Col de Lau depuis Aulus les Bains

With appointments in the afternoon and low cloud we decided on a low level walk from Aulus. There's a path that climbs to eventually traverse the face of Mont Beas passing via the Col de Lau to eventually reach the Col du Dret. It's a long gradually climb of about 800m. Mostly in forest on granite. Then suddenly you leave the treeline and emerge in a karst landscape below the steep south face of Mont Beas. Quite spectacular. Return by the same itinery for 4 hours of exercise including lunch.

 

Col de crouzette via etang d'eychelle et etang d'ayes

First time in the mountains since my knee problems, but equipped with a pair of knee supports all went amazingly well. We (Al, Breezy, Sheri, Susie and I) started in the clouds from the new lower parking on the piste de mont noir above the Etang Bethmale. From there steeply up through the forest and clouds to the Col d'Auerole where our loop began.

We decided to go clockwise, climbing past the etang d'eychelle, to eventually reach the col de crouzette for lunch with views towards Valier and some very friendly merens horses and foals.

From here we traversed westwards to eventaully reach the col de roc plat below Pic de Montgarie, where we descended to join the GR10. This traverses high above the Riberot valley before passing below Pic de Crabère and descending to reach the Etang d'Ayes. A short climb back up to the Col d'Auerole and the loop was complete. 

1173m of ascent and 15km.

On the GR10

 

One of many wheatears

Advancing twills off the loom

 

An evening for skies

 

Stairs at last

 A busy few days making a stair. Lots of routing to make the string housings, treads and risers, then a over hundred wedges. Assembly went fairly smoothly but the installation was a pig. Although it's only made from pine and only 73cm wide its still pretty heavy. The hole in the floor is a few cm wider than the stair, but the odd protruding rock, the newel post and other irritations made it impossible to get into place from below. After getting it wedged in the wrong place a rethink was necessary.

We got it free then dragged the whole stir up onto the first floor, then tried to install from above. Eventually after getting it stuck a second time, I reach for the hammer and bolster. Some stones were trimmed and numerous blows with "the persuader" aka a big mallet and the stair finally dropped into place. 

Too coats of varnish before bed and we finally have easy access to the first floor.

The elusive Golden Oriol

A few days ago the distinctive calls of a handful of Golden Oriols close to the house. I spent 2 hours trying to spot them in the canopy, let alone photograph them, without success.  They're known to be secretive!

Hay

Crazy hot weather continues So decided to make the hay before storms arrive on Tuesday. The last few years the hay from the field in front of the house has been getting poorer. The grass is very fine and not at all leafy. So this year I decided to cut the pla d'artigue, which 5 or 6 years after clearing is now free of bracken.  Cutting, tedding and putting into rows went without a hitch except for the shear quantity of grass this year. Bailing is always a problem. After the first 50m of attempting to get a bail the knotters suddenly started working....often the case. Then suddenly a loud bang! One of the recently replaced tyres had perished over the winter and the inner tube exploded. The rest of the bailing had to be accomplished with a flat tyre, the last 100m without a tyre at all as it came off! Half way through the drive shaft also disconnected from the gearbox. A beer and a few blows with a lump hammer and all was well again. The bailer twine also snagged on a bolt head, so about 50 bails need retying on one side. Haven't counted yet but probably over 200 bails off about half an acre.....it's been crazy growth with the wet spring. That's plenty of hay for the sheep, the other fields will all have to be cut in the late summer and left to compost. Tomorrow the task of repairing damaged bails and getting it all n the barn.

New warp

With the completion of the warping wheel a new sectional warp has been put on the loom. The warping wheel is a big improvement over a tension box and bobbins for my kind of weaving with many colour changes in the warp.

This weave will be a long cushion for our iron bedstead, a scarf and some smaller items (maybe another cushion). It's an advancing twill which will produce 'fractal" type patterns.

A regime of cycling twice a day seems to be helping my knee recovery, albeit slowly.

Digger works complete, alas the space is for our neighbour.

Chicks all doing good, and out exxploring with their mother hens.

 Our retaining wall finished for the rear deck.

More digging and tree felling today. The space for the rear terrace is excavated and beside the barn too, where Alain wants build a covered parking area/wood store. Another day or so to finish removing all the soil/rocks etc. Once the digger has gone I can start building the stone retaining wall and reconnecting the storm water pipes.

Finally the void behind the wall I constructed from all the stones removed from inside the barn is full.

 

Windows!

Most of the windows have finally arrived and been installed and despite some incredibly intense rain, excavation of our neighbour's and land and some communal land beside the barn and our land behind, has started.

sheep shearing

William, still a bit poorly after his flystrike

Sheepshearing time again. We were too tired on Tuesday night to try and get the sheep in the barn - Susie had just given her dance and yoga classes and I'd spent 2 days pick axing a 40m trench to the barn to lay the missing electrical cables. As Chystelle wasn't coming until the afternoon we left it until the morning. 

As per usual our sheep sensed something was afoot and we ended up chasing them for 2 and a half hours before we finally got them in the barn (yesterday they went in no problem at all). Chrystelle did her usual excellent job. the wet spring means most of the brown ouessants are horribly felted so their wool is unuseable. The white fleeces and couple of brown are OK. After FCO last summer its not been a good 12 months for farming. On the up side William seems to be recovering from his fly-strike.

It takes a few days for the sheep to sniff and recognise each other again after shearing.

Today I've been mucking out the barn. the next few days are busy with architecture work for me, leading a 3 day dance workshop for Susie, then excavations behind the barn on Monday!

The last few weeks we have had an occasional visit from a large eagle, finally got a photo to identify him...its a short toed eagle.

 

A busy week

A trip to the UK as my mum's partner John sadly passed away. A busy 5 days trying to sort out the administration for mum and selling some the items mum cannot use....his car and lots of computer equipment.  

In the meantime back at Quélébu 7 chicks to our two sitting hens, teething problems with the solar installation, our apple trees devastated by a red deer and the delivery of the insulated floor for the barn.

First task on return was moving the flooring into the barn, next building a pen so the hens with chicks could get out onto the grass. 

After continuing problems with the solar system, apparently originating from a software update, the controller decided to switch off all power, even the mains! An engineer quickly turned up and unable to find the cause of the fault and in the course of analysis turned the entire system off then on again....hey presto everything works again.  I hadn't realised the system would include remote access by the manufacturer's IT engineers....may try to opt out of that as it's more trouble than it's worth. "If it ain't broke don't fix it".

Flooring laying took a day and half, not good for the torn meniscus and arthritis I ve just had diagnosed by MRI!

With sheep shearing scheduled for Wednesday we thought we'd move the sheep. Uncharacteristically, William bolted and the others followed. When I finally caught up with them I realised that he had fly strike in his horn. Since having FCO (blue tongue) William's horns have been growing without their usual had gnarly coating. Evidently a fissure or other damage had bleed and the flies had got in to lay eggs. It's a horrible affliction. A mad dash to the vet before closing and I managed to get an injection to administer. I hope he ll be ok.

Solar panels

Solar panels, battery etc installed over the last couple of days. All didn't go quite according to plan as the installer advised me that I only needed three cables between the house and the barn, when in fact I need 6. More digging in the next few weeks to connect power to the barn (at the installer's expense), but at least the house is supplied and so far, despite mediocre weather, we have fully charged our batteries, met all our needs and made our first cash putting surplus power into the grid.

Busy bee

 

Bedroom refurb continues

Bedroom refurb has continued. Boxing in the tie beam of the truss and filling the void with a bookcase, new dark green paint job, new laminate floor - the old floor boards were poorly laid by the previous owner and despite numerous sanding and repainting by me and susie, always looked awful.

 Still to do - the upper gable wall in lime and hemp, skirting boards and the mezzanine ceiling.