Spring

We have had a mild spring but with little rain.  It has meant the task of getting the house ready for the summer has been much more enjoyable, in stark contrast to last year's cold spring.  Then the fruit and wild flowers were at least 3 weeks late, whereas spring 2014 has seen everything well underway.

Last week we spotted our first Hoopoe. They overwinter in North Africa and head north as the mild air engulfs the Mediterranean.  This is an exceptionally early arrival this year.  David took this photo of a young Hoopoe who spent a long time sitting on our roof top, observing the cats in the garden below, completely unruffled by their presence.  It is a very welcome sight with its colourful and distinctive markings, spotted crest and elegant beak which it uses for digging insects out of the earth.  Hoopoe's do make it to the UK occasionally if they overshoot their migration routes, because of this they were recently featured on Tweet of the Day on BBC Radio 4.

Olivier Augier from the organic farm at Les Bassaquets has been preparing the large field immediately below the hameau which was formally fallow.  Last autumn they ploughed it up and imported some top soil.  In January they sowed wheat and this weekend he was out using his beautiful Appaloosa horse to roll the field.  He explained that he was breaking the stems of the wheat to make it grow more shoots from the base.

 

Olivier has started a business taking people on trips around the valley in his calèche drawn by his horses Apanor and Alize.  Perhaps one of our groups will give it a go!