Voyages around France: Hog heaven......

Finally caught up with my landlord and friend Bernard today after a week or so of not running into each other. Bernard speaks a little English and since I speak a little French we have no problem communicating...:-)
Bernard was in his barn working on the result of his latest hunting trip....butchering a wild hog. The hills and valleys in this region are full of deer, rabbit and wild boar. I often hear gunshots ringing out from the hills and valleys in all four directions. There have been evenings walking the dog out in the vineyard that I have heard what sounds like a hog or hogs close by....not sure if they would attack a defenseless man and his dog, but I usually don't hang around too long to find out.
Getting back to Bernard, he shared some ribs of the hog with me and now they are soaking in some French wine. Alicia has been researching the internet on the best way to prepare this culinary delight and she thinks she's got it all figured out.

I haven't snapped many photos the last few days but I still have my backlog that I have taken that are filling up my hard drive. Around a month ago we headed south of Apt up into the Luberon range to try and find a place for Rudy to run and get some exercise. We stumbled upon what seemed to be an abandoned hamlet called Buoux. Only a few buildings in this little wooded valley surrounded by tall cliffs with a nice stream running through it. Not sure why it is abandoned but it did appear that the area would be a prime candidate for flash floods during heavy rains.

There are some nice trails in this valley and from what I understand the cliffs are used by professional rock climbers, which I will never be. The stream that runs through the middle of the area is clear and cold. We did find one place under a roman arched bridge that Rudy was able to take a dip in.

I have been experimenting with taking photos of the stars at night out in the vineyard. The evenings are very dark here with very little man made light in the valley. The stars seem much brighter than what I remember back home, but maybe I just gaze up at them more here. I'm getting close to capturing for me what would be presentable to post, but not quite there yet. I have adjusted the aperture on the camera, shutter speed...you name it. When I get it just right I will post some photos of those famous French stars for all to marvel at.