Snowy owl moments: 'Maman' at the Guggenheim, Bilbao

'Maman', bronze by Louise Bourgeois, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao

There are times on long extended overseas travel when it's too easy to compromise, it's easier to say no for whatever reason, Fred and I call these decision moments, Sharon's 'snowy owl'. We had been travelling across Canada and Alaska for a couple of months and had arrived back in Anchorage, a couple of days earlier than expected, after a particularly arduous birding trip out to the Pribilof Islands.

I thought about planning a trip up north to Barrow, the furtherest northern community in the USA and an excellent sighting spot for the Snowy Owl. But I didn't. We went bear watching, glacier viewing, cooked salmon and halibut instead, all special but I have yet to see a Snowy Owl, a must on any birders' list.

It was a decision where I settled, rather than being bold and following what I really wanted to do.

And here we are, in Bilbao, Fred having driven across the 380km from Salies-du-Salat, and this is not a snowy owl moment, we braved traffic, a parking garage, signs we cannot read to get to the Guggenheim this evening as heavy rain is predicted all day tomorrow - our museum day.

I have just experienced what I have desired to see and do, which is to experience the power of art,  'Maman'! 

'Maman' is monumental, 9m in height, predatory but protective of her sac full of eggs. 

She hovered above me on those bronze spindly legs which are like Gothic arches, she is powerful and fragile. 

Happy and grateful.

'Maman' looking towards the bridge.

We buy cheese from a farmer: Aire de Lacq Audejos

Ewe's milk cheese, direct from the farmer.

As we fly along the motorways with a destination in mind we pop into an 'aire', a motorway stop, to picnic, to have a break and we don't expect to be either delighted or surprised - it's functional at best.

Today we pulled into an aire and I set up the table while Fred wandered off to find the coffees. A man approached me carrying a cooler box and my South African response kicked in, 'what does he want, I'm not available for anything'! 

He is a sheep farmer, and makes cheese, he also pops over to the aire at lunch time and sells his cheese. What a complete delight to say yes, we tried the ewe's milk cheese, well matured, nutty, fragrant and had some for lunch. 

I asked a few times for the name of the cheese and I could not decipher the reply - but he mentioned it's regional and between two valleys, and I figure it's the name of the aire, so its fromage de brebis Lacq Audejos, and completely delicious.

The barns captivate me: rural Haute Garonne

Barn relics of the Haute Garonne

Lattice-work details are another feature of the barns,

A conversation with the delightful Kim of Kimglace, the artisanal ice cream maker from St Martory, got me appreciating the barns along our afternoon drive to the Col Portet d'Aspet. 

She makes a heady Fleur de Lait ice cream and only does so in summer when the cows are out in the pastures, eating the grass, as the milk is then rich and flavourful. A true connoisseur.

Come winter, come the snowfalls, the animals are herded into the barns and hay fed. Mostly the barns are attached to the centuries old farmhouses, two storied, upper wooden structure for the hay and an enclosed lower tier for the animals. This old style mountain farming has changed no doubt and the barns are now more a feature of the landscape than a practical solution to the brutal winters of the Pyrenees. Barns are now collapsing or having makeovers and being integrated into the living space of homes.

Anyway, I had Fred stopping at the last minute to photograph these old barns.  Even though the temperatures are still in the 30's, the farmers are getting ready for the cold, the hay has been harvested and bailed, and in some cases moved into the barns already.