Welcome to Petit Minou en Bretagne



I moved to this lovely part of Brittany at the end of the summer in 2008 with my husband and my two daughters

We have two holiday gites and hope to have lots of visitors in the years to come

Life here is slower than it used to be in England but my days are so much busier - looking after our two Ouessant sheep, our chickens, geese, ducks and seven cats; trying out new recipes using our freshly grown veggies, trying to keep up with the weeding and the the garden and keeping the gites in tip top condition ready for our visitors

If I have any spare time I make handmade greetings cards and gifts and have just opened an Etsy shop - visit it here

I also enjoy taking photographs and have recently joined Flickr so hopefully I will post some of my shots on here too

This is intended to be my blog about our new life here in Brittany - I really must try to make time for regular updates but seem to be failing miserably


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Fougeres, Bretagne, France

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Wednesday 2 June 2010

Watching


Watching, originally uploaded by Petit Minou.

This is our gander, Jeremy, he's a real softy but doesn't like strangers

He lives with our other two Toulouse geese, Jemima and Gertrude

They haven't managed to hatch their own young so we bought them five goslings from the market last week

They are very proud of their new family and very protective too

Vitré - home of Mme de Sévigné


Vitré, originally uploaded by Petit Minou.
Vitré is one of France’s listed Artistic and Historic Heritage towns

It has a beautiful chateau which is surrounded by narrow Medieval streets, many are from the 15th and 16th centuries which show how important the town was during that period when it was one of the most powerful towns in Brittany

The town is surrounded with gentle rolling countrysid, good for walking and some rock climbing. Or you can the delicious food on offer in the welcoming restaurants and crêperies

Have a look at the tourist office website to see what's on in and around Vitré

Not far from Vitré is the chateau where Madame de Sévigné lived, she was famous for the letters she used to write to her daughter

Monday 24 May 2010

Foxy !!


Foxy !!, originally uploaded by Petit Minou.

The other week I was exhibiting at a craft market and an old french farmer arrived with his pet fox. Obviously they were both attracting a lot of attraction and the poor fox was very nervous. I asked the man if I could take this quick shot.

I overheard him telling some people that the fox had been found injured following an attack by a dog, and was obviously orphaned, so he took him and reared him at home. This was quite surprising as we have a big fox problem here in Brittany and normally the farmers are quick to dispatch any predators.

I'm so glad he kept him as he is a beautiful creature but having lost my two ducks to a fox last week I do feel rather cross. However, it is what foxes do and we can't change nature ! I'll just have to be extra vigilant with my chickens !!

Wednesday 24 March 2010

ouest-france.fr - A la Une de Villamée

ouest-france.fr - A la Une de Villamée

A very nice lady came to interview us yesterday, and voilà we are in the paper today

Wednesday 10 March 2010

La Petite Chapelle Bretonne


La Petite Chapelle Bretonne, originally uploaded by Petit Minou.
This in a lovely shot with lovely clouds highlighting the little chapel which I mentioned in my previous blog

It is miles from any village and stands next to an old farm on a ridge but
I can just imagine those small rural Breton weddings which have taken place there over the centuries

I think it is just so quaint - I must try to find out more of its history

Storm clouds gathering


Storm brewing, originally uploaded by Petit Minou.
My husband broke his arm last summer, the day before our first visitors of the season were due to arrive. He ended up with a pin in his arm and I ended up having quite a busy summer

Anyway, we were on our way home from his latest hospital check up last week, and stumbled upon this heavenly little granite chapel which has been recently restored

It is only about 10 minutes from our house but down a lane we hadn't previously explored, so you can imagine our joy when we found this little gem