Beyond has strayed well beyond the Provence of Beyond, to the Lot, in the Midi-Pyrénées [map] region of France.
So far it's low forested hills and farms of cornfields, hay and cattle. Small streams all over, and pretty little villages tucked in with the trees and valleys. The top photo shows the little village of Beaumat (Lot) amidst the trees of a small river valley.
The second photo (left) shows one of the cylindrical dovecotes (pigeonniers) in the village of Frayssinet.
We're staying a week in the countryside of the Lot departement [map], in the village of Frayssinet, near Labastide-Murat [map], between Cahors and Gourdon (Lot; not to be confused with our perched Gourdon in the Alpes-Maritimes).
This is a busman's holiday for Beyond, getting away from the main computer, away from the daily grind of Beyond-ing, housework, yardwork, and all the other chores. A busman's holiday because we'll still be photographing the towns and villages in the lovely part of France, while hiking the trails and wandering the lanes of the area.
Individual farmhouses in this part of France often look like tiny castles, with steep roofs and a steep-roofed tower attached to the house. We haven't yet figured out what this tower protuberance is for. There are individual round-tower structures for dovecotes (pigeonniers), including in our own (for the week) village of Frayssinet, so we guess the house-tower could be a pigeonnier.
The third photo (above) shows a house with in integrated tower that we think might be a pigeonnier. The older-style house in the fourth photo (below) has a similar "pigeonnier" tower, and is typical of the houses in this region.
Not too many fruit trees (at least near the lanes), and the blackberries aren't ripe here yet, so we're buying our fruit at the local markets. There are plenty of village markets, and the fruit and vegetables are very good. The wine seems quite acceptable as well, so here's to you!
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