We had the art encounter, which though tiring was fun and productive. I painted my mask. I put a light green paint with darker green Ivy leaves, a flame on the forehead and a druidic Awen symbol from the forehead to the nose. Also I did a few ATC’s or Altered Trading Cards. Started by a Swiss artist in Canada who was bored of other dull looking trading cards and introduced to me to Swiss artists in Spain lol. The basic idea is that you have a theme, and then you take 6 cards and then alter them by drawing, painting, collage, or anything else and send them to a host who collects lotsof other’s cards and sends them back out to different people. I’ve done a magic swap, emotion swap and am hosting a freedom swap. Mika and her mum run an ATC group for europe and I’ve signed up for it. I’ve been more of a poem man, expressing my art through words but for the first time in a long time I’m expressing it through images. I quickly finding my way through it and thoroughly enjoying it.

It’s been raining quite alot where we are in contrast with Britain which I hear as been having very hot weather. Since the art encounter it’s been raining nearly everyday but we’ve managed to do some things on the land. We’ve planted more vegetables in a patch with egg plant, tomatoes, courgettes and some more. All of the vegetable patches are looking very happy and healthy now.

I had my birthday, which was actually quite quiet mainly because everyone had come down with the flu. BUT I did have a birthday week or as Mika called it BOTHday week, because her birthday’s coming up soon and we both celebrated it by going to Ordesa which is a lovely country park in a valley in the Pyrenees.

Ordesa was such a lovely experience with huge trees and mountains surrounding us. We saw plenty of wildlife too, we saw eagles, ravens, lizards and others. When we got near to the top near what are called the Horse Tail waterfalls, we saw a few mountain goat and Mika said she’d never seen them so close before. Well that wasn’t the end of it, we went on and saw some more, but even closer! Of course that wasn’t the end of it either. I heard a squealing noise but just thought it was a bird of prey, that is until I looked on the ground and saw two marmots playfighting. Well we stopped for a while to watch them and then more and more appeared. At one point we saw up to a dozen. These things Mika has only seen as they disappear from sight. Later we were told by a shop owner in the village we were staying in that their appearance marks the first sign of spring. So, hello Spring!