Looking back over the last week I have to admit that we’re making a slow start to 2021. That is perhaps not ideal when we have a long list of projects to accomplish and things we want to progress. I haven’t spoken about my ‘To Do’ list for some time but, rest assured it continues to have as many things added as it does removed when I complete anything! The discrete list of jobs remains in excess of 130 – and that doesn’t even cover the items that we have put into the ‘Medium Term’ list.
The past week has included a number of those beautifully bright and crisp winter mornings with clear skies, not a cloud in sight and brilliant sunshine. It does of course mean that we have woken to a number of frosts as a result of those clear skies which has made the countryside magical. Thankfully we have given our banana plant its winter jacket so, hopefully, it will make it through to spring.
In Kergudon and the gîtes I have put all the Christmas decorations away, which is now almost 3 day’s work on its own, which makes the buildings look so bare for a while until we readjust. Amazingly, despite having added to our collection of decorations again this year they seem to take up less space in the store room. Should I be concerned?!
We have taken advantage of the beautifully clear days to take the dogs out for a number of walks which, yesterday, saw us stumble into the local hunt in St. Cadou forest. Hunters don’t generally have a good reputation with the non-hunters in France, or at least in this part of it in our experience, but the hunter who saw us was very kind and gently reminded us where best to avoid.
In the past 6 years when we have taken the dogs for a walk in hunting season while we were careful, we weren’t completely aware of the specific rules around who can hunt when. We were told that the Saint Cadou forest, as our other favourite the forest of Cranou, are state owned ‘Forêts domaniale’ that are very closely regulated and we have now found where to look to check to see when the hunts take place.
It seems that it isn’t just us who appreciates walking through this beautiful region of Finistère and the Monts D’Arrée specifically, as there have been a couple of articles published recently highlighting the attractions of the region.
One, combined the delights of walking with its culinary heritage and the writer met up with a close neighbour of ours, Patrick Hervé, who amongst many of his achievements, has written a number of books on the Breton cuisine.
Also, the esteemed newspaper, Le Figaro, wrote an article recognising both the Monts D’Arrée and the forest of Huelgoat, 15 minutes from us, as 2 of the 10 most beautiful places in Brittany. While we might be biased, we couldn’t agree more and think this is truly a beautiful region to visit and that Kergudon is the ideal base for you to explore.
Next week we should be able to make a little more progress in the projects that we need to achieve and it is warming up a little – but so too getting a bit wetter!
Salut.