December 26.

The morning light on the mountains was spectacular but the camera couldn't capture the grandure.

This is the view from the living room window.

The clear morning gave way to dramatic clouds by afternoon when Lee and I took a 2 hour hike from the house.

After our hike, as the sun set, the snow-covered peaks were illuminated a glowing pink.

We have been struck by how much more daylight you get here than we have in Stockholm.

December 27

Lee, Jill, and I headed out of the house for a walk.

We headed down the road from the house, passing the farmhouses that crowd the road through Les Metraux.

This dog literally rules the roost as he sits among the chickens.

Farms and barns along the road.

The farm road turned to dirt and climbed through fallow fields before opening out on the small town of Herbeys where Jill poses before the Marie.

We climbed out of Herbeys and in the view back down towards the town you can see the chateaux that dominates the town (in the lower right of the photo).

Beyond Herbeys is the city of Grenoble which is shrowded in haze.

Grenoble has the worst air quality in France due to its position in a valley surrounded by high mountains.

The low tree covered ridge in the center is the hill behind Rob and Jill's.

After leaving Herbeys we lost the trail and ended up walking across fields trying to hook up with the trail running along the ridge.

The real fun of traversing these open fields were the mounds of mud that clung to the soles of our shoes!

As we headed back the setting sun turned the moutain peaks pink.

If you look closely, you can see a twigg sticking out of Lee's front teeth.

It was a proud moment!

Sunset from the back yard. Not a bad gig, living in the mountains!