Glorious day here in the Vallee du Mars in the Auvergne region of France, following a pleasant one yesterday, when we walked down the valley to the next village, St Vincent de Salers, then back again through the woods the other side; however this entailed a very preciptious up- and down footpath, which kept disappearing under last years leaves . We made it back home in time for supper. The snows on the Puy Mary and Puy de Tortue at the top of the valley are beginning to melt with more and more darker patches of ground appearing. We seem to be lucky with the weather at this time of year, as it was sunny and warm last year too. The road and pathsides are full of wild flowers; cowslips, wood anemones, violets, wild hellebores, pulmonaria are some of the ones I can recognise and name , and there are others that I can't. More and more are coming out each day as the weather warms up and the days get longer. Last week the weather was misty and a bit gloomy, with some rain on Thursday and Friday.

We have been here for over a week now and are feeling more settled in. The house is responding to being occupied, as it is getting warmer inside, after being left cold for several months during the winter. Fortunately all the hard work we did last year in the garden has paid off, as it still looks fairly tidy, only the grass is just beginning to grow a bit, and the few shrubs we left are in bloom.