Over the hill

The weather was so bad this morning that I skipped my daily swim. It wasn't just the fact that it was raining, it was about 10 degrees colder than yesterday.

It cleared up in the afternoon though, so I went out for the annual "De Ferme en Ferme" in the Val de Dagne. It's an "open farm" event; there were fewer participants this time, and we've visited most of them multiple times, so I decided to go to the buffalo farm, which we haven't visited for some years.

It's going full swing now; they've got about 50 water buffaloes, many of which are pregnant. I took some photos but none of them were much good. See extra for why they are called water buffalo. Mozzarella production is going well, and they have won prizes for it

I ate some buffalo milk ice cream flavoured with sour cherries (very nice) and bought a tub of mozzarella. Then, since I was out that way and the weather had improved dramatically by now, I headed up the hill on the other side of Montlaur to the Fer à Cheval. This is the view from the top looking towards Carcassonne. Theoretically you can see the Pyrenees in the other direction, but not today; too much cloud.

Meanwhile, S was being a sherpa in the Pyrenees, having got up at 5:30 a.m. Also, today is the 24th anniversary of our moving to France. Still not regretting it.