transportable, robust affair which I bought it without a second thought.  

How right I was.

Since getting back to France I use it most of the time for cooking meals, not just for myself but for four or five people at a time.  Mainly pot meals that require simmering for a while, but also fry ups and dishes that require a proper amount of heat.

Lighting it was tricky to start and then getting the burn temperature right.  I’ve since improved my wood drying technique and shan’t ever need to cut down another tree to cook with it.  It’s a joy to gather those fallen twigs and small branches and know that they have a serious role to play and also to be able to cook on free, easily gathered material at almost a moments notice.  I’ll need to be more prepared for when the weather turns and keep a good supply of well dried twigs available for cooking.

Thinking about how much wood I would use on a traditional fire, or the gas I would burn to achieve the same result is absurd.  A small bundle of kindling is enough to cook dinner and provide a nice cup of tea to wash it all down.  I’ll be heating my shower water with it soon and filling my hot water bottle with it when the nights get cold.  The gas stove will always be a welcome alternative for when the weather is foul, an oven is needed or speed is of the essence, but ongoing, my rocket stove cooking is becoming an integral part of my daily routine.  

The wheelbarrow in the photos is a makeshift wind deflector, self standing, easily positionable and has many other uses.  Ideal

dinner in the making

the twigs are burning within the metal tubing

a mini furnace

a near complete burn with no smoke and hardly any ash

MMMmmmmmm  lentil, tomato and nettle stew nearly done

A Fuller week

Here’s a tiny glimpse of a great week spent with good friends from the UK.  For some reason there is minimal photographic evidence, but I have excellent memories of us having a lovely time.  A lack of sunshine on certain days meant that the showering facilities were rather colder than expected and the composting loo was deemed not to be up to the standards of modern day living, a few too many flying, stinging, biting things for comfort, but all in all, I believe a positive experience.  We ate and drank well and had several tourist excursions to places that I would never have visited on my own.

http://gouffre-esparros.fr/le-gouffre/la-visite/la-visite-en-images/

A great, though much longer than expected, walk in the mountains to see the tallest waterfall in europe.  Little Emma did amazingly well having set out on a walk that we thought was going to be an hour and a half but was actually nearer to five hours.  we should have taken out picnic with us.

there were that many people we could see where to go

can you spot the Fuller family?

getting soaked

Brilliant achievement

Cirque de Gavarnie from a distance

Next time I’ll wear appropriate footwear when I have the opportunity to visit the local amusement park. Parc de Demi Lune.   Proper flying fox and tree top rope bridge experiences - they didn’t approve of flip flops as appropriate foot wear otherwise I’d have spend half the day up in the trees.  Emma thoroughly enjoyed her pony ride and we all had great fun with the craziest crazy golf ever, but the best bit for everyone were the bumper boats.  Out on a lake with ten or so other bumper boats.  Little, inner tube surrounded tubs powered with outboard motors, with their drivers intent on bumping into and splashing the other occupants, known or otherwise, for fifteen minutes or so.  It was a free for all, we all ended up soaked having had great fun.

The whole visit flew by in a moment and i was left standing in a bit of a daze, had a short moment to gather my thoughts before heading off for a weeks’ participation on a straw bale build project in the mountains.

two months away

Wow, that was over to months ago, my last posting.  I did go to the UK, I spent a wonderful month visiting family and friends, catching up with folk and generally escaping the worst of the wet, cold weather here and waiting for the spring to commence so that I can get on with planting and more clearing work.

On my return I brought with me a ‘flu like no other I have ever experienced.  It really knocked me for six.  I spent the better part of two weeks in bed, mainly aseep and toe following ten days or so on a very slow recovery.  I am pretty much fit and well now, happy that it was only ‘flu rather than anything more serious, but things like that certainly bring home the fact that we are not invincible and that change can arrive without warning in any manner of guises.

I am hugely grateful to my neighbour, Heather, who packed me off to bed in her big warm house and told me I was welcome to stay as long as necessary to get me back on my feet and well enough to resume my camping lifestyle.  She’s let me be, not fussing or bothering overly, but giving me the space and time to recover under my own steam, insisting that I do less than I wanted to during the early days so as not to cause a downturn in progress yet making sure that all was well.  It’s been a resounding success.

This last few days I have been up to strength, albeit with shorter days, and have tested my abilities by helping out around the garden here, doing a bit of pruning and planting twelve fruit trees in the orchard area of Heather’s garden.  All has faired well and now I am back on my land attacking knee high weeds in th vegetable garden and planning what to sow first, where and how.  

Do I go for direct planting in my heavy soil, probably with a bit of soil improvement, or into pots first, with the extra challenge of transplanting and watering issues later on in the season.  I’ll probably do a mixture of both, just to be sure.  The sun is shining again and the soil surface is dry enough to produce a fine tilth.  Better get on with it now before it hardens to rock or becomes a soggy mess again if it rains.

tom's drone

A friend of Heathers, Tom, enthused about his recent new toy, a drone equipped with a camera, one afternoon whilst we were indulging in tea and cake.  It sounded fascinating.  

It's a little, remote controlled, battery powered helicopter with a range of several hundred metres and a top speed of around 30kmph with a still and video camera mounted on the undercarriage.  He didn’t take much encouraging and the following day returned with it and we spent a fascinating hour or so looking down on my plot from above.  Hopefully the videos upload and work as well as they do on my computer.  Here goes.

no skiing this christmas

My plans haven’t been going to plan since I last wrote, but it’s all worked out extraordinarily well.  I had been invited to work on constructing a wooden house back in October, but a few days before I was due to arrive, heard that the owner wasn’t there at all, but working away on a humanitarian project on an island in the Indian Ocean.  Thankfully I emailed to confirm.

By chance I had called in to see Cherry and Chris the week before, hosts that I had stayed with in 2010, just to see how they were and they said that they were in need of help should I become free. I said I’d let them know but didn’t imagine things would change before early next year.  One mail later my plans changed and I returned to Las Bourges and a new project that is probably going to last me well into 2014.

More tree planting to start with, along with remodeling a garden, putting in hedges and reclaiming the potager from an autumn of neglect.  I initially suggested a couple of weeks, but their location is excellent in regards to my proposed purchase.  About half an hour away from the land, twenty minutes from the notaires and in the right area for discovering everything I may need in the future.  In addition, Cherry used to be a property dealer, so knows all the ins and outs of buying land, how to approach negotiations and speaks very well the french.  We have had plenty of interesting discussions and I have modified my requirements for proceeding with the purchase with her guidance.  To keep me here for longer, there are a variety of interesting and challenging opportunities to help on their latest venture.

Their project is half an hour away in the other direction.  A new house purchase, well, an old farmhouse in need of much renovation and alteration that they intend to move to next spring.  Initially they’ll live in a converted outbuilding whilst being on site to oversee renovations and keep an eye on things as work progresses.  Their current address is sold, so will need to be vacated fairly early in 2014.  Once I’ve got the major planting and garden maintenance up to date, I’m hoping to work along side Ben and Mattieu as they install wiring and plumbing in the barn conversion, help with continued construction work and maybe even finishing if I stay around long enough.  I’ll learn plenty, get to practice my french whilst on the building site and have time to concentrate on my own project.  The woodworking’ll have to come at a later date.

It’s slightly unnerving being so calm and relaxed over Christmas after the last four years in the chalet.  I do wonder how they’re all getting on up there in the mountains and the snow and have the occasional pang of nostalgia, though with my long term project about to start feel happy to have the mountains in the distance and a calmer workload to contend with.  No mornings with thirty beds to change, or sacks of spuds to peel, or mountains of ironing to contend with, no digging snow and waiting tables or mending broken toilets and taps.  I've been missing the camaraderie, the clients, the snow and the skiing, but the calm is lovely.

Instead I have a more regular timetable, with chickens to feed, Suzy the dog to walk, wood to fetch and frequently, a house to mind, as Chris and Cherry travel frequently for business and are often away.  Free time to chill with a book or walk in the countryside, the weather has been amazing.  Cold and clear with wonderfully warm afternoons in the sunshine, great for gardening and getting things planted.

Christmas has been great, christmas day, a family affair, with a smoked salmon, scrambled egg and bucks fizz breakfast, plenty of snacking and a delicious main meal starting with a hot asian prawn salad, followed by beef wellington and finished off with traditional english christmas pudding all washed down with plenty of suitable wine chosen by Chris, a veritable connoisseur.  That saw us good for the rest of the day save a slice of cake early evening when other members of the family arrived for present exchanging.  A lovely relaxed time with folk coming and going, popping out with Chris and Cherry to shop for plants whilst the weather is being kind and the bare root stock is still available.  More delicious meals, a choice of english or french TV, a real treat as I hardly see the screen whilst I’m away, walks, chats and plenty of fresh air.

It’s been quiet on the property purchase front, I expect that everyone is otherwise occupied through the festive season, but I do hope to have news as we head into January that things are proceeding. 

It’s New year’s Eve as I write.  Home alone again just with the dog for company.  We’ve had a good long walk in the sunshine this morning, I’ve prepared dessert and Simon, who I’ve probably mentioned before in my writings, a great english guy who keeps himself busy on building projects and traditional style restorations, is turning up in a while to welcome the New Year in.  He’s picking up a rabbit on the way, we’ll drink and prepare and cook and drink, chat about allsorts and probably watch a bit of TV and toast 2014 as it arrives.  Happy New Year to each and every one of you, may you be healthy, wealthy and wiser through the coming year.  Embrace and enjoy it all with my love.  xx

no dig vegetable plot

Preparing the vegetable garden for winter.

This is a no dig method that we all knew about discussed at length before putting into practice.

The land had been used for onions last year and had produced a pretty good crop.  The soil is heavy clay and needs improving for the future.

This is what we did:

1 pick off the worst of the weeds

2 cover in cardboard, without too much tape or plastic

3 add a good layer of compost, this trailer load came from the local municipal facility for just over 8 euros.

4  cover the whole plot with plenty of straw to keep the warmth and humidity in, whilst the worms and soil beasties do their work over winter.

In the spring, the worms will have worked their way through the cardboard into the mulch and started to incorporate it into the soil below.  All that needs to be done is clear away little holes in the straw to plant seedlings and leave the soil beasties to continue elsewhere,  if there is still cardboard at the bottom of the hole, cut a small hole so that the seedling roots can continue down into the soil below.  Try not to walk on the plot and compact the soil, use a plank of wood to spread your weight.  For seed planting the straw will need to be cleared completely until the crop has germinated and gotten off to a good start.

Hopefully I’ll be back next year to see how productive the plot is after our efforts this autumn.

chez Vanessa and Lisa

Back at Vanessa and Lisa’s, our projects continued.  Social visits out for pizzas on a Friday evening, mulching the hedging plants with straw to keep the weeds down whilst the plants establish,  off to see Greets new vet practice location and advise on how to decorate it, collect mulch for the vegetable garden then put it to bed for the winter.  The girls were loving the change after working on the house for so long and it was great to make the most of the cold sunny weather at the start of winter, with no idea how long it would last.  Their house was warm and comfortable even there were no finished rooms, the ground floor was missing its final flooring and the loft was missing wall dividers and a door but the wood burning stoves were working well and there was a serviceable bathroom.  Bliss.

Vanessa loading compost 

the view from my bed in the mornings, beautiful roof timbers

a much improved facade without aluminium and glass porch

we stacked wood 

we rolled bales of straw

and stopped them

it snowed all night

11.11.13 at 11:11 in front of the church of Barrancoueu            Lest we forget

It snowed all night and the morning view was something of a surprise.  Yes, I know that it had been snowing the night before, but so often a few evening snowflakes fail to fulfill their mission, especially during a mild autumnal spell when one wakes up to the same view that had faded into the sunset the previous evening, the snow an temporary flirtation with winter and nothing more, leaving the weather to continue its gradual seasonal decline. Not this time, this snow meant business.  The sky remained grey, heavy with precipitation and the white carpet continued to thicken as I stood watching  from the window.  I had been right, winter has arrived.

up there in that tiny village

the following morning

everywhere

searching in earnest

I passed through Lourdes, Bagnere de Bigorre and Tarbes, staying a couple of nights and visiting as many estate agents as I could find.  Needing to be further away from the mountains, for several reasons.  Property is much sort after as the region is beautiful, land tends to be in smaller lots as the terrain gets hillier and steeper and also, as the snow melts in spring, cold winds chill the foothills long after the spring has started.  Great, that’s narrowed the search area still further.  

a certain pull, lovely neighbours but miles from anywhere

Percy is coming into his own.  I just park up on the outskirts of town, take the bike off the back and cycle round town stopping wherever I need.  No parking hassles, or narrow streets to navigate in a big vehicle and when I feel like a break, or when france closes to eat lunch from 12:00 to 14:00 I can pop back for my own lunch or have a kip or get some warmer/cooler clothes to wear.

uninspiring with overhead powerline and 3m drop to get to the road

From Tarbes I spent a couple of days pootling round the countryside discovering, in depth, the local area, the beautiful valleys with their wooded sides and pastures with cattle grazing, the larger flat areas with maize fields for miles, tiny stone built villages where no life is seen but everyone knows that you have passed through.  Winding zig zag climbs through chestnut and oak forest opening out to stunning views to the mountains, plains or just the next valley when reaching the summit. My search area here is narrowing and my geographical requirements more precise.  

wires and more wires everywhere

Now that I have seen a good selection of possibilities within my budgetary constraints, I know that I shall be more selective from now on.  Bare open plots are a blank canvas, but it’ll take years to grow trees big enough for shade.  Being amongst the maize is claustrophobic and the thought of being doused with pesticide spray from a helicopter does not fill me with delight.  There is remote or nicely tucked away - with a village in easy reach.  Damp and soggy valley bottoms and windswept hilltops.  The right place is there, I just need to find it.

bleak, windswept and featureless

just a field, nothing more, nothing less

mountain free

stunning sunset

if you park in the right place, the morning view can be amazing

blueberry bushes with their autumnal hues

time for reflection

sorry, can't remember,  but it's above Hautacam

straw bale rerevisited

I left the mountains in a snow storm, concerned that the roads wouldn’t be clear enough for the car.  Fortunately Pierlo arrived with a sturdy 4x4 which managed the conditions without a problem.  The weather has now changed for the better, the storms of the weekend have ceased and it appears that spring has decided to arrive.  

After such a snowy, cold winter it is surprising to see that lower altitudes in the area have already sprung into life, there are flowers everywhere, the fields have a new flush of green, the first buds are bursting on the trees and the bees are busy restocking their supplies as fast as they can.  Life continues even though the mountains are still covered in meters of snow, they are a view now, distant, cold and uninviting, rather than the purpose of being there.  The ski season over, a new chapter begins.

Straight back onto building mode, the early part of the week mixing earth plaster for the final indoor phase, finishing the walls of the living area downstairs.  The first floor rooms are now finished, decorated and well lived in, the rest should be done this summer.  It was great not worrying about being clean and tidy all the time, getting clay on my clothes and living in a house that is still under construction.  The straw bales, that had been visible  walls since the house went up, fast disappeared under a couple of layers of mud plaster, along with the strapping and electricity conduits, changing the appearance dramatically, giving the space clear flat walls.  The final coat will be added later on, when all the walls have been given the initial treatments and have had time to dry.  I’ll be back again to see the finished result and the transformation of the earth floor into something more durable and suitable for modern living.

The latter part of the week was taken up with gardening and starting a structure for some newly planted kiwi plants.  Part support for their climbing habit and part a shaded dining area for the family.  Constructed in a similar fashion to the greenhouse that I erected here a couple of years ago but a lot quicker.  Firstly because I only had a little over a day to get it done and secondly the wood needed a lot less preparation as it wasn’t going to have plastic stretched over the top, none of the knobbles, buds and pointy bits needed to be trimmed away.  Elsewhere in the garden I planted onion starts, harvested nettle tops for use in the kitchen, wild garlic for pesto, weeded, reconstructed a badly leaning compost heap, spreaded manure and transplanted hundreds of tiny seedlings.

It was great to be back at the house to see all that had been done the last year, to catch up with Pierlo and Sandrine, both of whom were on form and, with much improved french, have some much more indepth and interesting conversations.  Jules and Maryon have grown up a lot in the last couple of years and are mainly great fun to be around.  

The families’ diet is somewhat radical, but I love it for the time that I visit.  Mainly raw food, fresh preserved from the garden and market, minimal cheese, milk and meat products, minimal wheat, no alcohol or stimulants (tea, coffee etc) or refined sugars.  Amazingly I feel different after  just a few days, lighter , with more energy, more eager to get on and do things, less tired and infrequently hungry.  Each time I stumble on people who eat like this I am more and more sure that it is the way to go for the future.  I feel great.

Having said that, I did catch up with a friend, Simon, who took me along to a bbq one evening where the combined spread was amazing.  Everyone invited took a plate or two and bottle and something to cook on the fire.  Wonderful evening, a great group of alternative people, delicious food and drink Simon did his famous bbq roast chicken on a string, it’s always delicious, even more so when it is shared between twenty hungry people, all eager to try a bit.  MMmmmm, the quandary of eating what’s good and what’s nice. 

the morning I left the chalet 

sunrise from Esconetts

straw bale house from the garden

transforming the walls with clay render

living in a building site

finished wall and ceiling with bird detail

the taste of a wall

I have spent the last couple of days repointing an old stone wall and my arms don’t want to move any more.  It’s not that difficult and I am really enjoying the work, unfortunately it is using muscles that are infrequently used, so they are protesting somewhat from over use.  Tomorrow we should be finished and we can travel at ease on Thursday, enjoying the changing colours of autumn and the french countryside as we head from the Creuze across to the Dordogne.

Matty and I have struggled somewhat with the aesthetic taste of his client.  Matty is a qualified stonemason of many years and we have a good idea of what a stone wall should look like when pointed.  Strangely, the owner of the wall we were working on had slightly different ideas, he wanted it flat.  After several demonstrations of possible finishes, adding more and more mortar, I decided to go overboard and smother a portion of the wall almost completely with the mix, as a joke.  Amazingly we got a positive response and so continued the same way, covering most of the beautiful stonework to get the desired result.  You can imagine the conversation that went on between Matty and I as the stones disappeared out of view.  The client is happy and there is no accounting for taste.  

We have been blessed with dry weather, a little cold and frosty to start with but comfortable and sunny thereafter.  Treated too to the a huge midday meal with the family every day, we settle round the kitchen table with the fire blazing and eat and chat at a gentle pace for a good couple of hours before heading back for the afternoon, I rather like the pace of life here.

Chez Gregoire

the repaired wall waiting to be repointed

the required finish

autumn colour in the garden

Matty finishing the neighbours side in his preferred pointing style