We have been to this home here before. Twice in fact. But, some things have changed.

For a start, Mick and I have never been in France in October before, and we are keen to observe the changes in the scenery and behaviours (if any) of the locals.

The first thing we noticed as we travelled by bus from Perpignan towards Fenouillet were the vineyards.

Many of the grapes had been picked, but there were still plenty of lovely juicy bunches on some of the plots, more the closer we got to Caudiès.

We could see groups of pickers in some plots collecting the grapes before they were emptied into the back of pick-up trucks or trailers which were later pulled by tractors. We saw a few trailers filled with grapes heading very slowly to the wine cooperative in Maury.

I desperately want to get some photos of this activity.

Normally we decline an offer to return and complete a (second / repeat) house sit. And when I say “we”, I mean “me”. I prefer to see as much of the world as I can, regardless of how much we loved the sit. But this home is different. We spent 7 weeks here during late 2016 and early 2017, and then again when we arrived last December for ‘our year in France’, we spent 11 weeks here. As we were leaving in early March, our friend and home owner asked us if we could return in October. She was not sure what she was going to do but she’d think of something. And, we gladly agreed.

Last time we were here, we cared for her cat and her two (pet) sheep. But, we had learned that last month one of her sheep had died a rather gruesome death (as mentioned in a previous post) .

On our way up the winding hill to our friend’s home on the day we arrived, she told us that she now had no sheep. Poor Betty, her remaining sheep, had become very lonely without her companion. Mick and I could understand that, and we were not surprised when our friend went on to tell us that she used to spend long periods of time just sitting in the yard with Betty so she had company.

But, we were surprised about what she told us next; how she got Betty to her new home.

I must backtrack first in order to provide some background to this tale.

I have mentioned these sheep in previous posts – as one of the jobs we had to do during our first sit was to take them for a walk from time-to-time to provide them with some fresh fodder. They were amazing escape artists and Mick was forever trying to rig up some barrier to stop them from getting into places they were not allowed. During our second stay here, we were alerted by our friend’s neighbours that the sheep had escaped, so Mick had to go and get Betty on the lead in order to get them both back into their yard.

Now, when Mick and I, and our friends Helen and Derek, stayed in Caudiès for a week in August, we noticed that the chambre d’hôte owner had some sheep in a small plot near her and her husband’s converted cave (winery), now their accommodation business, where we spent a fabulous week.

Quite a few times during our weeks in Fenouillet, Mick and I, and sometimes our guests, have walked down the Gorge de Saint Jaume. It is a truely spectacular walk which starts about 200m from the house. Some parts of it are quite narrow with pretty steep drops down to the river. But you can get from Fenouillet all the way to Caudiès – a distance of about 4km on foot, compared to 6km by car.

I’m sure you’ve connected those two tales; that is indeed how our friend took Betty to her new home: on a lead down the gorge and through the village to the much-smaller plot besides the chambre d’hôte. Our friend also told us that she was asked to stop visiting Betty every day, as Betty was distressed and confused, and not settling in. A few weeks have now past and the news is that Betty has made some new friends, and she will be staying where she is.

Our friend has asked us to visit Betty during our stay to make sure she is ok, another first for us – ‘house calls’.

The days are starting to get shorter, but there is still a lot of sunshine is this part of France – thank goodness. While Mick and I did bring some of the rain we were experiencing in Normandy with us, that did not last too long.

Within a few days we had met up with some of the locals and we already have some social gatherings planned. Mick could not wait to get started on the fish stock for one of my favourite meals he makes – fisherman’s stew. We decided to drive into Quillan to a larger supermarket to get the seafood he needed and were surprised that the fish head was free.

When we returned from that shopping trip this morning, we found this crate of freshly-harvested fruit and vegetables we had ordered for €4. An elderly couple from the village has a plot of land just past our friend’s home and it’s a bit of pot-luck about what you get – but it is very fresh.

And, on Monday, another local is going to deliver some freshly-cleaned (organic) rabbit that he has grown. He farms them in Caudiès, where he lives with his family in a yurt.

Oh, and we got these for free.

The chestnut trees around here are dropping chestnuts everywhere. And, it doesn’t not take long to collect quite a few of them, so long as you get in before the wild pig (sanglier).

Mick and I have quite a few excursions planned out for ourselves this month, many we have done before, but as I said, we want to see how they differ from our previous experiences.

The day we arrived, this was on the sky.

A sign pointing to Fenouillet.