I lost my camera for a few days! 2 little wrens have made a sweet home  in George's work shed!

I think they found his wall plugs.

Painting, so far of a farm near Fragny. The farm is traditional of the area with a square tower. It remains largely a farming community here. Centred around the raising of the large white Charolais Cows. We do have a large Dutch community many of their homes are their holiday retreats. The harsh winters has prevents the area becoming too busy. It's still bizarre driving to the shops along magnificent ,yet deserted roads. It's rare to meet an English person although if I hung out in Autun cafés more I guess I'd find allsorts. The summers are long and generally hot. I actually live in one of the highest parts of the park so can be a little cooler.

Ths gosling, Wee Wee is getting bigger. Wee Wee is after the constant  high pitched  cheeping.

Embden geese can be white or brown, the white neck feathers are just showing. Wee Wee could be going either way! I still have eggs incubating in a homemade polystyrene box with a light bulb and a glass of water and thermometer. It has eggs with dates written on and marks so I know which way up the eggs are. I am turning the eggs 3 X a day.

Poppies are still going strong and this is a walnut tree.  

My atelier is soo cold. I had to abandon ship, move my computer and sit in the warmer kitchen.

We have wood stoves to keep us warm. The water was drained out of the pipes yesterday so as not to encourage the freezing and then bursts. We do have a spring here that flows very clear. Normally it's pumped to the house. While the night temperatures plunge to -12 we just fill buckets and do away with frail pipes. It is fun temporarily but soon becomes a chore. We shall tackle washing up tomorrow and have to venture out to fetch gas for our cooker as we have run out. The sun is lovely during the day, it's a great lifter of spirits. I photographed some corners briefly and tackled a little more of my rag rug, the reverse is rather attractive too. I am using a fine nosed pair of pliers to pull through my lengths of rag.

This kind of rug is a vast consumer of old tired sheets. Some of the sheets I have dyed, some naturally with walnut husks. Then after long lookings ont comp to learn the art of dying I cracked and bought dye for blue and green. I still want to learn to dye things but I don't have access to chemists for chemicals. Pot ash may help I need some plants too and winter may not be the right time. I am thinking I'd like to grow woad. But I digress. My advice to a would be starter of this kind of thing is begin smaller on a little chair rug. This way you can manage the colour combos a little more beautifully if this is your will.

I have been bitten by the bug though and I am looking for a loom next. 

A few more images to go with my last post. This image was shot at Montbrun near the River Tarn after coming over the Cevennes National park. We drove up the mountain over the plateau of the park . The road takes a steep route with hairpins one after another.

Florac has a beautiful pool with a restaurant beside with mesmerising trout. 

Stone tiles like scaly skins.

I love dappled strong light and shade. The green streaked pot too  on the far right of the shelf.

I have worked in 2 organic wholefood shops now, I also tend to gravitate towards the kind of towns that have these shops. I get these places with all the personal ads often offering a caravan in a field to rent.

Painting of Petiton