Like how the rock in the foreground breaks the symmetry.
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Thanks Mark.
There was a real cliche at one time, with seemingly every landscape togger shooting a reflected sky with a big rock as foreground interest. That seems to have subsided more recently.
Yesterday’s walk set off on the north bank of the Lot just below Livinhac-le-Haut, the main village in our commune.
Livinhac is one village down river from Port d’Agres, where we"d walked from last week, so I thought they might be too similar, but in the event was happy to be proven wrong.
Below is one half of what remains of Livinhac’s original C19th bridge, it and the other half are now easily accessed fishing platforms for disabled anglers.
After passing below the new bridge we crossed the fields in the meander, which I’ve photographed so often over the years, that I completely forgot to take some more until we were leaving the fields behind. Most have been source material for my wife’s paintings, like this little watercolour below -
As we were walking alongside the fields, I was repeating my usual moan about all the local maize being white cattle fodder when I glanced sideways and was very surprised to see yellow corn that was almost ripe - have never seen that here before and will return in a week or so with a black balaclava and some secateurs…
Then into the forest -
This path was only 50m from an identical one I’d assumed we were going to take, yet was a totally different, though equally steep route up to the plateau.
Taking a breather at the top:-
There followed a short stretch along the road before heading back down into the forest, past two abandoned sticks - hope nothing had happened to their owners…
Then a lot of this sort of thing, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that I’d slipped in some photos from the previous week’s walk…
Hadn’t come across one of these before, thought it might be something to do with a subterranean gas pipeline, but happy to be proved wrong.
We did a zigzag walk back down into the valley and then climbed back up to to the plateau
But when we emerged from the forest, I was surprised, but pleased to recognise where we were.
GR65! The Via Podiensis, which if we’d followed it SW for a few weeks would have taken us all the way to Santiago de Compostela. But as it was, we wanted to be back home for lunch…
Nevertheless, I managed to visit three départements in under a minute by walking round this cross that marks the junction of the Aveyron with the Cantal and the Lot.
Then we returned to the Aveyron…
… and commenced our final steep descent down to the valley (doesn’t look steep in the photo, but it was, and very hard on the knees).
Thought it advisable not to pick this one for lunch…
Finally back at the fields, preceded by three females of greatly differing heights -
There were still a couple of kms to go, by a different route through the fields than on the way out, but I didn’t take any more photos, partly because the light wasn’t great, but also because I made an amazing discovery - so amazing that I forgot to photograph it. Since I was last here, one of the producteurs has replaced a field of maize with what will hopefully become an olive grove - the first I’ve seen in the Aveyron.
Since some of our nut trees don’t seem to have survived this year’s succession of canicules, but our cypress and olive have thrived, and I’ve also a well-established sheltered side garden of Mediterranean succulents, I’d already been thinking of planting some more southern species and this olive grove to be seemed confirmation of it being a good idea.
Yellow corn and olives being grown in our commune - maybe global warming’s not all bad news…
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Thank you for this description ! I always appreciate your candid perspective and your attention to some details that make hiking so charming 
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Thanks for putting this together. I can feel my knees popping just looking at the descent. Nice to have that marker for the 3 departments junction.
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Brilliant reading and very interesting, Mark. Thank you 
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Gigi on a lead? Unusual ? Pourquoi!
Well observed!
As soon as we approach a tarmacked road, she stops and waits to be put on the lead. Didn’t teach her that, she just learnt from the procedure that followed approaching a road.
Am continually surprised by how an intelligent dog works things out. OTOH our previous dog (a Maltese terrier) was cunning, but a bimbo…
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Clever dog ! Edit - I saw your edit just after posting - dynamic eh?
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Off on a hike. The hunters have set up their lookout towers with sea view.
We’ve had some instances of hunt sabs sawing part way through the legs of the towers…
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I wouldn’t be able to hunt myself, but I have to admit that hunters do the dirty work of controlling the wild boar population. Here, it’s not just safari hunting for fun.
Around here controlling the sanglier population is essential, but the terrain is so rugged that the local chasse never fill their quota for the season.
I doubt that there’s any place where the quotas are filled. Sangliers will outlive us !
Resumed our weekly morning walks to the auberge in the nex tvillage that had been interrupted by the canicule and then by the fire and its aftermath closing the riverside walk. The riverside veloroute was officially closed for a couple of weeks because of possible danger from falling rocks - and yet the trains continued running just above. I’d suggested because of this we should ignore the ban, but Madame thought we might get arrested and deported or something. Ironically, we learned today that the fire is now thought to have been caused by a spark from a train (electric not steam).
This is a former lock keeper’s house and we normally park opposite it. I was very surprised to see that the fire had come so close to the house.
We’d been walking a while and though pleasant, nothing of particular note, so when there was a break in the riverside trees, I took a photo of the other side of the Lot Valley - it’s fairly typical of the surroundings on our side of the river.
Of course, when you stop to take a photo, they don’t wait for you - they just carry on regardless…
I’d love a little tower like this on our land, with a small study cum library on the upper floor and a view over the river. Sadly, the present owners haven’t found a use for it, and it’s just sat there empty, crumbling and unloved…
The local sheep are surprised by what Gigi can do with her ears…
Lean pickings for foragers - I think everything ripened when the footpath was closed
Hunting for crab apples to keep a small dog amused. For some inexplicable reason, my wife is the only one in our rando group who opts for Dolce & Gabbana rather than sensible walking wear.
La baigneuse… (actually she’s washing her current apple)
Things getting started again at the rowing club
Just a buoy…
Water weed doing (fairly) interesting things…
Heading home post pastis - walking fast, so maybe 45 minutes / 4.5 kms between apéro and lunch
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Good to see you can get out properly again now.
The idea of a tower with a study at the top is fascinating, though I’m not sure it would be a good place for me to work as I’d be too inclined to look outside instead of getting on.
Walking fast after pastis, I am impressed. Mind you I can do the same, just not in a straight line though, I have a theory that I have lived this long due to a combination of extreme clumsiness tempered by a weaving route which avoids half of the potential threats along the way. 
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Avoid half the risk? Sure…
A jumpmaster explained it thusly:
Safest form of travel? Air.
Riskiest times when flying? Take off and landing.
So, reduce the risk by 50%, become a parachutist.
