For emergencies

Our hamlet includes a small pond to provide water in case of a fire. During the past few days, it's been emptied and cleaned out. I'm guessing that the fences will go up today. Let's hope we don't need any water, especially since most of what we had is gone for the time being.

The local pond, cleaned and ready for refilling. That's not our house.

The pond was new when we moved in back in 2003. It's been emptied and cleaned out once since then. This is the second time. Again, I hope we don't ever need it. 

Desert sands

This week we're seeing two atmospheric events. The first is tragic, and that is smoke from the wildfires burning in the southern regions of France. The smoke combines with Saharan winds blowing northward carrying orange sand from northern Africa. The sky turns a vibrant orange and red at sunrise and sunset. During the day it's got a light orange tint.

Sunrise over our hamlet.

This is a not-so-great shot of the morning sun rising over our region. Yes, that's the sun (I didn't look directly at it so as not to injure my eyes) and I zoomed in a lot. The actual view was quite dramatic. And it's still happening. I wake up in the morning with sand in my eyes. A little bit of the desert coloring my view perhaps? 

Relief!

We woke up this morning to 19ºC (66ºF) outside. We're also back in the loft in our own bed. Sleeping is much more comfortable than it has been. The weather folks are predicting more cooling in the days ahead. 

Our apple trees in the parched back yard, the oregano patch is on the left.

Now the big worry is twofold: the possible return of the heat and the lack of rain. Jamais content. 

Le 14 juillet

Today is July 14th, France's national day, a celebration of the first steps in the nation's transition away from a monarchy to a nation led by its people.

An artichoke in bloom out back. The 14 juillet défilé (parade) down the Champs-Elysées gets under way soon.

It's also still hot. Many communities across the country have canceled traditional fireworks displays to reduce fire risk. Drone-based displays are becoming more common, although I don't know of any around us.

Grilled

The chicken's not the only thing getting grilled this season. Our heat wave continues, making sleep nearly impossible except for a few measly hours in the early morning. It's then that we can throw open the shutters and let the cool air (such as there is) come in.

 Grilled zucchini and chicken tenders. Yum!

We're expecting a high just over 40ºC today. That's 104ºF. We're just not used to this. On the up side, humidity is pretty low. Hang in there! 

How do you like them apples?

One of our apple trees is covered with fruit. The other is not. We have two trees, both planted before we owned the house. There was another tree, much bigger, but its core had rotted away and the tree fell in a storm.Too bad, too, because it had the best apples of the three (Bramley I think).

This year's somewhat meager crop.

There's actually a hint of rain predicted for later this afternoon. I didn't see any mention of storms, thank goodness. 

Raisins on the vine

These are truly sun made. Not Sun Maid. And they're not good to eat. They're crunchy. This seems to happen when there are no leaves to shade young grape bunches. I wonder what percentage of a crop is lost to the sun?

Grapes and raisins.

Our heat wave is not over. Each day is a little hotter than the one before. We've abandoned our loft bedroom for the time being.Sleeping is a little easier on the house's lower levels. We can trap cool air in the morning for some relief. Thank goodness that there's no humidity. Dry air helps the hot air to be a little more bearable.