Cirque d'Anglade

It's a while since I visited the Cirque d'Anglade, it s a great spot and barely 20 minutes walk from the parking at the Mines des Anglade. Just a shame there is no easy way out of the Cirque.

A Wheatear

Spring

The wall between Jasper and Ruby's old bedrooms has been taken down to create a bigger single room with windows on both sides and much more space for their visiting boyfriends/girlfriends.

Trois Seigneurs par Goutets

A late start with Sophie, Sheri and Michiel from La Foulie, heading up to the estive at Goutets. From there we were hoping to head up to Trois Seigneurs via Col de Pourtanelle and Cap de Gragnots.

view up valley from above Carol

lunch at Goutets

 Goutets with its preserved stone Orris's (round stone shepherds huts with stone roofs)

Choughs

Cap de Gragnots

Sheri and Susie having a laugh

Sophie from the Col de Pourtanelle

"Prada darling"

Plenty of snow after Cap de Gragnots, but we lacked time and equipment to press onto the summit of Trois Seigneurs which was in the clouds anyway, so stopped half way between the two peaks;

Fields of wild daffodils below the Col

Just before the return to Goutets I spotted a pair of bearded vultures (Gypaete Barbu) high in the cliffs and managed to get a few telephoto shots

Descent through the beech forests

After a week of hard labour the new parcels linking the two fields is finally clear.

Today the south wind heralds stormy weather tomorrow but creates wonderful skies.

After a week or so of recovery from the Pyrenees Contemporary Dance Residential (which went very well indeed), it's back to work. Clearing more land to feed the swelling number of sheep - now 29 after the late arrival of another lamb on Sunday.

Clearing the scrub woodland and coppice between the ampitheatre (left) and the new field we cleared 18 months ago (top right).

Apercu de Spectacle MJC OUST ce samedi 19h

Lambs and Morels

Continuing exploration of some areas I haven't been to for a while for the map which is now nearly ready for the first daft print.

View from the North ridge of Joubac with the Arac far below

4 more lambs including twins for Thelma. Possibly one more to come?

 Thelma and twins

Nanouk and her white and black lamb Pingo

The dance residency starts tomorrow, so glad most of the lambing is safely out of the way. Several lambs this year have been "pasted up" and required a warm soapy wash of their rear end to unblock them, but all seems well. 6 females and 2 males.

After several barren years for morel mushrooms, a nice haul today.

Lambing

5 births so far this year including a set of twins for Apache. Alas Thelma's baby ram (first photo) was "wrong" from the start and despite all our care and medication he died this afternoon at just 40 hours old. Thelma is distraught and we are heartbroken. Another 3 or 4 lambs expected, hopefully they will be healthy and strong.

Port de Barlonguère (ski)

At the weekend, an overnight ski trip in the mountains. Ambitiously (considering how little skiing I've done this year), I hoped to get to Pic des Trois Comtes. The first day we made the Cabane Trinqué in good time to dig it out, as only a little of the roof was above the snow - but after more than 2 hours of digging we were unable to open the door, so had to retreat back downhill to the Cabane de Peyrelade. Next day we re-ascended reaching the Cabane de Barlonguère before we were engulfed by the rising cloud. We pushed on to the Col and lucked out with a brief clearing of the skies. Most the descent was in little or no visibility....but good to get out with a new group of people.

Today its been snowing and our first lamb of 2019 was born.

Que 4 places for les pro-danseurs locaux

Chateau Mirabat

A stroll upto Chateau Mirabat to look at the fire damage from the recent mountain fire and of course the view!

Quite a few square kilometers of scorched earth beneath the beeches and oaks which seem mostly to have survived, though some older and dead wood was still smouldering.

Chateau de la Garde, which has undergone some surrounding tree clearance in the last year and is now much more visible - does someone have plans for it?

Sahusset

Alet Valley 

Cirque above Etang Hillette

Swallowtail butterflies where already flying at Mirabat, but then the sunshine temperature was 35 degrees at Quélébu - a new record for February.