The fields are but barren, a stubble of sunflowers and corn

next year it will be sown again and all will be reborn

 like the next years field, we are just sowing our seeds

i think this coming year will be a brilliant crop....and hopefully a very good read!!!

Happy new year, bonne année

Today was not the right day for our pets 

having packed them up ...we are not due until tomorrow at the vets

the language that on an everyday basis i try 

sometimes leaves me frustrated, to which point i just want to cry

The sun is trying hard, but it is still windy and very chill

we completely avoid the shady side of the lac way up on the hill

a kestrel glides silently, his vantage point upon a telegraph pole

perhaps he might find a beetle, mouse, shrew or vole

The storm last night is threatening grey and dark this morning

the market was devastated, blown apart even a hefty awning

By the lake the waves were lapping like the sea

the wind was unkind, whistling through both Milou and me

It's beautiful, bright and warm on our backs

the sun is lighting up the mountains and also our tracks

Marc is braving his hip and doing our walk

time for all three of us to meander and talk

There was a storm last night and it is still raining today

by mid afternoon the blue sky was chasing the clouds away

Milou was disobedient on her walk

so much so, that i put her on short lead and we had a talk

we walked in the wet to the tennis court

where we found friends, working of lunch playing some sport

It is Christmas day, we are taking our walk

the ducks on the lake are all of a fluster, chat and talk

i love this life in France, with my family of five

they are great individuals, full of happiness

which makes me fulfilled and very much alive

The France meteo was right again

grey not cold and drizzling rain

Milou and i brave the weather

she does not care whatsoever

the main thing is that she is running free

i can also relate to that, as in her there is me

Milou is patient in the car, while we do the rest of the 

shop for tomorrow and Christmas day

then it is her turn, off to the lake to run and play

there is a large cloud suspended above the highest peak

the forecast is said to change for this, our Christmas week

Bagnere's market, a beautiful restaurant and a col to climb

the view from the top is amazing, the entire trip, a really good time

on top of the col a shepherd took his flock of sheep 

quite a spectacle, to more mountain steep

he is whistling to his dogs who seem a long way below

 simple instructions tell them what they need to know

The moon is still in the bright blue sky

we listen to the extraordinary cry of the gru overhead 

all the rain yesterday has softened the ground on which we tread

there are tracks of wild pig and deer

i love the lake it is a beautiful spot and i am jolly glad to be here

They hit the forecast on the head

yesterday's morning was cast in pinkish red

red sky in the morning

is the shepherds warning.

we did a wet walk down to the tennis courts

my mind was elsewhere as porthos is out of sorts

Tomorrow is forecast with heavy rain

but it is mid week and bright blue and sunny again

the mistletoe is now highly visible in the trees

Milou is bounding in front  scuffing up the leaves

When we set off it was blustery and grey

the sun did try to come out when we were about halfway

the mountains are clear and encapsulated in white

as always for me an enjoyable sight

a small plane circuits the lake once then twice

back to the silence and peace, that here is so nice

At four the lake and the sky were azure blue

only a very hazy silhouette of the mountains in view

it is bright and sunny and feels much like spring

who knows what janvier and fevrier might well bring

The clouds around the lake are like cotton wool balls

suspended by wires from the sky

Milou chases down to the shore, quite spectacularly, the birds in their hundreds take off and fly

this is a first for weeks that marc and i, do the whole walk

it gives us time together to plan and talk

I open the curtains to a church emblazoned by the sun

it will be another fabulous day for a walk and a run

a great white egret wades along the shore

up to its belly but feet still firmly on the floor

a heron glides gracefully on to land

and we continue our tour as planned

Walking through sunny lanes today

I was thinking, how could i get Mark out for lunch to play

Mark is looking at diet and watching his food

but not to turn up to his surprise tennis lunch

......would just be rude

We are off to the vide then the hillside beyond Monleon

when we reach the top there is a beautiful panorama

majestic as always and full of drama

below the forests stretch for mile after mile 

it leaves me breathless for quite some while

We climb up to Monlaur chapel tonight

the countryside is bathed in a pink, mauve and blue

from the top, the best in the Gers, an absolutely unadulterated view

for Milou she is just happy to leap and bound

ever alert to every rustle or new sound

I know i keep repeating, but the mountains are so very clear

it makes you think that thirty kilometres is also very near

you are only a brisk snow or ski ride away

not far with mates to go off and play

a bright sunny day for our marche noel

bric-a- brac and canny crafts to sell

a horse driven cart with two festive santas, excited children

full of cheer

baubles, bells and tinsel it is of course, that time of year

On the route we always take

you cannot see ten yards in front, 

let alone the other side of the lake.

after thirty minutes the fog lifts and all is revealing

clear again replaced by a magnificent blue ceiling

It must be the thrill of the chase

as up and down, up and down they race

Milou and the collie are one side of the fence

to us it may seem fruitless and make no sense

but they all seem to be having very great fun

and all are certainly getting a jolly good run

Around the lake hangs a heavy fog

it also hangs between me and my dog

she has been good for over a week

until she chooses the wrong place to take a leak

I will have forgiven her by the end of the day

Milou has forgiven me for shouting straight away

Words fail me to describe this lovely December day 

distinct clear and detailed in every single way

the sun filters through the trees but not enough as the frost still clings

on the other side it is sunny and bright and the countryside sings

the suns warmth brings an extra bounce to our step

it really does not feel like winter yet

The mountains this morning 

are etched in detail on every single face

and this afternoon it is as if they were not here

as they have vanished without a trace

Today after a fitful night, i wake up full of the cold

'i do not get flu' was a cry of old

Milou and i still went for a walk

'get on with it' she would say if she could talk

there is a sunny haze surrounding the countryside and lake

covering all in it's opalescent  cape

A solitary heron stands erect in the field

next door they are harvesting the last of the corn yield

we walk through an avenue of dappled trees

the sun is bright as it hits the last of the leaves

Milou runs like a greyhound released from a trap

sending the birds in the hedges all of a flap

we view the church and town from the other side

the black pigs are out and snuffling about

the sun touching their hairy black hides

Today we are again late for our run

up until now the adults had all the fun

a tapas bar in the market we do spy

wine, prawns, calamari, oysters and other small fry

then on for a walk in the mountains covered in thick white 

we all agree it is an incredible sight

The mountains and the surrounding trees are mirrored in the lake

we are on our favoured route that we choose to take

the sun is bright and low in the sky

i am wondering how fast seven months has passed us by

The walk was at Puydarrieux today

the chasse dogs and guns were about

we soon left without delay

they were flushing the sanglier from the corn

milou looked apprehensive and very forlorn

we went back to Castelnau, marc milou and i

and as luck would have it, her four legged chum was passing by

Tonight is magnificent

the lake is cast in pink

the countryside is set on fire

as the sun does slowly sink

For the very first time this year

a crunchy carpet of frost does appear

nether the less it is beautiful clear and bright

at last after days a distinctive mountain view in sight

There is great diversity of hedgerow and trees

planted a few summers ago, for all to please

willows, oaks, poplar, maple, hawthorn and birch

these are a few that we found on our search

cypress weave there way up the hill on either side of the lake

slightly different formation subject to the direction you take

Hundreds of plovers take to the sky

pee-wit, pee-wit we here them cry

apart from the birds on  shore and lake

it is eerily silent make no mistake

a buzzard high on a tree

glides silently over Milou and me

It is very cold, we will have snow this weekend we are told

the rainwater is streaming off the land

to ever full gulley's with muddy banks to expand

there are icy droplets in the air

a redstart flits from post to post seemingly without a care

The heavens opened, heavy rain did fall

we happened to be passing the sheltered courts

or it could have been a close call

up and down the court milou chases

while i put her through her tennis paces

This morning was chill, distinct, clear and very bright

the winter sun plays on the lake and the last of the leaves

a truly inspirational sight

a solitary human inspecting the drains is about all we saw

Milou is happy bounding about, we both have our freedom

who could ask for more

It is sunday afternoon we meet lots of people on our walk

a young man and his puppy stop to have a talk

he identifies Milou's breed correctly, as a labrit

i enquire of him whether the pup is a he or a she

time is tight and we do half a walk for which i feel very mean

in contrast to yesterday the lake is quiet still and serene

There is a bustle in the market, a difference in the air

as we approach December, the beginning of the Christmas fayre

it snowed very heavily last night

leaving all covered in a brilliant white

the mountainside is now covered in snow 

with only a few flecks of the hillside on show

a special haiku for our anniversary

Twenty two years we have travelled this life

together experiencing, as husband and wife

adventures we have shared, culinary, artistic to name but a few 

this does not mean we always share the same point of view

but to make a relationship work, it's about give and take

too much of one or the other presents a fake

but enough of all of this, one thing i do not want to end

is that you will always be my very best friend

The skies are treacherous and a very thunderous grey

the lake is very choppy and the trees are all a sway

a lone heron glides gracefully to the shore, 

mallards that have taken cover under an old oak tree

they all take to the water when they spot Milou and me

Milou has endless energy and needs a running mate

as we arrived at the car park we did not have long to wait

a farm collie that we both know

trotted up the path to say hello

together they walked side by side

then they would dash in crazy circles reaching far and wide

There was a cacophony of noise in the sky

about fifty large birds in typical v formation flew by

they are off for their winter sojourn

by the lac at perrydieux

normally this would be a simple pass through

for these magnificent birds known as gru

This afternoon the forecast is heavy rain

although this will not stop our rugby game

Milou is off chasing wind born leaves

in and out of the already muddy lanes she weaves

I woke this morning to a familiar chomp and a chew

i looked, she stopped, cocked an ear as if to say what's up with you

i-pod earphones, a handmade belt, two leather collars, socks and pants to name but a few

together with the frames and the doors

that have become victims of her devastating jaws

We are late again the sun is low

the lake is covered with a golden glow

the past few days have seen some storm

but the last few days are mild and warm

A dragonfly flits and glitters in the late afternoon sun

we are up in the hills for this evenings run

one side of the church is lit in pink

as the sun starts slowly to sink