In which we delight in our four-legged neighbours and worry about the constant threat of mint sauce……….
Living as we do on top of a hill amongst the vineyards, we are blissfully untroubled by the proximity of neighbours, the nearest other house being a good kilometer or so away on the hill opposite. Whilst we may not be big on socializing and haven’t attended a seriously wild party since student days, we do like to play our music extremely loudly at times and can merrily crank up the decibels without any fear of complaint. The only living beings likely to hear Mr H practising his Jimi Hendrix guitar riffs or my mother’s television blaring out her collection of Terminator movies are the members of our own little menagerie and our lovely four-legged neighbours on the south and east sides of the hill. 
To the south in the valley at the bottom of the hill we have the beautiful russet brown Limousin cows and their calves and on the east side down near the village there are the sheep. I have to confess that whilst I adore the cows and enjoy a chat whenever they’re there when I pass, I have a particular fondness for the sheep. There can surely be nothing to beat the cuteness ratings of a fluffy baby lamb and whereas Mr H and my brother in law like to yell out ‘Yum Yum Mint Sauce” whenever they see one,(traditional English accompaniement to the Sunday joint of roast l..b) I prefer to see the little fellows frolicking and skipping in the fields or in the case of these particular sheep, pottering and playing amongst the poplar trees.
The wood they inhabit is an enchanting place, tranquil in the way only the countryside can be, full of dappled light, rustling leaves and the eerily beautiful calls of the rooks who nest in the treetops.
The sheep appear to have a delightful existence and inhabit a very cool and quirky house made of corrugated metal which must surely figure somewhere in the pages of Chic Sheep Decor. 
Being from the Walt Disney school of animal lover who can’t resist naming every creature I come across, I choose not to dwell on the ultimate fate of Huey and Duey and the Sheep Family Robinson but prefer to imagine them existing in some kind of sheep time warp where the lambs never grow up and the sun always shines.
And so dear reader, if, by chance, we should ever actually meet, I humbly ask that you humour me in my happy delusions and take care to never mention the word cutlet in my presence…………………….
View from a French Hillside 
The constant threat of mint sauce–I am rolling on the floor Jane. That is a great line.
And of course another beautiful post. Cheers to you!
PS – my daughter is currently roaming about France and enjoying the act of stuffing herself on more fabulous food than her stomach can contain. It is a memorable journey thus far and ends with a week in Paris. I find myself wishing she could have trekked out to your neighborhood too. 🙂
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HI Shelley – really glad you like the post! Shame your daughter couldn’t have stopped by for afternoon tea! Send her my ‘Bonjours’ as we say here – hope she has a great time in Paris – impossible not to I think! Cheers! : )
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I have fallen madly in love. I just saw that you liked a comment I made on someone’s blog about the new artists4peace. The minute your page opened up I felt so GOOD, like I was in a wonderful place. Surrounded by sheep and sweet lambs and beautiful things. This is so amazing. Thank you.
PLEASE join us in this new collaborative endeavor. We are artists who believe that art matters and that art can change the world. Yesterday, after writing back and forth for a bit, we started, artists4peace, with the main goal of spreading love, understanding and peace through art. I would be so very happy if you would send in a photograph of your sweet lambs or anything you like to help us use our art for peace. If you would like to contribute please send your work to: artists4peaceproject@gmail.com After this initial start up we plan to publish the blog once a month, using art from artists all over the world…artists who believe in peace for all beings. We are talking about having a specific theme each month, such as an end to war, end to violence, etc.,but we are in the initial stages, the blog is only one day old, so nothing is “written in stone.” Your ideas are always welcome. We have had a wonderful response to the blog and we are hoping that it will make a difference. Thank you. The blog address is: artists4peace.wordpress.com We are currently having a contest for a Logo. Voting will take place at the end of the month. Once that has been done we will be able to put the logo on our personal blogs and show that we are contributors. We are also hoping to use it as a link to the blog itself (That’s Melanie’s job…she the computer person) There’s more info on my blog. Thank you again.
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Hello hitandrun (Pendragon?!) thankyou for your comments and your invitation – Yes! I would be delighted to join your endeavour, just read your piece ‘Recommitment’ – it would be a pleasure to contribute if I can……will visit the new blog …..
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Hello Jane! found your blog via a comment you made on the Buddy Up thread of Blogging 201 and I guess like many other fell in love with your photography!! I also like sheep a lot. The sheep in Greece (where I come from) are not so cute like the French or English ones, still whenever I see sheep I’m like ahhh…let’s take a picture. In Greece we don’t accompany them with mint sauce so I never know how they’d taste! Keep up the good work!
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Hello Anna! Thank you for visiting and for your kind comments! I adore the sheep in the poplar wood and haven’t been able to eat lamb since I met them! (Don’t like beef anymore either because of the cows! )
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