We have taken over the care of the horses while Ingeborg and Laurent are away in Egypt. France is experiencing extreme weather and 58 departments were on Storm Alert at the beginning of the week. Our village and the surrounding forest were battered by winds of 120 kph. Branches came down and a plantation of fir trees was more or less flattened but we are thankful to have escaped serious damage.

Bronze was safe in his stable. His leg is now almost healed and he is always anxious to go out into his field. As soon as the electric band is off he shoots past us and rears and kicks with pleasure.

The mud is awful. Here's Liberté stoically waiting as Hugh squelches across the field to serve the mares' breakfast of hay and muesli.

The roof of a far-off farm house lost some slates and the hole has been covered with a bright blue tarpaulin. But look! There are tiny buds on the beech trees. We must be past the winter half-way mark.