Looking at the Pic Every Day

My next HelpX hosts were not in the department of the Ariège, but just over the border to the west in the Haute-Garonne.  I hadn't previously wanted to do any work in this area, as I had the distinct impression that real estate was much more expensive there (this ended up being true).  However, the Smiths were getting some house guests and it was time to move on out.  Plus - these new hosts were friends of some hosts we stayed with last year and it's always fun to see a new area. I hadn't yet stayed with hosts with small children (on purpose) but I found that I needed to break my rule for the next two hosts because there just aren't any other hosts in the region without children.

Even the cutest, most well-behaved children can be tiring and especially so for someone who has chosen not to have kids or her own.  HelpXing is difficult anyway (as I've mentioned in other posts), but HelpXing in a household with children adds an extra level of discomfort and difficulty (at least for me).

Luckily, my new hosts were very considerate and gave up their own room so I could have a bit more privacy and quiet and never asked me to look after or play with the children unless I wanted to.  But two children under 6 years old are a handful  - especially when the 35 degree +/95+F temperatures caused major meltdowns (for all of us!). Gin and tonics with mint and lemon helped greatly.

Here are some photos of their home with its awesome balcony overlooking the river (which was VERY refreshing - if not freezing on those super hot days).  I spent several hours drinking coffee and reading in that shady and quiet spot.  The view across the garden looks directly at the Pic de Cagire.  Looking at this mountain every day was the inspiration for my hike in the previous post.

   

My main task while I was here was to beat back the jungle growing between the laurel bushes that had been planted last year. Here are BEFORE and AFTER photos:

It was a huge amount of work, especially since the laurels lined the entire length of the property and the area where I was working was full of biting red ants and the (biting) horseflies were out in force!

I also did some yard maintenance (I'm becoming pretty adept at using a riding lawnmower....just call me "Farmer Ted"), weeding in the vegetable garden (of course!) and making river rock rings around the fruit trees.