I'm still here!

Time between my blog posts seems to be getting longer and longer, doesn't it. But that's because life continues to be so darned busy down here! This, however, is a good thing. A brief summary of the past 4 weeks for you.

My brother came to visit us at the start of the month for a few short days of mental 'switch off' which was desperately needed. Fortunately, the weather Gods played ball and he had glorious weather for his stay. The peace of the place started working its magic very shortly after he arrived...

We took him for a walk up to the Estives de Paloumere above the Col du Portet d'Aspet which tested his legs and lungs but for which he was rewarded with stunning views

We also had time to put him to work in the potager....

Time passed by oh too fast, but I'm pleased to say he returned home much less of a stress monkey, which was the important thing!

Everything has been on hold in the potager for the past two weeks as the weather has been truly appalling with unseasonally cold temperatures, driving wind and rain. Pretty miserable. Thank heavens for the polytunnel which has already earned its keep. I have been able to sow all kinds of veg in troughs and modules that it would have been impossible to sow outside. It has also enabled me to pot on young brassicas that would have perished outdoors. But we are forecast for better weather from the coming weekend, so I will no doubt have a big push to plant out a lot of stuff. Watch that space.

As the weather has been so dire, we haven't got out on the bikes as much as we would have liked, but we have made the most of every weather window that has come along. I have now got a fantastic new saddle (a women's specific Bontrager Affinity RL in case anybody is interested!) which has finally relieved a lot of the discomfort that I was experiencing on the bike and has made the whole riding experiencing a lot more pleasurable! My best ride to date was at the start of the month, an 85km/1400m+ ride taking in the Col des Ares..

... which I steamed around, feeling really strong, in 3h32! That was a cracker.

We also had a scenic 73km/1100m+ lumpy ride in the foothills which was more exhausting  than riding a col with all its ups and its downs

Then today, on the first sunny day in 2 weeks, we met up with Helen and Chris over in the Luchon Valley who run Pyractif cycling holidays for a blast into Spain then up and over the Category 2 Col de Portillon back down to Luchon.

The river Garonne down the valley was very high thanks to a combination of recent heavy rain and snow melt

It was a wonderfully sociable ride of 79km/1000m+ made 'interesting' by a strong headwind back down the valley from Luchon which saw the boys working hard to bring us girlies home in a not too exhausted state!

May is the month of beautiful Spring flowers in the Pyrénées. Here are a few of my favourites. The unique tongue orchid ....

... the pretty lady orchid....

.... black rampion (phyteuma nigrum), only found in France...

Spring!

Yup, goodbye snow, hello sun! OK, realistically, we'll probably have a few more cold, damp days before Spring really gets into gear, but for the moment, just allow me to bask in the notion that the corner has been turned? With 19 deg C being reached today, I don't think it is unjustified!

With Spring my thoughts turn to sowings and plantings and how to get the most out of my potager this year. Over the past couple of days, I have started my indoor sowings. For my records as much as anything else, this is the tally so far;
- chilli pepper (Cayenne)
- chilli pepper (Ring of Fire)
- capsicum (Marconi Red)
- capsicum (Sweet Banana)
- aubergine (AvanHF1)
- plum tomato (Roma)
- cherry tomato (Tumbling Red)
- stripey tomato (Red Zebra)
- ordinary tomato (San Marzano)
- lettuce (Lollo Rosso, Webbs Wonderful and Winter Density)
- red onion seeds (Red Baron)
- basil
- sweet peas

I have had some dwarf peas and mangetout outside under a cloche for the winter and a few have survived and are growing strongly. Today, as the soil is warm, I have sowed some more under there, along with some carrots. The Charlotte potatoes are chitting indoors and I will be sowing courgette, kuri squash and butternut squash indoors this week too. I have had some leeks in the ground since late September and they are taking up a lot of space without appearing to grow at all. Does anybody know if they are a lost cause or whether I should just pull the whole lot out so that I can use the space for other things? I am thinking the latter!

Whilst we have had such good weather, we have taken the chance to clear up a bit outside, sorting piles of old wood, building a bonfire, loading the trailer for a trip to the tip.... the place is looking much tidier.

With the changing seasons, the Spring flowers are starting to some through. My favourite so far is Viola Alba ...

... closely followed by Hepatica Nobilis (both the purple and the white are SO pretty)

... although these little red fungii are fascinating...

Change of scenery

On Wednesday last week I left to spend a week in the UK for a long overdue visit to catch up with family and friends. But before I left, Andy and I got in a cracking mountain bike ride on Monday during which we explored and linked up even more of the myriad paths, tracks and trails around Aspet. The ride involved a fair bit of ascent and some technical riding, some of which I think I have captured on the video cam that Andy gave me for Christmas. We managed to fix it to the handlebars although I believe the video quality would be improved if we got it set up on my helmet. I'm currently working on putting the various video snippets together to make a short movie which I'll stick on Youtube when it's done. In the meantime, the ascent profile ....

.... and a glimpse of Pic de Cagire towards the end of the ride which came in at 30kms with 850m of ascent

The next day, as the weather remained good (dry, not too hot), we popped up the road to the Mourtis ski station above the Col de Menté (just 25 minutes us)  from where we walked up to the Pic d'Escales 1816m. From there, stunning panoramic views of the high mountains

The Spring flowers are really starting to appear now. These gentians were just stunning

Then it was home to pack for a flight back to the UK on Wednesday and a flying visit to mum's in Dorset before heading up to stay with friends in the Peak District for a few days. Typically, the stunning weather that the UK had been enjoying decided to break on the day that I arrived. But never mind, Ayshea and I still enjoyed a lovely day around and above the Derwent Reservoir which is one of my favourite parts of the Peak District.

Unfortunately, my knee troubles are continuing which meant that my running was curtailed. It was disappointing as the Peak District is a fantastic area for running. Still, I'll be back another day and will make up for it then. After catching up with more friends over the weekend, it is now time to head West to visit my son and future daughter-in-law. Back home on Thursday.

Hints of Spring

We have just enjoyed a week of the most gloriously warm, no hot, weather during which temperatures climbed well into the mid 20s. We have had the parasol out on the terrasse and have had to be careful not to get sunburnt! Signs of Spring are appearing all around us. The Spring flowers are coming through with white anemones, violets, white and purple hepaticas, lungwort and, in just the past couple of days, some primula have appeared. Leaf buds are appearing on the trees and the catkins are in full flow. It is wonderful to finally see some colour around the place.

The birds also seem to sense Spring in the air. We have been listening to the great spotted woodpeckers drumming in the woodland opposite - they are a fantastic sight through the binoculars - and have also spotted green woodpeckers and can hear them yaffling all around us. A male and a female bullfinch are visiting the bird table.....

.... and yesterday, two black redstarts entertained us with a spectacular and prolonged chase around Pissou as they vied for territorial supremacy, darting and swooping at fantastic speeds above our heads. This is the victor!

Of course, I can't do a blog post without a mention of running, can I! The Trail des Pieds Cloutés was 2 weeks ago from which I recovered well. On the Wednesday, after dropping off a van and a car load of stuff at the 'new' house, Andy and I had a gentle 11.5km trot out along the lanes near Aspet. All was feeling good. So on the following Saturday afternoon, I did another hill endurance session up the Peguere road which is now snow-free. A brisk 1km warm up followed by three sets of 1.15kms up an ave 12% gradient. I was able to complete each set at a faster speed than last time (mid January) but kept my HR at the same level which means I must be getting fitter and stronger!

I had no repercussions from the hill session so on Tuesday decided I would get in a hard, long run, probably the last one before my next race on the 25th March. I decided to tackle on foot a mountain bike circuit from Varilhes that we did back in October 2010. It was hard work on a bike and no easier on 2 feet! In fact, I felt like my legs were empty, despite taking on liquid fuel and a couple of gels. They just wouldn't go! The muscles were obviously still fatigued after my hill session 3 days previously. So I did the sensible thing and took it really steady, resorting to a walk whenever necessary and didn't give myself too much of a hard time about it. It was all good training. Another 28kms/800m+ in the bag. Full stats on the usual site.

Sadie, flowers and old stuff

The pressure is on. I have now booked a ferry for next Friday afternoon back to the UK for a long overdue visit to catch up with family and friends. Sadie is almost finished. Almost. The kitchen just needs drawer fronts to be made and then the drawers can be put in and the overhead storage box also needs doors making, but isn't she looking posh?!

The structure of the cabinet that will house the entertainment controls (TV/Audio/Satellite) and the fridge plus electrical controls and leisure batteries is now also in and awaiting the addition of a routed front panel and doors. By Wednesday, she needs to be ready for full testing of all electrical appliances and the water system and then we can load her up and be ready to head off first thing on Thursday! Excited? You bet! And I know of one person in particular who will be especially relieved to have finally completed this challenging project and to finally be able to enjoy the fruits of his labours.

Despite the old legs feeling pretty fantastic following last weekend's race, I admit to not having felt particularly inclined to head out for a run at all this past week. Extreme exertion and effort tends to do that to me! I did however have a bit of a pootle up around the Mont d'Olmes 'ski' resort with the pooch on Wednesday which was a nice little stretch of the legs. It's always strange seeing ski resorts devoid of snow - but it's still a very pretty corner of the Ariege.

I took Taff out for a bit of a walk above Belesta this afternoon and I spotted this pretty vetch

... and also an orchid along the way 

The wild flowers in the Ariege are just beautiful at this time of year! Just by way of contrast, I spotted this old piece of abandoned agricultural machinery during the walk. My mind can't help but wander back to the day when it was used, probably pulled by horses, breaking up the soil ready for cultivation by some wirey and wrinkled Ariege farmer who knew nothing but toil and sweat in his life, in the days before the introduction of mechanisation into the farmer's life. But I can't for the life of me remember what such a tool is called. Can somebody remind me?

Flower ID

I had a little mooch with the pooch up to the Mont d'Olmes ski centre this afternoon while Andy was out beasting himself on the bike with the club and stumbled across this beautiful, delicate flower that I am struggling to identify. I think it belongs to the orchid family but can't be sure. Can anybody enlighten me?

More flowers

Three flowers that we found up on the route to the Port d'Aula....this is some kind of orchid..
and a member of the aster/daisy family?
and the lesser butterfly orchid (platanthera bifolia)..

Fleurs

The wild flowers around Pissou are just beautiful at the moment. Here are the latest additions. A beautiful yellow dead nettle which is all over the pastures around here....
as is the quite beautiful pink dead nettle...... a member of the milkwort family... and the easily recognisable birdsfoot trefoil.

Ascent

Today provided perfect conditions for a roadie outing. So I decided to head up to the Etang de Lers and decide from there whether I was going to head down to the Vicdessos Valley to Tarascon and then back up the Col de Port, or head up to the Col d'Agnes, down to Aulus and from there....? I wasn't sure. There were a few options.

The ride up to the Etang de Lers was straightforward enough but when I got there, I decided against the Vicdessos/Col de Port route, opting instead for the quieter roads of the Col d'Agnes and Aulus. I had forgotten how far it was up to the Col, a good 4kms up some pretty steep road in places but I eventually reached the high point at 1570m and was treated to magnificent views of the high mountains bordering Spain, with the descent road sinewing its way down to the valley below. The descent down to Aulus was long (nearly 10kms) but fast - I was pleased I was going in the other direction as it would be a pretty stiff ascent! The view down to Aulus was fantastic.I had to stop to photograph these amazing gentians on the way down - gentiana ligustica. They were quite the most beautiful flower I have ever seen!My legs were feeling quite tired from the 900+m of ascent I had already done, so I decided against heading up to the Col de Latrappe from Aulus. Instead, I headed back down the valley to Ercé, where I had the choice of either carrying on to Oust and taking the main road back up to Massat (longer but little ascent), or of heading back up to Cominac and the Col de Saraillé (steep initially, but ultimately a much shorter route). I decided on the latter. Fortunately, my decision to use the SIS energy powder in my drink was paying off and I still had plenty of energy, although my legs were tiring. I eventually made it home after just under 4 hrs in the saddle. On downloading the data from my Garmin, I was pleased with what I had achieved - 65kms and very nearly 1500m of ascent. It had been a good trip out.