Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Crusoe's Bucolic Constitutional

Every day here for the last few weeks has been lovely, almost too lovely!  I have been yearning for cold, crisp, misty autumnal days but it is not to be, all we have had is glorious sunshine and temperatures into the twenties an Indian Summer for sure, personally I think it's a bit eerie for November.   Every morning I take Crusoe out for his walk, today I thought, I would take you with me...

I know this herd is a happy herd, they belong to our neighbour Michel, he has a bit of knack when it comes to animals, he is dark and good looking our very own Heathcliffe, he rides his horses bareback and is always willing to lend a hand with his tractor in our garden and won't except payment. Every Christmas we buy him  a few of the finest bottles Bordeaux has to offer and I add add a few interesting home made chutneys, preserves and sometimes when I feel ambitious a special cake, I have learnt that's just the way things are done around here.

A view of the Château, I don't see it as a Château I see it as a Castle it dates from the twelfth century, it attracts droves of tourists and schoolchildren, inside its a museum, where they teach the history of Medieval France, most of the locals see it as a Walt Disney Castle it has been overly restored with the help of European grants and not necessarily remained true, most of the villagers tell me they preferred it as a ruin..they played amongst its crumbling walls as children, much more romantic but they admit it does bring much needed money into the local economy.

Ahhh Crusoe..."Come on, throw my stick"...

Proud dog, valiantly retrieving the stick

I am a clever dog!

Crusoe killing his stick

Eastern view of the Chateau

Can you see that egg shaped thing in the tree, what is it? A nest of some sort but what?

Autumn Colours

At the top of the hill you can see the highest peeks of the French Pyrenees and beyond those mountains lies Spain

The local Pyrneean goat herd, I love them Crusoe does not, I have to keep him on a tight leash when I speak to the goats in his presence, once he jumped into their enclosure, a battle ensued for hours, he would not come out and it resulted in this

After the Constitutional, Crusoe likes to relax in his favourite chair... and me... well this morning I made myself a large cup of coffee, changed the lens on my camera and practised some stylised shots of antique books of which there is more to come...




30 comments:

  1. Hello Dash

    You live in a beautiful place and I loved being along for the walk. Crusoe retrieving sticks is highly amusing. I think our Spice Girl, a rescue hound mix is related to Crusoe - she behaves the same and her favourite game in the whole world is retrieving sticks and God forbid if another dog came near when she is on her game. I am curious about the egg shaped object in the tree, if you find out, tell.

    I loved seeing this part of the world and the fall colours are so soft and golden.

    Helen xx

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    1. Helen you are so lovely, you are always welcome here with Spice Girl, Crusoe is a ladies dog, he generously gives up his sticks for the females, if you ever want to come and stay and paint you know how to contact me.
      X

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  2. It looks so beautiful there, I wish it were that warm here in Yorkshire.
    Might it be a bee or wasps nest?

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    1. Miss Rayne I think you are right, either bees or wasps, it's huge and perfectly egg shaped, nature is incredible. I am spending Christmas in Yorkshire for the first time in twelve years I can't wait!

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  3. What a lovely walk...I hope the good weather lasts until I arrive in France next week...

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    1. Fly, here down in deepest, Western France it is unseasonally warm, I hope it holds out for you.

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  4. I love ALL of those animals. All of them. And, for me, dogs rule!

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  5. Oooo .. I'm intreigued now .... we need a pic of the dark handsome Heathcliffe riding his horse ... a Girl has to get her thrills where she can!

    Vicky x

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  6. Belle région, Dash. You and I enjoy our daily walks with the pooches... even though I do not often see old castles on mine, alas... :-) Loved seeing your best friend Crusoe. So much personality and spunk in those Jack Russels (at least I think that is what he is...) if one can handle their energy level. Crusoe is lucky he does not have to walk on leash like the Manhattan dogs I have seen here in New York for the last few days... A bientôt... Veronique (French Girl in Seattle - reporting from NYC, exceptionally, for a few more hours...)

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    1. Ah Non Veronique, Crusoe is not a Jack Russell he is a Smooth haired Fox Terrier.
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  7. Glad to see you back in the Blogosphere after your comment last week about tweaking something and losing your blog (gave me shudders at the thought!). A beautiful post especially as the rain is pouring outside my window and the wind is whipping the trees, tossing those leaves about our yard and the neighbors. . .it is not an Indian Summer here. I must add how surprised I've been this year during our trip in October to have people in Italy and Slovenia refer to their weather as Indian Summer. Living out here in America's Pacific Northwest, I thought that was a phrase only we 'westerners' used.

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  8. L’œuf dans l'arbre est un nid de frelons asiatiques. Il s'agit d'une espèce asiatique de frelons qui est arrivée en France dans une jarre en provenance de Chine. Depuis, le frelon asiatique a envahi presque toutes les régions françaises et il fait des ravages dans le secteur de l'apiculture, car il s'attaquent aux abeilles et détruit de nombreuses ruches. A tel point, que le gouvernement français a inscrit le frelon asiatique dans la liste des éspéces nuisibles et que tout doit être fait pour l'éradiquer de sol européen.

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