Summer: I love to wake up in the morning and listen to the song of the birds, the deer passing by below my garden, the sound of nuts falling on my roof thanks to the efforts of a mischievous squirrel, and also, the sensation of the early morning dew underfoot.
Autumn: the sound and feeling of dried leaves crunching under my feet.
Winter: I love looking out of the window to see my horse standing in the snow. It calls to me, neighing it is breakfast time. “Bring me my barley!”
Spring: I love walking up the narrow path that leads to my home, looking at all the new plants that are springing up and trying to remind myself of the names of the flowers – the Geneva bugleweed, the ground ivy ……
To think that I’ve been living here with the seasons for 23 years already!
At the beginning it was a desire to escape a place and a way of life that did not suit me. Having child-like dreams so marked that I wanted to make them real. And sure enough things turned out okay! An advert, a reply, a journey, and my arrival at the Place des Capots. That was back in 1989 and I was just 19.
There was a hasty setting-up, the taste of the bohemian life, then a wonderful encounter followed by two wonderful children, and in this way life continued.
My childhood dream was to have a small house in the middle of the woods with horses all around. And yes I got there after 15 years of hard work transforming the wilderness into a field worthy of the name! And the work never stops! But that is far from everything. Above all I think of my hang-glider son, an extraordinary person who flies with the eagles, and of my daughter, so gracious and who, like me, is mad about horses.
Then there was a second encounter, a second wonderful moment. Such twists and turns, and ups and downs. But when one is just a little bit willful, things don’t always go the way one wants!
Now I am in a position to give something back, to devote my time to be able to offer - and be in - a more ‘universal love.’ Above all it’s not letting oneself be overwhelmed by a way of life that just “takes and takes” and instead be more in a spirit of “here it is, take what you want, you’re welcome to it, and if I can do you some good that makes me more than satisfied.” So what I do is break in young horses, organize horse treks, and accompany handicapped people and young people with difficulties to discover things about horses. Everything is an art after all. Everything depends on how you do things, how one loves life and how you can offer things to others.
Clearing the land, making my own firewood, making sure my (water) spring is kept clean, and maintaining my solar heating system – being self-sufficient takes time and energy, but it does give me the freedom I need. In this way I am gradually getting to where I want to be. But I have not yet done everything that my valley has to offer.
And then, yes, there is music too! You love to dance, to watch dancing, laughing, smiling, and looking at me like I’m your star. Wey-heh! Does that ever do my soul the world of good (just joking of course!)
It’s been great sharing all this with you.