Like magic!

Yesterday I posted a photo I took in the Luxembourg Garden (Paris) and wrote that I wish I could selectively remove certain parts of the image. Lo and behold! Blogger buddy Mike in Australia knew exactly what to do and he sent me his result. Thanks Mike!

The extra and partial people are gone!

I got the mower out again yesterday and cut the north forty and the strips outside the hedges. All that's left is the small south forty. I'm hopeful that today's weather will cooperate. 

Jardin de Louxembourg

Paris in the fall. Or is it winter? The Luxembourg Garden is one of the more popular of Parisian parks, at least in my opinion. I lived and went to school nearby and had occasion to walk through and/or sit and relax often. I don't know who the people are in the photo nor do I remember when I snapped it. It's likely from one of our trips back in the late 1980s.

I'd love to remove the person just over the guy's shoulder, but I don't think my software does that.

I got the mower out yesterday and cut the west forty (the largest section of our property). It feels good to have that done. Today I hope to get the north forty done. I can't cut before noon because of the heavy dew we're having. It's mostly dried up by lunch time.

Tasha Tuesday

Finally, here's a photo of Tasha shortly after her grooming last week. She's not very good at "sit and stay." She sits on command, but the "stay" part is not one of her best tricks. So I get photos like this one where, at least, she's looking at the camera.

"Wally (she calls me Wally), my bowls are empty!"

The chimney is swept. There was a lot of soot; I'm glad it's gone. We also had new faucets and a new drain plug installed in the bathroom (sink and bidet). It's nice to have things working as they should again. 

Winter prep

As you probably know by now, the plumber is coming this morning to sweep our chimney and clean out the wood stove. We have a few things to move around before he gets here. I'll leave you with a photo of the fireplace and stove taken back in winter of 2017.

 

Another one bites the dust

Another old vineyard parcel out back is being taken out. I think the parcel was sold when the previous owner retired. It was pretty much left alone all year, until recently. The presumed new owners (who own most of the parcels out there) have been working to remove the guide wires and to cut the vines down to the stump. The next step, I think, will be to pull the denuded vine trunks out and prepare the parcel to lie fallow for a while.

There's a special tractor attachment that pulls the wires out at the end and winds them onto a spool to create the circles you see here, but not before people walk through and detach the wire from the support posts.

The green vines on the left are only about twenty years old and are not being taken out.

Tomorrow (Monday) we're expecting the plumber back to sweep the wood stove's chimney. I don't why plumbers got that job in France, but they did. Chimneys have to be swept annually. Insurance companies won't pay for chimney related damage unless it's been done (the plumber provides a certificate as proof). We had a real hard time finding someone to do it during the pandemic, and some years went by without a sweep. But now we're back on track.

I was lookin' back to see

Actually, she wasn't. Tasha was focused forward until I called her name and she turned to see why. Then I snapped the photo. The grape vine leaves are turning to their fall colors now. It's still mostly green out there, but there's more yellow every day. And some red.

I don't know why we get bursts of red in otherwise yellow parcels. But I'm glad we do.

The groomer came by as expected yesterday. Tasha resisted at first but she soon gave in and went along with it. I'll try to get an "after" photo today. 

Foggy morning in the vineyards

A gloomy, almost ghostly morning among the grape vines yesterday. And chilly.

The harvest is all done and the grape vines rest, waiting for their leaves to drop before pruning begins.

Today is Tasha's grooming day! The itinerant pet groomer arrives at 09h00. I got the grooming area (our utility room) cleaned up a little for the occasion.