Solneu Lleida

Found out today that the 90 day tourist visa that I thought we were granted for each country is actually for the combined Senchgen countries. Since we'll be at least 60 days in France alone, it means we won't be doing the France, Italy, Greece and then Turkey route we had planned on in the length of time we'd ...

... 3 weeks of work time, not 3 weeks time!’. But who knows what that could mean.

Those Chickens are up to Something Mrs. Tweedy

Chickens are hilarious! They’re always running around like there’s a great catastrophe and the different sounds they make are quite hilarious.

Every night before dark it’s important to shut up the chickens to protect them from predators. When we arrived, the chickens were ...

A gory day full of raw meat, but surprisingly it didn’t bother me. Some issues that have arisen when discussing the idea of setting up our own small holding with the attempt to be as self-sufficient as possible was whether or not we could deal with it. So far it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

We’ve stayed a few extra days at this farm with the anticipation of butchering day. Took 2 pigs to the abattoir ...

... between France, Spain and Andorra with 3000m peaks rising up all around. Up past charming little villages where all the little homes are made of stone stacked upon one another with only the slate rooves peeking through.

We drove the truck as far up the road as possible, and then even a little farther than we should have. Feels like complete mountain wilderness, but there are ...

On the hunt for wild mushrooms. A classic French activity is to scour the woods after an autumn night of rain and harvest he bounty of fungi that appears almost as if by magic. Quite the site to see an old couple emerging from the woods heavy-laden with overflowing bags of mushrooms from their top-secret harvesting grounds.

On the property is an area they call the ‘mushroom bank’. Walking ever so slowly back and forth, stopping ...

Finally the day that had been talked about all week was here. One little (not so little at +100lbs) wiener pig was in the sow park and needed to be moved to be with his buddies. He was only there due to a previous escape and was starting to get picked on by Shaft (the big black breeding boar). Time to get him out before he gets any bigger and more difficult.

Now catching a pig is not an ...

I’ve always loved cheese and have gained a greater appreciation for the different varieties, tastes, and smells of it over the years (beyond Kraft Singles and Mild Cheddar). So far in France, Ive greatly enjoyed tasting cheeses whose names I cannot pronounce, and can eagerly say that there’s nothing I’ve tasted that I didn’t like. Certainly some more than others, but nothing ...

Un petit TP de deux jours dans les Pyrénées dans le cadre du cours de Fonctionnement des écosystèmes. Bon...les écosystèmes du sud de la France étaient un petit peu décevant, mais les paysages étaient vraiment beaux.

La plus haute altitude à laquelle on s'est rendu : 2200 m

The trek into the house was about a kilometer from the main road and post box. A tiny gravel track has no room for mistakes as it snakes it’s way down a steep hill. Hairpin turns soo sharp that you need to stop and do a 3-point (sometimes 5) to get around them.

The house is an old French Farmhouse which they have restored and expanded. Evidence of ...

Today was the day to head into the mountains. Having never cycled in mountains before, I was quite dubious about the task. Especially considering my track record. So far on this trip, ‘hills’ have caused me great pain and anxiety. So in comparison, ‘mountains’ seemed like they might be a mite bit worse.

Pulling away from the bustle of city life, and the crowded together towns, it was quite refreshing to have ...