Bears, Carnac and a Tumulus

It has been several days since I updated my blog as I have unfortunately become a little addicted to Farm Town on my Facebook page!
I do try to keep politics out of my blog but my heart is full of sadness for the families of the latest British army casualties in Afghanistan, seems such a senseless waste of young lives.
This is a picture of the three boy kitties, all fast sleep in a huddle. Leila of course was asleep upstairs on the bed!

Megan put a picture of our temporary French home several months ago on her blog. The front of the house has changed so much now that it is mid summer. The grape vine which I was convinced was just a bundle of dead wood, has grown and bunches of grapes are growing on the branches. I know absolutely nothing about the care of grape vines but I did cut back a lot of the dead wood and this week cut a lot of the rambling ends off as they were becoming a little wild!. The flowers I have planted in the various pots have thrived and are now so colourful.
This week I have completed a selection of small pastel coloured bears and a rabbit. Will take some pictures during the next few days, starting to work on my bears for the Hugglets show and I am so tired of brown bears hence some colour for a change. Still have to decide what I plan to do with them but must get working as I will have to travel to the UK at the end of July to find a house to rent.
This week we visited the Carnac alignments, neolithic right site on the coast of Brittany and I even caught a glimpse of the sea. The alignments are one of the most spectacular and intriguing monumental series of megaliths in the world (and a very popular tourist destination). Erected some 6000 years ago these approx three thousand monoliths, have been part of the Breton landscape since prehistoric times. Many myths and legends have arisen in connection with the stones (yes some one did apparently count all the stones). One story is that Merlin turned a Roman army to stone. Megaliths have been associated with goblins and treasure is rumoured to be hidden under the stones. There are tales of the stones being human beings and that the stones of Carnac run to drink in the nearest brooks on Christmas night, heaven help anyone who got in the way they would be run over by the stones. Unfortunately roads and houses have been built through and around the stones, some have been removed. There is a museum of archaeology in Carnac which I hope to visit. This is a picture of just a small area of the stones, they are all in perfect rows and evenly spaced. Wonder how they would look from a hot air balloon? The alignments are in three distinct sections and the second picture is a dolmen at one end of the middle section. My research into the menhirs in Brittany has resulted in some interesting information and I think that is only in recent years that they have been more cared for. In the past dolmens have been used as chicken/sheep houses and apparently even a home for the local village idiot.
The stones extend for several kilometres and driving down the winding road I saw a sign with something I had not yet seen I had the opportunity to explore. A tumulus is a mound of earth covering a tomb and this one on a private property can be viewed by the public for the princely sum of 1 Euro. This is a view from the front, unfortunately the door does rather spoil the historical aspect of the site.
I was brave enough to bend almost double to enter through the narrow entrance which opens out into a small chamber which has been fitted with an electric light. I don't like confined places too much and glancing up at the roof was very nervous to see the ceiling consisted of one enormous circular stone, held in place by the dry stone wall I presume. Mervyn laughed at me and said that as it had been standing for several hundred years it was unlikely to collapse now. As a bunch of exuberant children were bouncing around on the top of the mound I was still not too happy!
My final two pictures are of the grand entrance to the private residence. Strictly private said the signs in French but I could not resist taking photographs of these very old walls with amazing stone carvings. Could just imagine horses and carriages driving down this driveway.


Well another week ends in sunny Brittany, Tuesday is a big national holiday in France, Bastille Day and there seem to be exciting happenings planned in various town and cities. Something to look forward to.....

To him in whom love dwells, the whole world is but one family. ~Buddha