La rouère

Where you see trees in this image is where une rouère (a stream bed or ravine) runs down to the river collecting water from the surrounding vineyard parcels. If it has a name, I don't know it. Another ravine nearby does have a name: la rouère de l'aulne (Alder Ravine). The vineyard parcel in the photo's foreground was replanted two seasons ago. The vines are hardly visible, partly because they've recently been pruned down to a single cane and partly because they`re still quite young. The next step in this parcel should be the pliage; the canes will be bent to the horizontal and fastened to guide wires as they begin to leaf out.

Vines are planted on high ground so the parcels will drain quickly down to the river.

Our snow episode yesterday ended shortly after my morning walk with Tahsa. This morning we're socked in by fog. The forecast is for increasing temperatures through the week. I'll take it.

Wintry mix

We woke up this morning to some snow. Not much. Big, heavy flakes are falling, along with light rain. It's a wintry mix! I'm sure it won't last, though. The temperature is above freezing and, as I type this, we're probably at it's lowest for the day. The sun will be up soon. In the meantime, there's a little bit of white on the ground.

The white blossoms are on the plum tree that Ken planted (from a pit) years ago.

Here's a view of our back hedge and garden shed from the vineyard road. You can see there's another parcel that was dug up last year. It was tiny. It's gone. What's left (on the left) looks pretty old.

Le cabanon

It could also be called la cabane du vigneron (the grape grower's cabin). You see them here and there around us. This one is on the vineyard road behind our house. In the old days, these cabins were used for tool storage, as shelter from a hard rain, or as place to eat lunch, eliminating the need to go home and back at mid-day. This one's not used for much these days, but the grower keeps the vines that grow up its sides well pruned.

A hodgepodge of limestone and cinder blocks.

The weather is more of the same. I think the weather people believe that if they predict snow every day, we might actually get some. Ha.

Ornamental cherry

Our fruitless cherry is blooming now as are certain plum trees around the neighborhood.

As seen from the north side of the deck.

We woke up to 2ºC this morning. That's near the house; I'm sure it's colder out in the vineyard. All that talk of snow yesterday sounded urgent, but the sun came out here and it's been clear all night (as evidenced by a very visible full moon). It's my turn to walk Tasha this morning. I'll bundle up once more. She's lucky to have a fur coat.

Rock my world

This is the dirt road that connects our hamlet to paved roads west of us. It runs through the vineyard and provides access for agricultural equipment and serves as an alternative to the paved road that runs east and down to the river. We don't drive on the "dirt" road much these days as it has become rutted and uneven. Mostly, we use it as a place to walk Tasha. The problem is that there are now these large limestone rocks* strewn about. They can be treacherous if you trip or step on one, so we need to take care when walking. I suppose that's good advice in any case.

Trip hazards.

The banking problem I mentioned yesterday was self-inflicted and it has since been resolved. The stressful part of the process is communication. Because of the time difference between here and the bank in the US, contact has to be timed right and waiting for replies can be frustrating. My mind imagines all sorts of bad things happening while I wait. But, again, what I broke seems to be fixed now. Fingers crossed!

* Each year, the town spreads gravel and limestone on the dirt roads to fill potholes and ruts. Last year, the limestone mix included these large rocks. I don't know why.

Short post

I'm having some adventures with international online banking, so I'll just post this sunrise from last Saturday while I deal with that.

Looking back toward our hamlet at sunrise on Saturday.

 

Les jonquilles

Here's one of the clumps of daffodils that come up every year in this spot near the greenhouse. I only think of them being there when they're blooming. We have other patches that come and go. This spring looks like a good year for some, a not so good year for others.

Will these daffs get a frosting?

As predicted, temperatures have dropped again, but only down to the mid-single digits. I split some logs yesterday and will likely build a fire this morning. Now the weather people are forecasting what the US weather gurus call a "wintry mix" for Wednesday. Snow in March is not unusual; some of our biggest snowfalls since we've been here have happened in March. If we actually get some this week, it likely won't amount to much. Famous last words...