Gourette

Called it a half day due to high winds, again. Always windy. Done with Gourette.

The wall

Sorting out this wall is a job for warm days when we're at a loose end

South side

North side

Miles away

It's riddled with roots, chicken wire and wild roses

Getting there, but could take a while

Le Jardin.

All our seeds have arrived and the first of the herbs are in

The initial plot is laid out

Drainage hole dug, filled, checked, and okay

Soil test ph6.0. Bon

Next- buy timber for raised beds, dig poo into soil

Poop.

That's a big pile of vegetable fuel right there

Rennovations.

We're opening up the ground floor to allow more light and bring 2 very separate rooms together. The walls are coming down and the staircase will be exposed. Dusty work, but must be done.

Creepy Crawlies.

These are for you Caleb. Please identify the spider. More to follow (once we find them)

Reconnected.

At last our internet and phone line has been fixed after being down since just after the storm. We'll get new pictures up soon.

N&E

The storm

Power just came back on. We were without power, heating, hot water or phone since the early hours of Saturday morning. The fire's been roaring all weekend and we've had our heads in books by candlelight for 2 days. We tried to go out for supplies on Saturday during a brief lull, but both exits were blocked by fallen trees, then the wind picked up and all of a sudden a tall blocky Land Rover didn't feel like the safest place to be, so we headed home and stayed there. Needless to say, there was a fair breeze here for all of Saturday, not to mention rain, hail, thunder and sunshine. Through all this the house didn't shake an inch, it was also hit by lightning! She's a tough old girl.

The house was torn apart (bird house)

And a tree came down

This was one way to town...

...this was the other (there's a power line under that tree)

This was our clue to get out of the landy as soon as possible

Wind

Hail

Our only heat for 2 days

Our only lighting. Now to research solar power

An old wardrobe makes...

It may look like a wardrobe's been dropped from the sky, but it is in fact a temporary cold frame

And this will be the hens roosting box, with a bit of sanding/finishing.
They'll both do the job for now.

Artouste Fabrèges

I (Neil) visited Artouste Fabreges today. It's around 50 minutes from our house. A quiet, small resort with about 70% boarders to 30% skiers. The sky was bluebird, the temperature was up and the snow felt perfect. Soft on the piste, natural hits all over the mountain.

I don't know why I like pictures of ski lifts.

Tracked powder

The combination of outfit colour and mightyness of leap caused the lens cover to squint

Looking along the Ossau Valley

Pic du Midi d'Ossau