Graffiti

- or the writing on the wall.

I had a bad knee - in that my long time dodgy knee was playing up more than usual - in the end to stop getting nagged at I went to the doctors.Two trips to the doctors, X rays, blood tests and the end result is ....I've got a bad knee!

It is of course arthritis, the doctor's cheerful diagnosis is that the knee is "abimé" and will continue to get worse. I'm not even going to start asking about my back! So nothing I didn't know already - and  the writing was on the wall as my symptoms are so like problems my mother has had for years.
So what to do ?  The main objective for me is to keep on dancing and walking so while I'm waiting for the pool to warm up I needed to think of an extra fitness regime to take a bit of weight off the knee and strengthen the leg muscles. I'm not generally good at "doing exercises" and I'm hopeless on a bike ( had an exercise bike once - think I used it twice - very dull! My solution is to take the dog for a brisk walk every day.
 
BUT.... we haven't actually got a dog and have no desire to get one so I take my "imaginary" dog. He's great - walks quite fast so I have to keep up with him but is happy to slow down on the way back, he doesn't bark or yap, run off and jump at strangers or pick fights with other dogs, he has amazing personal hygiene so no smelly bags of poo to carry, and is happy to go whatever time of the day I choose. Its a bonus to have 20 minutes to myself to appreciate the countryside surrounding our house, listen to the birds,watch the butterflies and generally think myself fortunate to live here. Yesterday having got very stiff sitting in the car driving backwards and forwards from the shops the dog and I got dropped off 1 mile short of home as I knew once I got back it would be hard to get motivated. Wonder how long it will last! TC is already surprised that I'm keeping it up every day.

 Not that there's much time for sitting about at home - so much to do at this time of year and the improvement in the weather means lots of planting to be done - all those seedlings are now well grown and ready to face the world! Over 800 little plants plus the tomatoes, courgettes etc so been very busy .

Most of the plants for my annual flower display are now planted - I just have to keep chasing the hens out to stop them uprooting the lot.

Not happy about the unexpected frost last weekend which nipped at my potato plants but I think we got away with it. The tomatoes are now all in and the  broad beans and peas are looking great already.








The biggest progress in the garden though has to be the completion of the pond. When we moved in there was a corner of the garden which had been abandoned to a heap of rocks ( as it turned out on top of more rocks - it was rocks all the way down!).

before

When the pool was installed we sweet talked the terassier into digging out the beginnings of a little pond - the hole has stayed over several season changes but TC has now finished the job and we have a lovely pond which already has its first resident frog.

 As for the graffiti  - its summertime, the sun is shining at last, got lots to do and the dog needs a walk!

Farewell snow - time for the snowdrops!

Yesterday was just  glorious - one of those sunny winter days to lift the spirits, the sort of day to let you know the end of winter is not too far away! As we drove out of Puylagarde we had a fabulous view of the snow covered Pyrennees in the distance, the clearest we have ever seen them.

It was a perfect day for a walk and we chose one which involved quite a bit of road walking ( normally we avoid them if we can) as we were concerned about just how muddy everywhere would be because of the recent weather. The "roads" were small and quiet - many hardly more than tracks - and the weather wonderful - temperatures well into double figures, clear skies and no wind.

The highlight of the walk was a small diversion to the abbey at Beaulieu to see the annual snowdrop spectacular. Snowdrops grow in great profusion here, especially along the roadsides in the river valleys and I had heard that Beaulieu was a good place to see more and sure enough the woods behind the Abbey were carpeted. They were certainly a sight to behold especially if you like a bit of photography - we saw one keen lady lying prostrate with some very impressive equipment! My "apparatus" is a little more basic but I got some nice pictures anyway! Here are just a few:

I have always loved the the English country name for snowdrops "fair maids of February". They grew well in my cold wet Stoke on Trent garden but often waited for the beginning of March to appear. Here they are called "perce - neige" ( literally pierce snow) and are a happy and timely reminder to me that the winters are shorter here - even if this year it  has seemed to drag on!

 Towards the end of our walk we passed  a French lady who was single handedly clearing leaves from  the drainage ditch on the hill above her house  to make sure that the water would stay in check. She cheerfully assured us the "grand hiver" was over though there was plenty more frost to come. Lets hope she was right - we keep reminding ourselves that the really cold snap here was in February last year - we 're really hoping we don't get a repeat of that.

one more for luck!

bonne annee bonne sante - not yet it aint!

I don't like January - never have done , only one worse month and that's February (but that's not so bad living here as Spring arrives earlier). Yep - looks like I'm having a bumper attack of the January blues.

When we moved here we avoided houses in the river valleys as we had seen during visits to the area the Autumn fogs so it was frustrating to find ourselves this winter shrouded in hill fog day after day for the  first two weeks of the year doing no good at all for the nagging chesty cough which I have been unable to shake off properly. That coupled with the usual post Christmas " down time" plus family worries (as parts of my family take dysfunctionality to a level which would rival an Eastenders Christmas special) I've been feeling a touch sorrier for myself than I have any right to be. Trevor is having a tough time with the current DIY project ( it involves plumbing - say no more) but at least he has his music and as he himself says has "never felt so respected as a musician".

All in all then it was a change for the better when the snows fell. It snowed all night last Tuesday and all day Wednesday leaving us under a blanket of 8 inches of the white stuff. Thursday dawned a beautiful sparkling morning - clear blue skies over a black and white world- great day for a walk and some photos With hindsight ( forever a wonderful thing) perhaps 13 kms was a bit much in the prevailing conditions underfoot - either glassy and slippery or deep snow to wade through. The scenery was beautiful though and it was great to be out and "enjoying" ourselves.

 By the time we got home my back was seriously suffering - a result of walking clinging on to my walking poles - and I felt at least a hundred years old! It was necessary to cite the "cold weather " "I've just done a long walk" ""I even made a fish pie when we got back" and "sod it who cares if its a weekday I need a drink" amendments !!!

OK so enough's enough  - very pretty and all that but I should have been dancing tonight except the roads are impassable and everything is annullé. Want to get on with looking forward to the Spring - I need my garden!

Oh and seriously - bonne annee everyone!