Spring watch!

The daffodils are nearly all in bloom now in front of the house which is one reason for the pic above but it also shows my first ever attempt at pointing stone work where all the previous filling had been completely eroded by the wind, it took me ages just to do the small area behind these flowers but it's turned out very well and at least there's no holes in that piece of wall now!
Also, at last, after being gifted a mini cctv camera from my youngest daughter and soon to be son-in-law for christmas, we've managed to set up the camera in the bird box next to the Roque Terrace gite. One of the suggestions was to cut a small window in the side of the box to allow more light on the subjects and as you can see below it's certainly worked as after only a few days blue tits have been visiting regularly and all is very clear to see, won't be long now until the building of nests start.

As one door closes....

....another opens!

As some of you may have already seen on Facebook, our new front door was installed yesterday. Unfortunately the original door was beyond repair as both the door and surround were very rotten in parts. A local carpenter did the work, made entirely of chestnut wood, copying the original door style plus using the original iron work which we cleaned and re painted. The main difference, apart from the black paint, is the panel underneath the windows which is now a traditional perigordine design consisting of uneven pieces of studded wood.

Window seat.

An interesting picture I took on the return flight from London Stansted to Bergerac last Tuesday after a quick visit to England for my Mums birthday, shows a very clear view of Jersey, one of the Channel  Islands, from 35,000 ft.
Back in France, winter projects now under way, a new terrace for the Roque gite and a new front door and renovation of the hallway of the main house are just 2 of the major jobs in progress....pictures to follow asap!

Cycling La Voie Verte

Over 3 weeks ago, the weather was so nice, we decided to make the most of it and put the roof bars on the car and took the bikes out to do something we've been meaning to do for over 3 years, go to Sarlat and cycle the 'Voie Verte', a 25 kilometer cycle way that's on a disused railway track between Sarlat and Cazoules. This is the first time we've cycled for a long time so a 50km round trip was maybe a little too far so we did the whole route over 2 trips.

We were not disappointed, the whole route was so well maintained it was a pleasure to cycle on. Mile upon mile of wonderful scenery, one of the highlights was passing through the beautiful village of Aillac where from the railway bridge you look down one side onto the village rooftops and the other side onto a spur of the Dordogne where local fishermen (and women) were catching fish non stop from the water. If you look closely at the picture below you can see the sun reflecting off some of the fish in the water as there were thousands feeding on the bait that they were being given.

 This is certainly a trip we'll be recommending to our 2014 visitors!

Tree pruning, french style!

I took this picture last week during a visit to Montignac, as is normal at this time of year, all the trees had been pruned of last years growth, leaving a spectacular display of twisted branches caught by the afternoon sun and set against the blue January sky.
Unfortunately since this was taken the weather has changed for the worse, mainly very wet but still not as cold as previous years, still there's still time for that to change also!

Morning exercise.

One of the special things about being in France, for our guests and ourselves, is the early morning walk to the boulangerie  in Le Moustier for the breakfast pastries and bread. There has always been a walking track leading from behind Les Granges into the village but over the last few years it has become obstructed by a fallen tree and consequently became overgrown and impassable.
So before Christmas we went to our Mairie to ask if anything could be done, within a week the path had been cleared of the fallen tree and debris making it possible now for everyone to walk to the village without having to walk on the roadside.

It also now makes it possible to do a 15 minute circular walk along this track then after you've got your bread etc walking back along the river side path, under Le Moustier bridge and back to the front of our property, now that's what I call a lovely start to the day!

Snowdrop time!

Just spotted these in the garden in front of the house, the first of this years snowdrops are very nearly in bloom! Not had time to look at previous posts but I think the mild weather we're having at the moment is having a considerable effect on all the plants, at 16 degrees in the shade, there's no wonder!