April photo a day albums

Here are our photo a day albums for April. Its been a month of mixed weather!

Lesley's album

https://plus.google.com/photos/106845264213097004579https://plus.google.com/photos/106845264213097004579/albums#photos/106845264213097004579/albums/5737212748182162081#

Dave's album

https://plus.google.com/photos/115069724410772350510https://plus.google.com/photos/115069724410772350510/albums#photos/115069724410772350510/albums/5737182949136174849#

15th April 2012

Here we are in the middle of April already and the the weather is very typical of the month. Heavy rain and thundery showers interspersed by some lovely spring sunshine - and a few grey days as well. As a result everything is growing incredibly quickly - grass and flowers - but also the weeds! The top photo above is of the rockery with tulips in full bloom and the mountains still very much covered with snow.

We have had a busy couple of weeks with guests - English, Spanish, Belgian and French so far and we have had some very enjoyable and interesting dinners with them. It is the school holidays here so we have had a couple of French families here for a few days exploring the area which was lovely.

At the beginning of the month we were invited to the annual hog roast up at the farm along with all the local farmers who hunt in the area and help chop down trees. All the men received a 'trophy', beautifully made by Thomas -Dave received one for the 'best English lumberjack' for having helped them last month!

This happy event was followed by a disaster up at the farm. Their huge hangar full of hay went up in flames after some fuel exploded. Dave ran up there to help when we saw the smoke and within minutes all the other local farmers had arrived to help as well. The fire brigade arrived just in time to stop the flames engulfing the cattle barn. The fire was huge. Luckily no-one was hurt but the hangar and two tractors and some machinery were completely destroyed, as well as all the hay. Six fire engines continued working through the night to contain it. Despite being well insured, a fire like this is devastating - the hay cannot be quickly replaced and life and work has to continue despite rebuilding. It has astounded us how readily everyone rallies round to give whatever help they can. Over the next few days neighbours continued to call at the farm to lend machinery and to give them the much needed hay. Cleaning up will start next week.

On Easter Monday we were able to get out for a short walk near Foix from a little village called Caraybat. The valley looking up towards Montsegur looked beautiful in the spring sunshine. We climbed up to some interesting needle-like 'dolomite' rock formations which dominate the village. There are a couple of photos of the walk above.

Dave has been kept busy cutting the grass and making some minor repairs to the mower, strimmers - and even the Land Rover....but luckily nothing too serious! He has also taken up his old hobby - fishing. The sea is a little far away for a days fishing so he went locally to Lake Mondeley early yesterday morning to try out his new spinning rod. The trout were not really interested - but he did manage to land a large pike. The fish managed to get away before Dave could get hold of it, but Dave assures me it counts as 'a catch'!!

Photo a day albums March 2012

Here are our albums for March. Its been a varied month with some lovely days skiing and a taste of summer

Dave's album

https://plus.google.com/photos/115069724410772350510https://plus.google.com/photos/115069724410772350510/albums#photos/115069724410772350510/albums/5726441895040607297#

Lesley's album

https://plus.google.com/photos/106845264213097004579https://plus.google.com/photos/106845264213097004579/albums#photos/106845264213097004579/albums/5726356668145813681#

March 2012....so far!

A wet Sunday afternoon here, and Dave is watching the Grand Prix highlights - so time for a blog update!

We returned to La Maire on 2nd March with Daniel and Lucy and were lucky enough to have a warm and sunny day-warm enough for an al fresco lunch! We spent the following day (Daniel's birthday) in the mountains. The mist on the Col de Port slowly cleared so we were able to 'climb a mountain' in the sun after a picnic in the car.
We then spent 4 wonderful days skiing in Soldeu with our fair share of sunshine and a few centimetres of fresh snow- as well as bitterly cold temperatures in the wind.

On our return we were all invited to dinner at the farm. The meal was excellent - mostly produce from the farm and beautifully cooked. They were great company - and we even had some live entertainment - a cow up at the farm was about to give birth so it was relayed onto the TV so they could keep an eye on it. The calf turned out to be a very large male so the men had to make a quick dash up there to help out - the French men, that is!! Mother and baby were both fine!

The skiing season doesn't last for long - so last week we were pleased to be able to spend a couple more days at Soldeu, with friends Melanie and Steve this time. The weather had turned from winter to spring in a matter of days - so variable snow conditions, but plenty of opportunities for refreshments in the sun!

Other events this month....
Last weekend Dave was invited to go wood chopping with Denis and some of the other farmers. They started at 8am with coffee and doughnuts, had a break mid-morning for baguettes, saucisson, cheese, wine etc, then returned to the farm for a slap-up lunch at 2pm. It was also very hard work (apparently!) so Dave was not really on top form for the dance club party and dinner that we had arranged to go to that evening - however, a glass of sangria and a bit more food soon perked him up!

Yesterday evening we joined friends at a bar in Pamiers yesterday in celebration of St Patricks day. Friends' sons Tristan and Alex performed and Tristan led a sing-a-long of some Irish songs (helped by Dad Neil!). Local 'celebrity' 'Buffalo Bill' soon joined in playing the spoons - great fun was had by all!

Other news - Dave has cut the grass - twice!! .....and he has got his shorts out!

A few photos of the month so far are here
https://picasaweb.google.com/106845264213097004579/https://picasaweb.google.com/106845264213097004579/March2012#

February photo a day albums

Here are our albums for February. Now that Spring is on the doorstep the snow seems a long time ago!

Lesley's album

https://picasaweb.google.com/106845264213097004579/https://picasaweb.google.com/106845264213097004579/FebruaryPhotoADayAlbum2012#

Dave's album

https://picasaweb.google.com/106845264213097004579/https://picasaweb.google.com/106381824485045047134/Feb2012#

19th February 2012

Ax les Thermes

After another heavy snowfall here on Tuesday morning, temperatures started rising and the thaw was on the way, much to everyone's relief! By Thursday most of the snow had disappeared.

On Friday afternoon we had a lovely drive up to Ax les Thermes. Snowfall had been much heavier up there and it looked beautiful in the sun. We had arranged to meet Jean Paul and Magali at the Thermal baths - a new experience for us! We enjoyed two hours of relaxation in water ranging from 33 - 38 degrees. There is a large roman style indoor bath with water jets and jacuzzis, as well as panoramic outdoor pools. We even tried the 'caldarium' (very hot water) and 'vaporarium' (steam room) ......but drew the line at the 'frigidarium' after dipping a toe in!!!

We stopped at a restaurant for a pizza on the way home - so a perfect afternoon!

Well the big freeze that appears to have hit the whole of Europe has reached the Ariege as well!

The snow started at the end of last week, with a heavy fall on Sunday. Since then the sun has come out, but with the biting wind it has been extremely cold. Dave has been coaxing the boiler into doing its best and trying to curb its appetite...it is eating twice as many wood chips in this weather, but at least the house is warm! The boiler did go on strike last weekend - it seems it has never experienced cold like this before! Dave spent most of the day sorting out the problem, which turned out to be a frozen pipe! We were lucky that was the only problem!!

We decided to make the most of the conditions on Thursday and went to Andorra for a good days skiing. It was actually warmer up there in the mountains and sitting on the chair lifts with the wind behind us and the sun on our faces was absolute bliss!!

The snow, sun and extreme cold have made for an absolutely beautiful landscape and we have wrapped up warm every day to get out and take our February 'photo a day'!!

Until we publish those at the end of the month, here are a few of the 'rejects'!

https://picasaweb.google.com/106845264213097004579/Le GrandFroid