Tractor and water problems

For the moment the new tractor seems a no go. The Italian seller would have to register in France for VAT to sell me the tractor without VAT and that would cost him 800 euros - which is how much profit he's making on the sale! Landini France and their concessionaires, remain utterly useless. So I've repainted my tractor from head to toe in black and red. 

Our water is supplied from a reservoir (small semi-underground concrete tank) a few hundred yards from the house. This has sprung several leaks and needs to be replaced. The water board SMDEA have farmed this out to a sub-contractor and yesterday afternoon arrived to announce that they had disconnected us from the reservoir and connected us to a more distant reservoir. Unfortunately this is at a greater altitude and as a consequence our water pressure has jumped to 4 bar and the gite's to 5 bar (72psi)!! This is high enough to cause damage to our  hot water cylinder and likely to cause leaks etc in any compression joints. We had no pre warning, they told us after we had been connected and the technician just came with a manometer to prove the pressure readings! I asked what he was going to do about it, but after calling his boss the answer was "nothing". It was up to me to install pressure reducing valves to the supplies. This has taken me all day, two trips to St Girons and cost about 270 euros! I turned the workshop upside down trying to find my hemp for the joints and in the end Patrick came to the rescue which saved a third trip to St Girons. Meantime I have had words with the Mayor who has had words with president of SMDEA.....hopefully we'll be reimbursed - If not I'll with hold payment of our next few water bills.

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby

With the easing of restrictions on international travel Ruby has at last been able to visit - after 18 months apart. Jasper will hopefully visit soon too. No flights from Bristol to Toulouse yet so we had to fetch her from Beziers about three and half hours away.

The weather for the past  few months has been pretty awful, we even had to light the fire in the evening last week, but Ruby seems to have brought good weather.

After a couple of days of R and R, it was time for an excursion into the mountains and with the hot weather (30-34 degrees) we headed to the Etang de Reglisse from Gerac for a swim. 

Susie and Ruby looking fabulous

It was a bit cooler up high and in the event the lake just a little too cold for a swim, though semi emersion was a pleasant relief! A few vultures overhead on Pointe de Rabassère, but little other wildlife today.

In the early hours of yesterday morning we were awoken by cats fighting, Susie went downstairs to find Socrates stuck in the cat flap being attacked by another cat (probably Clarence our semi adopted stray) from behind. Susie tried to help but ended up being bitten twice, quite deeply by Socrates on her ankle. A visit to the doctor ended up with a heavy dose of anti-biotics, but these clearly weren't working when 36 hours later her foot started swelling up. Another trip to see an on-call doctor and then to the 24 hour pharmacy to change anti- biotics....hopefully all will be well.

After rebuilding the tractor last year, I think it is time to upgrade to slightly heavier more powerful tractor better adapted to the work we now do with it - hay making, harrowing, timber hauling, mulching, topping. The little Carraro is always doing tasks requiring 100% of it's output and some more. Some quotes for a bigger Carraro or Ferrari tractor proved too expensive but a 50hpValpadana 4655VRM seems to fit the bill. But trying to get a price is like pulling teeth. Unlike cars and trucks the price of agricultural equipment is a closely hidden secret. There are no published recommended prices - everything must be negotiated with the dealer/concessionaire...its a bloody stupid state of affaires in my opinion.

Our local concessionaire for Valpadana/Landini is bankrupt, the next two nearest are bloody useless and haven't even replied to my requests for a price, a fourth said he wasn't allowed to give me a quote as I m not in his sales area. Landini France who supply the tractors seem equally bloody useless and also have not replied to any of my e-mails. As the tractors are built in Italy, I contacted an Italian tractor seller who has been extremely helpful and even arranged transportation quotes - like when I bought my current tractor, it will prove much cheaper and easier to buy the tractor in Italy and import it than to buy from a French business. In my experience the French are hopeless at commerce, invariably 30% more expensive than the Italians, never read e-mails and require a face to face meeting to do anything at all - and as my nearest concessionaire is about 250 miles away that is an expensive trip which may result in nothing other than an inflated price! The remaining hurdle is getting the Italian seller to not charge VAT (this has to be paid in France under EU law) and selling my Carraro, though I've been assured they are highly sort after and I should get a good price.....though in keeping with tractor law, I can't possible reveal what that price will be!

 

Button moon

Very hot and a full moon!

 

Etang Bleu depuis Coumebière

DIY, work, haymaking, sheep shearing, dance workshops and poor weather have all prevented us from getting into the mountains for far too long. My initial plan had been to have a solo day out visiting Pic des Trois Comptes, Pic Puntussan and Pic Près Puntussan, but on Friday night Susie decided she wanted to come after all and so Saturday morning we both set off from Coumebière.

This route of getting to Etang Garbet is new to me and reduces the ascent and saves about 25 minutes compared to the normal starting point closer to Aulus. The path is clear enough, though with a lot of small ups and downs and it never really allows you you to get into a rhythm. 

Half a dozen tents at the Etang Garbet but no other walkers.

After going around the lake we climbed steeply up to the tiny Etang Bleu, hemmed in on all sides by steep cliffs where we had lunch. A very hot day, Susie was tired from her run up Joubac a couple of days ago and I didn't feel on top form. The humidity was building and we decided to put the peaks off for another day.

The clouds built and followed us down the mountain on a rather exhausting descent despite the modest 14km and just 800m of ascent.

We saw some isards, a golden eagle and single male Bearded Vulture. I hadn't taken the big telephoto on this trip, but the wildlife was all quite a distance away.

 

Bathroom and porch

Almost done after a couple of mammoth days, even had a shower!

 

Hay and bathroom

It's been a very changeable May and June - great for grass growth but not so good for finding a dry weather window for hay making. It was beginning to look like the grass would be flattened by the rain or go to seed before we could get it in, but meteo-france predicted a four day weather window so on the Tuesday I cut the hay. By the afternoon it was raining! Wednesday morning it was cold and damp and I was starting to think what my plan B would be? But in the afternoon the sun finally came out and I got to work turning the hay. 

Nat said he would swing by on Thursday with Michel's andaineur to make the winrows if he could borrow my tedder on the Thursday afternoon. I had arranged to hire a van and collect the plasterboard for the bathroom on Thursday afternoon and by the time I had finished I returned to find Nat and Patrick raking the winrows by hand! We finished them together and we decided to try try and bail that evening. The bailer was a bit temperamental for the first few bails but then decided to work and we bailed the hay into about 165 bails (larger and denser than last year). After a beer and cake break we trailed a 150 bails safely into the barn, leaving a few needing repair for the following morning. Patrick's tractor got stuck on the steep track from the barn but I towed it out with mine. 9.30pm before we were finished.

Next day Barry and Caroline came over to help with the last few bails and have lunch and in the afternoon I reciprocated the help, aiding Patrick and Nat to rake, bale and load their hay from the orchard.

The next couple of days was spent fixing the plasterboard in the porch and bathroom. A trip to Toulouse on Monday to get the last few materials and today the tiling in the shower is done. This bathroom has been the longest, most troublesome project, so it's good to see the end finally in sight!

 

Pic Seron(10)

As Al and Breezy are out of confinement and we missed the last walk with them, we planned a "catch-up" walk. They chose Pic Seron and although Pic de Mont Rouge was an option, on arrival we decided to stick to plan A. The clouds were clearing, the sky was blue, but the grass was decidedly wet which made for slippery moments on the granite!

We headed up to the quarry then on to the Crête de Seron (West ridge), which has become the "voie normale" in recent years. It's the best way up the mountain for sure.

The weather was warm with a cool breeze, a welcome rest-bite from the normal high humidity of June. We were above the clouds, but they pursued us through the morning eventually engulfing us just after the summit.

Me scrambling up "the canon" reminiscent of Tryfan

Clouds chasing us up the mountain

Lunch on the summit

Looking down to the Etang d'Aubé

Descent into the clouds

We descended from the summit after lunch via the Etang d'Aubé and the col de Cerda. Still some old snow between the summit and the Etang.

A pleasant 6 hour walk including lunch and stops. On the return from Gerac we spotted some vultures watching us from Freychet.

 

Sheep shearing

Sheep shearing is always a stressful time. First we have to get all the sheep into the bergerie and at this time of year they know what that means, so they resist! This year we got them all in except 4. Donnie (who has the best wool), Thelma (who is the most cautious having been terrorised by dogs before we bought her), Laurie and Fudge. After much enticing with sheep nuts, I got Laurie and Donnie into the entrance...Donnie crashed through the fence to escape and Laurie jumped the gate to land in safely in the bergerie with the other sheep.

Next morning an early start to prepare for the day ahead and the arrival of the sheep shearer (who was 1hr30 late!).  Apaché our largest sheep (pictured below) we have decided is claustrophobic. All the other sheep quickly chill out when shut up in the bergerie, Apaché gets more and more agitated, knocking the other sheep over, pacing around and trying to either jump the gates, crash through them or lift them up. By morning she was becoming impossible and in the end I had to hold her head tight and stroke her cheeks to keep her calm while we waited the shearer to arrive. She was of course the first sheep to be shorn and with good weather and a late in the year shear, the wool was quickly off. An added bonus was that we could shear them outside.

Things went much quicker than in pervious years and by 12.15 all 26 sheep were shorn. The three escapees had not ventured close to the bergerie, but amazingly one by one I caught them in the open field and within 10 minutes all was over.

 

Pic de Portabere et Pic de Montaud

Susie is in Chamonix for the next three weeks doing her 200hr yoga teacher training. I m holding the fort, trying to complete the bathroom rebuild and mostly likely doing the hay-making and sheep shearing before going to collect her at the end of the month. The weekend and the first half of the week were spent working on architectural projects then Thursday and Friday I collected and laid the floor tiles in the bathroom and porch - progress at last, plasterboard next!

Saturday, time in the mountains with Sheri, Michiel (returned from the ship) and Ian who hasn't been on walk with us for probably 10 years! Alun and Breezy are back (from the UK) but still in self-isolation, though we waved and had a socially distanced beer with them on our return.

It's hot and humid (June) so we planned a walk up to the Port de Salau (which usually catches the wind). 

Rather than head to the port we veered right to the col between Pic de Portabere and Pic de Montaud before striking up the narrow ridge to land on the summit of Montaud (2496m). The original plan was to descend the ridges over Lane Formente (a reverse of the route Susie and I did with Alun and Breezy last summer), but the clouds were building over Mont Rouch and scraping the summit of our Pic and we decided to descend the same way, continuing this time to include the Port de Salau.

On the descent we met some dutch walkers who had spotted what they thought were deer, a closer look with my telephoto lens revealed that they were in fact Iberian Ibex.

 A cold beer at Alun and Breezy's concluded our walk of 14km and 1400m (4600ft) of height gain.