A morning walk on the island

There's an island in the Cher River at Saint-Aignan. I think I've mentioned that on said island there's a restaurant, a beach, the local pétanque courts, garden allotments, and the piscine municipale (municipal swimming pool). There are actually two pools, one indoors and one outdoors. Tasha and I drove over (well, I drove, but Tasha kept an eye out for oncoming traffic), parked at the new passerelle, then crossed over to the island for a stroll.

Entering Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher from the west.

Tasha's extendable leash was attached to my waist so she enjoyed a little bit of freedom and I had use of both hands to work the camera. I took this shot from the small parking lot on the left bank at the entrance to town; the bridge is just out of the frame to the left. The street bedecked with colorful flags winds up through the historic center of town to the Saturday market then on southward to the big zoo (Beauval).

Today's a holiday, so there was not much in the way of traffic at 06h30, but that will change as the day goes on, I'm sure. Saint-Aignan held it's July 14 fireworks on Saturday night the 12th (better than a Monday night, I suppose). I noticed there was a guinguette (a kind of outdoor bar/tavern) set up in the picnic area next to the beach. Of course, I didn't take any photos of that as there was a crew working to dismantle it and Tasha was a little anxious.

Boom!

I had just fallen asleep. Then, at around 23h00, I was awakened by semi-rhythmic thuds off to our northwest, toward Mareuil. At first I thought the dog was up to something, but as the fog cleared I realized what it was: fireworks. The show lasted about fifteen minutes. I couldn't see anything out the north window because the shade was closed and there's a fan spinning on the dresser in front of the window. Too much to deal with at groggy o'clock.

The view down rows of neatly trimmed grape vines.

Then the music started. Faint music, but with a discernable beat, off to the east, where Saint-Aignan is. I assume there was a party on the island, or maybe in the municipal stadium. It went on for a few hours. I made the rounds of the house just because I was awake. But soon after I went back to bed, around 02h00, I was in slumber land again. It's not even the 14th yet. I wonder what we'll hear tonight.

Grapes and raisins

At the risk of repeating myself, here's a bunch of grapes. You might even say, a loverly bunch of grapes. The individual fruits are called raisins in French, grapes in English. When they dry, they're called raisins secs (dry grapes) in French, and simply raisins in English. Each bunch (English) is called une grappe in French.

Some of the grapes dry out in the heat. Nature's raisins. And they're tasty, too.

The moon last night was an amazing sight as it rose in the southeast. I'm sure it has a name, but I haven't looked it up. OK, now I have. Buck Moon. Something to do with deer growing antlers. Are these moon names the same every year, or do they change? I think the heat may be getting to me.

Hot days ahead

The forecast is for a few days of hot highs in the low 30sC, the low 90sF. This is exactly what we were longing for back in the cold and damp of spring. What were we thinking? LOL

This looks like fun on a hot day. Fountain at the Parc André Citroën, Paris.

According to one weather site, we will lose our first two full minutes of daylight today. We're also heading into a big holiday weekend. School's out for the summer and Monday is la Fête Nationale (Bastille Day). I have a doctor's appointment this morning. Just the regular six month checkup to renew prescriptions. 

The lone poplar

It was a much smaller tree twenty-two years ago when we moved here. We've watched it grow since then on our daily walks through the vineyard. It's even visible from the house. It's become a landmark much like the lone walnut tree a little further along the road. 

The lone peuplier/poplar belongs to the people who own these vines.

While it's still chilly in the morning, the high temperatures are inching (or should that be "centimetering?") upwards. We may hit 30ºC today. The mowing is done one more time, although I still have some edge trimming to do. 

Death among the vines

Sometimes grape vines die. I don't know why one vine among dozens just gives up. But they do, especially in the older, established vineyard parcels. In some cases, the dead vine is replaced with a younger, healthy one. In other cases, the vine is removed but not replaced. An empty space marks the spot until, at some point, there are too many empty spaces and the entire parcel is dug up and, eventually, replanted. Or not. I'm sure vineyard management is not so simple as that.

A dead grape vine among the living.

Yesterday was a productive day. I made another trip to the dump and got rid of several containers of spent fryer oil. I also went to the filling station for ten liters of gasoline for the mower. After, I managed to cut the grass in the west forty. Today I hope to cut the south forty and the strips outside the hedges. The weather forecast looks good. 

Twenty years ago

Just a quick photo from 2005 when we started harvesting green beans from our garden. Yum! No such bounty this year. :(

Green and yellow beans from one of our first vegetable gardens, 2005.

I was up and out early this morning. Another trip to the dump and to buy some gasoline for the mower.