It's a PB!

The rain that was forecast for yesterday and today has not materialised .... thank goodness. So with relatively clear skies and temps of around 10 degrees, the pooch and I headed up to the Col de Port for a re-match with the route forestiere. The last time I did the 8km with just under 300m of ascent circuit was at the end of October, I was really quite pleased to have got my time down to 54.30 minutes. This time, I was determined to beat that and to give the 2km steady uphill section everything I had got.

It didn't start off too well with my heart rate monitor continually bleeping at me, warning me that I had exceeded my max heart rate! I ignored it and after about 5 minutes, it settled down. I covered the gently undulating 3.5km to the start of the proper uphill section 2 minutes quicker than last time. I was feeling good. I pushed on, steady steady, stopping only twice on the 2km long ascent and was stunned to have gained another 3 minutes by the time I reached the high point! From there, it was all downhill and I was back at the car in 49.57 minutes. I felt great and could have carried on! Progress indeed. Bring it on!

Une petite balade

With mild conditions prevailing today (up to 12.5 degrees this afternoon), we were not expecting fantastic snow conditions up the road at the Etang de Lhers (1200m). We strapped our snowshoes onto our packs and set off in the direction of Col Dret, following the footsteps of another bod who had the same idea, maybe today, maybe yesterday, impossible to tell when. There was snow on the ground but it was wet and heavy and not particularly pleasant. Higher up, towards the Col, deeper drifts prevailed. Here, we were grateful for the footsteps of our absent friend which made the going rather easier than it would otherwise have been. From the Col, we followed the fence up the steep ridge to Tuc du Laguelle, occasionally post-holing in deep drifts and trying to avoid getting our poles tangled in the heather and bilberry bushes that covered the hillside. The views towards the Port de Lhers were stunning, flanked on the left by Pic de Barrès and by Pic de Girantes on the rightPic des Trois Seigneurs and Pic de la Journalade appear to have a good covering although colder conditions will be required if we are to head up there in the near future
The trot back down was slippy and wet but we were at least grateful for the exercise and the fresh air. More rain tomorrow and Tuesday the hopefully some decent weather towards the end of the week.

A brief interlude

After 2 days of torrential rain, the weekend brings some respite in the form of clear skies and warm sun again. Ah, that's better! So this morning, we popped down to the St G market for a change of scenery and to look for ideas for family Christmas presents - well, it's about time I started thinking about Christmas seeing as it is just under 3 weeks away! I love the variety of produce at the market and it always has a lovely atmosphere. I came away with a couple of presents which is a bonus.

I have spent this afternoon in the sun, working on the patch of land that will accommodate my squashes and courgettes in the spring. After a thorough weeding, I treated it to a good dose of wood ash, horse manure and some compost which will hopefully be sufficient to ensure a superlative crop of produce next summer.

Tomorrow, we will be out somewhere, doing something, getting our fix before we once again find ourselves confined to the house by the weather.

Miraculous recovery

Thank goodness for a vet who knows his stuff! This morning I was greeted by Mr Waggy Wag, up and about, bright and breezy....no hint of the pain and discomfort that he was experiencing yesterday. The vet's diagnosis of a tick-related maladie had been spot on and the injection worked its magic as predicted. To say we are relieved is an under-statement!

Poorly pooch

The pooch was not himself this morning. Normally when I come downstairs to make a cuppa tea he is all waggy waggy and pleased to see me. This morning, he barely moved. No waggy tail. I opened the door to let him out for his morning pee. He didn't move. Something was wrong. Very wrong. I called Andy down. Taff attempted to move....his legs wouldn't work. He was clearly in some discomfort. We bundled him into the car and went straight to the vets in St G. We had removed a tick from his neck last night. It was dead but had clearly had a feed. The vet thought it could have passed something nasty on to Taf that had affected his lumbar region and his joints. His temperature was also up. The vet analysed a blood sample but it was inconclusive. But with everything else pointing to a tick infection, Taff was given a shot and we were told to monitor him and bring him back if he was not back to himself in the morning.

This evening, thankfully, Taff is on the mend. He has slept for most of the day and finally went out for a pee late afternoon. It was the longest pee in the world! Bless him! He is more mobile. He has had something to eat and drink. He will be OK. Dogs and kids.... who'd have 'em!!!

Seizing the moment

It has been cold, wet and miserable since Monday. Temperatures have risen and the snow that fell on Monday and yesterday has turned to mush at our level (800m). More rain is forecast tonight and through until the weekend. However, just before lunch today, the clouds cleared and there was the sun again in a clear blue sky. We had to get out! Time was short so we popped up the road to the Col de Port, donned our snowshoes and headed up the zig zags to the ridge and then on up to the Pech de Therme (1629m), a total of around 450m of ascent. The whole of the ridge at the top had been scoured of snow by the strong gusts of wind of the past couple of daysand this was even more evident as we looked from the top of Pech des Thermes towards the Rocher de BatailEven Pic de la Journalde and Trois Seigneurs were looking a tad bareAs we looked towards the high mountains, we could see tonight's weather starting to buildSo it had been good to make the most of the spectacularly beautiful but brief weather window while it lasted

Snow

True to forecast, we awoke to a light covering of snow this morning. The skies cleared briefly just after lunch so we popped up the hill behind the house and managed to get a nice panoramic pic of the vistaand some other picturesque shotsShortly afterwards, the snow started falling in earnest and has continued into the evening.