Mish mash this n that

Look what I found this morning amongst the nettles and weeds that appear to be taking over my strawberry patch!Woo-hoo, strawberry season has started! The little alpine strawberries are also nearly ready. Yum yum!

So, anyway, on to more important matters. 'Projet camping-car' has offically commenced. Andy is back in the UK with strict orders not to return without a Mercedes Sprinter long wheel base van and the necessary Stuff for converting it into a sooper dooper campervan which will take us on our travels around France. The conversion will keep him out of mischief for a few weeks at least ;-)

After dropping him at Carcassonne yesterday, I returned home and had a frenzied afternoon and evening of cleaning and tidying in anticipation of a potential visit today (waste of time as it happens). The house was filthy with various layers of accumulated grime from woodburner fallout, our wood working efforts and my potager potterings and was in desperate need of a thorough cleaning. I have also been getting on top of those silly little DIY jobs that you just never get around to doing such as applying another coat of linseed oil to the kitchen worktops, finishing off the grout on the tiles above the hob splashback and applying the primer to the wood-filler patched stairs which means I can now finish them off with a top coat tomorrow.

This afternoon, I needed to get out for some exercise. I wanted a run of sorts but without too much ascent/descent (my legs have, for some reason, really suffered after the past couple of outings) and I didn't want to drive too far. A tall order. Until I remembered the forest track that I discovered in December above the Vallée de Liers, just around the hillside from here. The road/track up to Gaspard where I parked was rutted and uneven, so it's a good job I had taken the Rav out for a spin. The track itself was, however, good underfoot and it was lovely to explore it in summer conditions. I love the wildness of the Vallée de Liers and the views towards Pic des Trois Seigneurs and Pic de la Journalade are beautifulIt was a gentle, unhurried outing but that was just what I needed. Tomorrow, possibly a mountain bike outing somewhere. We'll see.