Hearth update

It took 9 hours of disc cutting, hammering and chiselling to get through the tiny piece of stone I had to remove...then I remembered. Aleu's cottage industry for two centuries was finishing gritstones. The roughly shaped carborundum stones (for sharpening axes, scythes, knifes, etc) where brought here and the women would remove all the sharp edges by rubbing the stones against a certain rock that occurred here (presumably harder than the carborundum!). In fact there are few places on the river bank where you can see where they did this for many years and the rock has dished grooves in it. I think I found where this rock came from - my hearth!

And now the weather

Here's the weather

Its been like this for 2 days now and the forecast is for it to continue for at least two more...strange I was topless in the sun last week.

Snow and Granite

Well after some disk cutting and few hours of heavy work with lump hammer and bolster - tiny granite fragments and sparks flying in all directions - I've hardly scratched the surface! Man this rock is hard.

Looking at the geological map this rock doesn't exist here. However, I am very close (about a km or so) from a major fault caused by a granite pluton with contact metamorphism, so my guess is that this is a tiny hyperbyssal intrusion (probably a dyke) passing right under my house! Will probably have a look for evidence of it outside when the snow has gone.

Talking of which it is still snowing and is forecast to continue for the next couple of days. Ironically Guzet Neige my local ski resort decided to close for the season last weekend. It probably has more snow now than it has seen all winter!

Hearth

Snowing heavily here - 3" in about as many hours.

Decided therefore to rebuild the hearth which has been on my list of things to do when the weather is poor. As you can see it looks like a (bad) rockery and has an ugly metal pipe sticking out of the middle of it (an old air intake from when the fire was an open one).

This morning I planed up some old chestnut and built a facetted timber kerb and I've just started breaking out the old concrete and rocks. The left hand side disintegrated with a few hammer blows but the right hand side seemed more solid. In fact very solid - in fact its bedrock! Not only that it's microgranite, so there are no bedding planes or lines of weakness at all. Hmmm - dynamite anyone?

Look out for the barn door Ned!

Bought some old oak from the demolition yard in Touille and made a new mortice and tenoned door frame for the barn. Although the oak is old it was fantastic to work, it felt a shame I wasn't making a piece of furniture with it. I think it's the first time the barn has had a doorway for a very long time!

Traditional dress

This is the traditional dress for men from the next valley - looks very practical, but I'm not sure where to get the clogs.

Fencing

Another hot day. Today I built the fence in the photo (double click on the image if it's too small to see). Some of the wood came from the clearance of fields 3 and 4, I have had it stacked all winter for just this purpose. Of course it all had to be carried up from the woods which took 2 1/2 hours! Still a little more to do until the field is finally secure - perhaps I'll make my first gate?

Weather is set to turn wintry again next week - I knew once I'd packed my skis away this would happen!

30

Today it reached the magic thirty degrees. The day started with burning all the bonfires (14 of them) in fields 3 and 4, and some more scything to tidy up. A trip to St Girons to buy some more wire for fencing the new fields and some fruit trees - a pear and a cherry which I have planted in field 2. I didn't notice that these aren't self pollinating so I need to buy a couple more next time I go.

Got an e-mail from Jon and Paul who skied up the Roc d'Enfer. They sent me a photo on the grassy summit though they swear they skied up and down! If conditions improve here perhaps I'll get a day in the mountains - a ski tour or a gulley climb.

Spring

Over slept so didn't go skiing but it's been a beautiful day today. In the mid twenties. Spent the day tidying up the hedges and digging out the floor of the barn.

Jon and Paul are skiing in Morzine next week, they want me to join them but its a L O N G way. I'll sleep on it and decide in the morning. I need to go buy some pigs soon and I still have a sty to build!

Barn

Finished clearing around the barn today - logged enough wood for at least another winter maybe more and started fencing in the new fields. There's a lovely stand of birches, so I might try tapping some syrup when the sap begins to flow. Perhaps some photos tomorrow.

Will probably go skiing tomorrow as its possibly the last day that Guzet is open.

Retirement, self-sufficency and pioneering

It’s 7.15 and I’ve just got in from scything some of the new field. Whilst I was scything I was thinking about my life here and some of the comments I had from people in the UK when they asked about what I was doing. The word ‘retirement’ and ‘lucky’ came up quite a lot and I have come away feeling almost guilty. Have I retired? Definitely not!

In the UK I worked hard for long hours as an Architect, helping to build up a business and earned a good wage which allowed me to have good standard of living. The cost of living was expensive because everything I consumed had to be collected as a raw material, refined and processed, manufactured into something and probably advertised before I bought it from a retailer. This all costs money as does the transportation between each stage.

Here in France I work hard for long hours on a variety of tasks (at the moment mostly building, farming and forestry) trying to build up the basics of a self-sufficient small holding. I don’t earn a wage (though at the moment I have a modest income from letting my flat in the UK – planning not ‘luck’). I have a good quality of life. The cost of living here is low (and as the small holding develops this should decrease dramatically). Many of the things I consume here I can make from the raw materials e.g. my heating, hot water, and cooking comes from the Rayburn – this burns wood. I have to cut down the tree, saw it up, carry it to the house, split it and stack it, dry it for a year, then cut it to length to burn it in the Rayburn. This amounts to about 3-4 weeks hard work each year to keep everything running through the winter – in the UK I just paid an electricity bill and a gas bill. Some of my food comes from the woods but when the small holding is established I hope to be as self-sufficient as I am currently with the heating, hot water and cooking. Of course there will always be things I can’t make myself and will have to buy, so I will always needs a surplus to sell or barter with or another source of ‘top up’ income (which is what I spent the first 38 years of my life creating and continue to work at).

Here I’ve changed a high earn/high cost lifestyle for a low earn/low cost one, but maintained, in fact improved, my quality of life. I work just as hard but I find it more rewarding and varied.

I’m nowhere near self sufficient yet, at the moment I am ‘pioneering’ building my homestead, creating fields from forest, building a barn and the infrastructure for self- sufficiency. It’s hard work, definitely not ‘retirement’ and I doubt it ever will be.

Glad to be home

After a short trip to the UK I'm now back home and glad to be here. I like the UK less, each time I go. Still it's good to catch up with old friends, buy a few books and remind myself (as if I needed reminding) why I left.

Video test

After talking to kim at Ariege.com I've learnt a way to insert video clips into the blog which should liven things up a bit! Here is an old video clip of me ski touring with Paul Hadfield when the Pyrenees had snow! We're high on Pico Aneto in bad weather

Felling heavily leaning trees

Found this technique for felling heavily leaning trees in an Australian book and tried it today on a biggish tree (17" diameter) leaning at 45 degrees. Works a treat. The first time I've bored into a tree with the tip of the chainsaw bar. The tree falls quickly when you make the final cut, but under control with no splitting/barber chairing. Just one more big tree to fell to finish tidying up around the barn - maybe tomorrow, depends on weather.

Barn

After some clearing of the barn here are some nice details I've found:

Carved in the stone "fondee en Mai 1861"

Ventilation hole with ledge...or did it serve another purpose?

Granite stooling for the oak door frame.

And here are two of the chestnuts...the one on the left has some rot in the middle which was probably there prior to felling but the one on the right is sound. Both are exactly 100 years old.

Alaskan mill

This morning dawned clear and sunny with fresh snow on the mountains. A quick trip to St Girons and in the expats chat room aka 'Monsieur Bricolage' I bumped into an english couple who have just moved to the neighbouring village of Soulan - Mark is from Hereford (near where I grew up). Like most brits they've come here to escape the british...but its still good to ocassionally have someone to talk english too and bitch about home!

In the afternoon I cleared up around the barn. There are three enormous chestnut trees which were felled in 1999. They're mostly off the ground and although there's some decay I think they're big enough to still have a lot of good timber left in them for the barn conversion. It's certainly more sustainable to use timber lying next to the barn than buying some in - not to mention the fact that getting bought timber to the barn would be problematic. I reckon this project alone would pay for an Alaskan mill and a s/h chainsaw with a 28" bar, a ripping chain and plenty of guts! Additionally with this bit of kit I could make more use of the hardwood trees which fall in the storms here, rather than just burning them for firewood.

Chimney

The storm raged on until the morning, but it was a good test for the new chimney (it didn't blow over!). Though not exactly pretty, particularly as I currently still have the old chimney too, it is necessary for the new thatched roof.

Spent the rest of the day tidying up field 4, clearing the last few trees and general chainsaw work. Tomorrow rain is forecast but if it doesn't arrive I'll start installing fence posts.

Philippe and Sophie (my most ardent blog followers) have arrived from Paris and are staying with John and Sandrine, no doubt there'll be some more work on their project and maybe some more tree felling and firewood?

Vision for the barn

Another beautiful day today which allowed me to finish clearing the bottom terrace of field 4. In the afternoon a wind storm hit - a hot dry southerly wind but very strong - so I got to work preparing the submissions for the barn conversion and the re-thatching of Quelebu.

A home for the pigs?

Could this be the new home for the pigs plus somewhere to keep straw, hay and machinery, even a place to make sausages and hams? Watch this space!

Paul, Tracey and Luke...

...have headed for home after visiting for the weekend. Alas the house they came to see probably isn't for them.

Chimney

A little snow this morning at quelebu, then the sun came out and now its gone. The new chimney is finished and working (so far)...photos tomorrow. Paul, Tracey and their little son Luke arrive late tonight to look at a holiday home they might buy tomorrow.

Valley Ossese

The weather was much warmer today but we went in search of ice nonetheless. The mother of all ice falls awaits in the valley Ossese but today it was not to be.

Cagataille (ice)

Pitch 1

As there's not enough snow for skiing Yaron and I went ice climbing in the Cirque de Cagateille. We found plenty of ice and climbed for 4 pitches. The first up an icy runnel (III), the second in a gulley ending in an ice cave (II/III) the third up a steep ice fall (IV) and the fourth was supposed to top out the ice fall through some chandeliers (IV/V?) but the ice was too fagile and time was running out so it ended up being a long traverse over some mixed ground to some trees we could abseil from.

The start of pitch 3

Pitch 3

Mr Page are you jealous?

Suzuki goes back home to the UK

Andrew and Lee have been here to collect the Suzuki and take it back to Yorkshire. I think they loved the place - it's the first time they've been in this neck of the woods. Yesterday they headed off to Andorra to get some cheap tobacco and booze for friends back home, then today they set off early for home. Sorry to see the old suzuki go but at least in the UK it'll get used for a few more years.

Al's revenge

After digging up all the drainage for the 3rd time and replacing all the connections between the house and the sceptic tank I thought my blocked loo had to be sorted - but no, still there was a problem! The weather is bitterly cold (-6 during the day) and rather than admiring the beautiful artic scenery I've turned my garden and patio into a replica of the Somme trenches. In the end I rodded everything again with the chimney sweep. When it got stuck in the drainage run under the bathroom floor slab I thought of slitting my wrists. After some crevasse rescue techniques were employed I managed to free the sweep and finally everything works (though I've still to connect the kitchen sink to the sceptic tank).

On a brighter note the new downstairs radiator is installed and working well.

Winter?

At last it's snowing. 2 or 3 inches last night and it's snowing today and it's forecast to continue for most of the week.

Signal de Bassia

Spent a night at L'auberge de Beyrede then nipped up Signal de Bassia in the morning for some lovely views of the mountains in Bigorre with Sandra. In the afternoon it rained but we had time to look at some more thatched roofs in in the Vallee de Campan, quite different from those in the Ariege with the thatch over the Pas d'Oiseaux, and for me to discover some more of Bagneres.

Back at Quelebu, I have been relaying all the below ground drains after Al (aka 'Colon the Barbarian' or 'the Bristol bog blocker') came to stay. The blockage was so severe I had to dig everything up to get things flowing and having done so I took the opportunity to remove some of the ridiculously tight (and needless) bends in the drains.

Field No 4

Yesterday, I formed the approximate hole through the wall of house for the chimney. An 8" diameter hole descending at 45 degrees through 2 feet of granite!



While I wait for the chimney to arrive, I've pressed on with clearing field no 4. After a full day of scything I've cleared the upper terrace. The five huge bonfires will have to wait to be lit until the fire ban has been lifted by the Mayor.

Before...

After...

Chaume

Went to see this grange across the valley in Pentussa with Sandra yesterday. Its one of a handful of thatched buildings in the ariege. Although the detail at the junction of the stepped gable and the thatch is a bit odd, I've decided to replace my roof with thatch rather than slate (it was thatched until about 30 years ago). Stage one is to move the Rayburn chimney to outside the roof...work starts soon.

Spent today recommencing the clearing of fields 3 and 4. Back to a regime of 2 hours scything a day until the weather deteriorates.

Talking of weather it was 34 degrees a few days ago.

Firewood

The weather remains very hot during the day here (25-30 in the sun) and the mountains have less snow on them than in May! I've taken advantage of the good weather to move my wood pile into a more favourable position where it can get the sun all day and hence 'season' for burning. Before it was behind the house where it got no sun and if it ever snows would be under all the snow which fell off the roof. Ideally the wood should dry for at least a year before burning. I reckons there's a years worth here (just about) and I have some more elsewhere which should be enough to see me through this year if the crazy weather continues for much longer.

Foie

Meat is cheap here in France and now I have freezer I can take advantage of 'offres' at Champion. I got a whole pigs liver for 80p - enough portions for a least a weeks good eating. Tonight I made a slow cooked liver casserole with tomatoes, onions, chalottes, garlic and lardons all cooked in red wine. The liver was succulent and went down a treat with roast potatoes and carrots. The banana and walnut loaf is cooling on the rack whilst I digest!

Casque du Lhéris

A petit rando a le Casque du Lheris with Sandra. Great views of Pic du Midi de Bigorre and looking east as far as Mauberme. Bagneres de Bigorre is much nicer than I remembered, with lots of timber buildings from the turn of the century with fretwork bargeboards.

Pic Soubirou

Got a call at 9.30, Ian's guests fancied a walk before they left - so after a quick breakfast and pack we rendezvous'd at Seix and headed for the ridge leading to Pic Soubirou. I've been thinking about climbing it for a while and thought it might make a good ski tour (it would when there's more snow). The ridge has a real sense of being wrapped on all sides by high mountains. Two and and a half hours saw us on the summit and the views were fantastic.

Chocolate paint

All my external oak frames are smothered in a horrible chocolate brown paint, so today I decided to start stripping them. Not an easy task as they are deeply weathered from a few hundred years of alpine weather. The weather today was fantastic (I was so hot working with my back to the sun I had to go topless) and after 4 or 5 hours work with stripper, scraper and wire brush, the door surround was finished. It looks so much better.

Here's a close up of some of the beautiful gnarled and weathered grain.

Forest fires

Its getting hotter and hotter here (30 in the sun today) and still not a sniff of snow. In fact there have been several forest fires nearby which are still not under control despite the best efforts of over 200 firefighters - over 600 acres of forest has been destroyed. We could see the huge plumes of smoke from the mountain yesterday and for the past few days there has been a haze in the air from the smoke. Bonfires have been banned in the department.

On a brighter note, here's a curtain I made last week for the front door from a bed throw, some leather bootlaces, a handful of pebbles and an old bit of copper tube.

Cirque de Cagateille

A great winter walk today with Al and Sandrine. Into the cirque de Cagateille, plenty of ice in condition (just). Then a stiff climb into the upper cirque above the falls and grand traverse between the two frozen lakes in deep powder.

8 hours on the hill and we even managed to get some sun for lunch.

Field 4

Here's the path we cleared a few days ago leading down to the stream....

...and here's Al demonstrating dry stone walling techniques.

Cabane Subra

Today Al and I went for a walk to the Cabane Subra (the same Place I went with Sandrine last week only this time by a different route contouring in from the Col de la Core). Snow conditions were quite different, generally less of it but what remains is developing an icy crust. Conditions otherwise were perfect and in the sun it was positively balmy!

Al saw a spotted eagle (or so he claims), but we both saw an izard.

Yesterday we cleared one of my 'parcelles' which I spent all summer trying to find the exact boundaries of. Now it's winter and the vegetation has died back it was very obvious. After some work with the bowsaw and chainsaw we have also cleared an ancient 'chemin' bordered by earth mounds almost all the way to the stream at the bottom of the valley.

Loires

As it's pretty cold at the moment (-6 centigrade at night) I was able to detect a strong icy draught behind the fireplace and thus discovered a huge loire tunnel to the outside. No wonder during the summer, despite bloking up every route into the house, the loires kept coming!! As the dead loire photo has been my most popular post, here's another dead loire to feast your eyes upon (note the accuracy of the single head shot).

There is a Santa Claus!

Santa came early with my new french car. Number plate will change shortly to a 09 plate indicating I live in the Ariege. Compared to the old one it's incredibly quiet and comfortable!