*WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) exchange
work for room and board at organic farms around the world.
I left Texas the first part of June to fly to Toulouse, France where my daughter and her fiance are managing the gardens at a place called Brametourte. They have been there since March and have already accomplished quite a bit.
A joyful reunion at the airport was followed by a leisurely drive in a borrowed car to look over the countryside. After enjoying a cup of tea at a roadside cafe in the hills, we arrived at the chateau. And what an impressive place it is!
There are 30 rooms most of them enormous, with huge fireplaces. It dates back to the 11th century and has been the home of numerous royal figures. It also housed the family of Henri Tulous Lautrec the famous painter. It's presently being rebuilt and refurbished by an English couple who bought it with the aim of creating the only fully self-sustained Bed & Breakfast in France. It has a water reclamation system, and extensive gardens full of all kinds of vegetables, and fruit and nut trees. Almost all waste is recycled: glass, cans, plastic, paper . . . and garbage is deposited in the compost bin.
No grocery store needed here! In the morning gather eggs from the henhouse for breakfast . . . pick several kinds of lettuce and greens for a salad at lunch . . . fresh herbs and spices are readily available for cooking
supper . . plenty of fruit trees and bushes for making sweet desserts.
Fresh eggs!
Trees loaded with cherries
We are far out in the countryside and the nearest little town is about an hour walk away. The view of the surrounding countryside (we are up on a knoll) is calm, serene, and breathtakingly beautiful. The air is crisp, clean and an occasional rain refreshes everything. The Springtime is the perfect season to arrive here. Now I am told we will be going into the hot summer months. I'm fairly smug about it because I am a veteran of Texas summers and there aren't too many hotter than that. However, this time I won't have air conditioning to escape to for relief!
I will have pictures and descriptions of this castle I live in and a typical day's schedule next time.
