Encouraging

Well, the weather has most definitely turned and I am hoping that, this week, we will see Winter's very final blast. The potager could really do with Spring's tender touch and (let's not beat around the bush), Winter can, well, go get bent, that's quite enough thank you!

So, with high winds, much colder temperatures and a gastric system that has been relatively normal (excessive wind aside) for the past 24 hrs, I took myself and the pooch up to Peguere for a trot around the 6km/200m of ascent Route Forestiere circuit to see how things felt following my tummy upset and general 'out-of-it-ness', and the answer turned out to be surprisingly good, much to my surprise and delight... the legs and lungs felt strong and I gained over 5 minutes on my last outing on this circuit, getting around the circuit in 38 minutes. One more run on Friday and I should be ready for the race on Sunday.

In the meantime, today's piccy of the Pic des Trois Seigneurs in stormy weather....and Massat in a brief sunny interlude....

Rhubarb, wood and gastric issues

Well, all that tender loving care and extra nourishment that I have lavished on it (yeah, right!) has paid off and the rhubarb is firing on all cylinders. I didn't protect it in any way this winter and with the severe weather that we have experienced down here I fully expected it to have been killed off. But, hell no, this is one feisty rhubarb! Won't be long before rhubarb crumble and ice cream (yes, I know, I'm weird) is on the menuOn the wood front, we have a second beech tree to fell at some point but spent this afternoon stacking the lengths from yesterday's beech felling escapades and clearing away the debris from the pine that we felled a year last January and stacking the log sections that we can use on the woodburner next winter. All good work.

On the not so good front, I have been suffering from some not very pleasant gastric issues for the past 48 hours which have left me somewhat weak and pathetic, so any running or cycling has been out of the question. I am just hoping it clears up pronto as I need to get a run or two in before the race on Sunday. I am anticipating some serious carb-loading in order to replenish my energy reserves before the weekend .... mmm, good excuse for cake!

Potager ponderings

I am expecting the current gloriously spring-like weather to be rudely interrupted any time soon, so I have had a frenzy of seed sowing and seedling potting-on today. Just for my own records this is the current state of play;
French beans Cokkel - sown direct 23 March
Carrots Early Nantes - ditto
Spinach Tetona - ditto
Mixed salad leaves - ditto
Rocket - sown 27 March
Squash Avalon F1 hybrid (trailing) - seeds now sprouting in pots
Squash Winter Festival F1 hybrid - seeds now sprouting in pots
Cornichon (gherkins) Vert Petit de Paris and Fin de Meaux (trailing) - well established in modules
Baby sweetcorn Sweet Baby - now sprouting in pots
Tomato Tigerella - 2nd set of leaves forming, in pots
Tomato Llidi - removed seedlings from heqted propagator today and transferred to pots
Tomato Harbinger - as above
Tomato sweet olive - failed in heated propagator so sowed anew in unheated propagator
Chilli Hot Tapin - faild in heated propagator (disappointing)
Chilli Rouge Long de Cayenne - great success last year so sowed today in modules in unheated propagator
Capsicum Mini bell peppers for pot growing - failed in heated propagator so sowed anew in modules in unheated propagator
Capsicum Yolo Wonder - v successful last year so sowed today in modules in unheated propagator
Courgette Verte Noire Maraichère - sowed today in pots
Beetroot - only 2 germinated in heated propagator so sowed today in modules in unheated propagator
Potatoes - Rocket and Charlotte still chitting - hopefully plant next week
Garlic, shallots, red onions, yellow onions all well established and on target for harvest later in the year

And I think that's about it! I still haven't got a fixed planting out plan, but I am sure that will develop in due course

Late this afternoon, with Claudine's encouragement, Andy took down an elder and a beech tree that are alongside the little path that is in front of our terrasse and which leads down to the woods. The new Stihl chainsaw that we bought in the UK has been christened (it's a beast!), more light will now come into the front of the house and we have some wood for next winter that is the perfect diameter for the woodburner. Result!

Paperwork and officialdom

Gah! Enough already! UK company year end accounts to finalise, French year end 'Déclarations' of various sorts (Crikey, don't they just love their acronyms!), paperwork for re-registering the new car in France.... yes, it's been one of those 'it's about time I got around to it' days as these jobs are in danger of becoming overwhelming. So I am finally 'on with it' and I know I will feel a darned sight better for having got these jobs out of the way, even if the act of actually applying myself to them has been somewhat painful. Onwards!

Arse update

For all those that have expressed their very kind concern for my comfort and well-being, I am pleased to report that all is now as it should be - the old bits and pieces voiced no complaint during today's 38km roadie outing on the quiet roads west of Pamiers, a circuit I last did in early October. On that occasion, I really struggled, despite the circuit only having a couple of short uphill sections, but I was feeling really unfit, it was hot and, well, let's be honest, I just couldn't be bothered, hence the time of 2 hrs that it took me to get round! Today, in contrast, 1 hr 35mins and we weren't even pushing it! Excellent. So the way forward is increased kilometrage (is that a word?) and back onto the Cols. Wish me luck.

Bodily stuff

My body is a temple. My body is a temple and I should treat it accordingly. I must worship it and accord it the respect that it deserves (am I on the right track here?!). I think I do a pretty good job really, generally, all things considered. Today was a case in point. I gave it a right good thrashing yesterday, pounding up the hill to the Cabane des roses and thoroughly deserved an earful today when I asked The Body to perform again on the Dalou trail race circuit. It cooperated on the first hill, pretty much, ish, but back down at road level, with the second hill looming before us, it overrode my admittedly weak demands to 'give it beans' and instead ensured that I slowed to a pace at which I could enjoy the spring sunshine and notice the woodland flowers instead of sweating like a donkey (what a gurl!) with my head down whilst punishing The Body... for what, exactly?! I got the message loud and clear. Time for some gentle stretching and self-massage to release tired and knotted muscles, time for some gentle runs over the coming week to keep the legs turning over and then hopefully, hopefully The Body will reward me for my dedication by a knockout performance at the Citadelles on the 4 April!

On another topic, I enjoyed a lovely lunch with Pat in Foix today - been ages since we saw each other for one reason or another - but we are both suitably inspired for some hardcore mountain bike and adventure race action this autum. Bring it on!

Spring, training and sowing

It's been up to 20 degrees again today. Over the past week, the hedgerows and meadows have burst into life with a rainbow of spring colours pushing through the increasingly greener grass. Stichwort, periwinkle, viola, not to mention the beautiful dogs tooth violet that is asserting its authority over the dead bracken up towards the Port de LhersIt is now less than 2 weeks before the Trail des Citadelles and I am running out of time to do any meaningful training. But I did manage a 3.6km with 300m of ascent run this morning up to the Cabane des roses which took me 30 minutes. My heart rate monitor told me that I spent most of those 30 minutes in zones 4 and 5 which meant I was working hard, but everything felt good and hopefully the exertion will have done me some good. The snow up there is melting rapidly but the views are still stunningThis afternoon, I sowed French beans, Early Nantes carrots, spinach and some mixed salad leaves in the potager. A dip in temperature is forecast for this weekend, so I may have to put the cloche into service. More digging yet to do and compost to turn into the old soil from which I lifted the parsnips to ready it for future planting, but I am loving working in my potager again.