The English Paysanne

We're on a short break in Mazamet so text will follow shortly as my samsung 7 inch is :(too small for my chubby fingers to hit the right keys. We saw a few rocks today.... We also picked up a hunting dog lost on the road, who is now back home with her hunter

Minervois today                                                                The drive back to Mazamet 

A moment from the week at La Singlarie New students learning car mechanics.

Emilie, our first calf to born at La Singlarie back in September 2005, just over a year after we brought the farm gave birth to her calf of 2014 this afternoon.  She is a gentle cow and a wonderful mother. The calf half Limousin like its mum and half Charolais is, farmer J thinks a female. Emilie was calm enough for us to take photos from a short distance as the calf was up and has suckled they have been left to bond together. This evening all the herd welcomed the new member who is already walking and prancing around. Farmer J's going to have to get those ear tags in very soon over the next couple of days as this looks a lively calf who may just give him the run around.

A moment from the week at La Singlarie I didn't make him.

Last January for farmer J's birthday I brought him a home brewing kit , firstly because in his dreams he wants a micro brewery and secondly there is only one type of British beer, Spitfire sold at the supermarket and a little expensive it is.  Yes there are many Belgium and French beers but there alcohol content is far higher (and they are not quiet like an English beer on a Sunday, apparently) plus brewing your own works out far cheaper although don't take into account the number of bottles of beer needed to be drunk in order to be able to reuse them! In order to make the beer it has to be kept at a constant temperature while it is fermenting so its had to wait a while as only the past fortnight has it been keeping at 19 degrees in the bathroom, the heater was on for a few days when temperature got down a bit and a beery smell started to take over the bathroom but today it was bottled. Lots of washing, sterilising, rinsing and draining bottles later and...