More macro

 A grizzled skipper butterfly on a milkwort flower

 One of the 20,000 longhorn beetle species

Meanwhile when not on leisure time a new entrance to the office was conceived , excavated, shuttered and poured!

Spring!

The beech leaves are out and spring is sprung. This song thrush nest was a rather too obvious find and a few days later Mr Weasel had visited, before they'd even hatched.

The outside of the new workshop has been clad with the old larch boards - turned the other way around for a red rather than grey colour.

Lambs are all doing well...

 Puffle

Freddie and Norman

The warm weather has brought out the field crickets which are chirping away.

 All the fields are now recovering from last years drought conditions which devastated the grass;

Cuckoo flowers in abundance!

Staying busy

Staying busy during the lockdown. The symbiotic garden is mulched and starting to be planted.

The sheep are finally happy as the grass is growing faster than they can eat it...

...and the new TQ Architects home office is taking shape.

Rest in Peace Mr Quince

Our splendid cockerel Mr Quince, finally succumbed to Marek's diesease. The last 8 months have been a struggle keeping him healthy but he's slowly lost the use of his legs and the last few days we've had to carry him everywhere. Unable to sit up today, it was sadly time to say goodbye. He was a big character and we loved him, he'll be hugely missed.

Snow overnight and today, too little too late but nice to see after a dry warm winter.

The old workshop has now been vacated (home office here we come) and the newly converted woodshed moved into - lighting, power sockets and external cladding still to do. 

Susie's been using her time to master spinning on the new wheel, first bobbin full!

First morels...just within our permitted 1 km radius of exercise.

Been a while!

Not many posts recently because we've been rushed off our and had visitors (Jen, Susie's sister). Jen came just as the coronovirus was coming to a head and she was lucky to get one of the last flights back to the UK before the lockdown here in France. I celebrated my birthday just after she left and Susie and I lunched on the terrace with a fantastic chocolate cake Susie baked with sugared violets from the chemin.

With the good weather I've been cracking on with converting the woodshed into a workshop and 5 tonnes of concrete later, some timber framing and reuse of old windows, its beginning to take shape. 

The mammoth task of clearing and fencing the Pla d'Artigue is finally over and the sheep are enjoying the new field. Alas Hopi's baby died at 3 days old despite our best efforts to save her...our only loss in this year's lambing. I'll have to check Hopi for mastitis.

Make that 10!

8 lambs and counting..

Lamb number 4 "Apple"

Pic de Cabanatous

Susie was leading a group choreography workshop today, so Jasper, Ruby and I made the most of the lovely weather and their last day to get a day in the mountains. The circuit of Coumebiere, Pic de Cabanatous, Etang d'Alate, Port de Saleix, filled the time perfectly.

 first snow

 about 1m deep

 Etang Bassies frozen

 Steep descent from the summit but soft snow

 Comedy

 Snow a little harder in the shade

 Etang d'Alate frozen and snow covered

 Last snow of the day

Return to vegetation

Pumpkin after a piggy back ride from Al

Mum not interested either

Jasper and Ruby are here for a week, time for a rest for them and a catch up for us. Nice to see them both at the same time!

First lambs of 2020

Clearly William's apron didn't work, first lambs born this morning to Apache. A pair of twins, one of each.