I’m going to do very little today, partly as it looks like the rain will come in sooner rather than later, but also as I’m saving my legs for another walk tomorrow, when it looks a bit more promising.

In the meantime, here’s another orchid that I spotted yesterday evening a couple of minutes away from my house – apparently it’s ‘ophrys fuciflora’, the late spider orchid.

Another early start to make the most of the sunshine, and this time a return trip to the Vallon de Combau (or ‘Combeau’, depending on which signage you see), for the classic loop I did last year with Helen & John up to the 1951m Tête Chevalière. The summit is actually one of the least interesting aspects in fact (and starting at 1400m, it’s not a challenging ascent at all), but the clifftop views afforded by the walk there, and the fauna and flora are where the interest lies.

Sadly no bouquetins today, but a marvellous floral display, and some marmots came out to play. And the weather behaved itself rather longer than I was expecting it to.

…so the bike was put to good use early this morning (to make the most of the sunshine), with a delightful little ride to the two pretty villages of Aurel and Saint Benoît, and after lunch a little stroll up the combe just beyond Romeyer, where I spotted a few nice orchids, before hotfooting it home as I sensed rain was on the way (it was!)

The weather pattern seems to be set for this week… nice mornings and afternoon storms, so remembering that early birds catch the worms, I set off from home at 7am to make the most of the sunshine, with a walk from Col de Rousset south to the But de l’Aiglette. That’s a bit of a misnomer now, as it’s Griffon vultures rather than eagles that rule the roost here.

Anyway, what a stunning walk… I’d done the first half of it before, but it was lovely today to get all the way to the But itself, and then to do the diversion back via the Rochers de Chironne, overlooking the Col de Rousset.

Even better, I was back in Die in time to get some cakes for my visit this afternoon to an English friend who’s staying in Charens with French friends, and was even back home before 1pm for luncheon.

I’m trying to be well behaved and doing very little… well, I’ve sort of succeeded today, with the overdue laundry (it wasn’t going to dry at Easter, so had to wait), a short walk up the Ravin des Charoses (with the emphasis on the ‘roses’ part!), a trundle down to market, mowing part of the lawn (I’ve left the other part for the moment, as it’s got some wild flowers that insects are enjoying), and, as I’ve got the car, a short drive up to the Col de Romeyer to catch a bit of evening light after an afternoon showery spell. All very pleasant.

I’m back in Romeyer for a long half term – not quite as planned, as the couple I was coming with had to stay in Devon at the last minute to care for an elderly relative, so I’m here solo with the hire car we’d chosen to bring us from Geneva (an easy enough drive via Geneva and the Col de Menée yesterday), and a decidedly mixed forecast! Given that, I think there will be little cycling, lots of relaxation, and plenty of shorter or longer walks in or in between the rain, finding views and flowers, which seem to be in abundance (and somewhat later than last year). I’ll be off to market for starters today, anyway.