These narcissus (daffodils) have been coming up in this spot since before we bought the house. We look forward to seeing them every year.
Our temperatures are on the mild side right now. Thank goodness. We had a mostly sunny day yesterday. Thank goodness again. And the prediction for today is a high of 20ºC (68ºF). We'll take it, thank you very much.
The rain has slacked off and water levels are decreasing. The river is probably a lot lower than it was when I took this photo of the upstream end of the island at Saint-Aignan. Ken's planning to go out this morning, so he'll see what the condition is at the bridge.
I noticed yesterday that our daffs are starting to flower. Come on, spring!
Today is Tasha's 9th birthday! Woof!
In France, they expect that dogs, especially those with "papers," to be given a name that starts with a certain letter of the alphabet. When Tasha was born, the official initial (chuckle) for 2017 was "N." We wracked our brains for several days to come up with a name that works both in French and in English* and finally landed on "Natasha". She actually gets called "Tasha" (or just "Tash") most of the time, but her registered name begins with an "N." We joke that we named her after a Star Trek character.
It helps to say the name out loud and imagine yourself calling that name in public.
Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher is a sleepy town. It's lost a lot of its commerce over the years since we moved nearby. After covid, the town moved it's weekly market out of the center and into a larger place. But some vendors never came back. We're left with banks, insurance companies, and real estate agencies. It's kind of sad, but that's the reality in so many rural places.
The house feels cold while outdoor temperatures creep up. Come on, spring!
Or not. This is the Saint-Aignan/Noyers bridge on Thursday. It was closed with temporary signs set up at the approach. I'm guessing that it was closed so that crews could dislodge tree branches that got stuck under the roadway. That helps the water to flow better. Otherwise, I think, the debris in the water can form a kind of dam beneath the bridge that backs up more and more water as more and more debris gets caught. The road over the bridge is closed so that heavy equipment can work safely and unimpeded.
Meanwhile, the rains have more or less stopped (the wind, too, thankfully). Temperatures are rising, too. We're expecting a high of 14ºC (approaching 60ºF) this afternoon. Yay!
So far, it's just high water. I stopped down on the quay in Saint-Aignan yesterday after a quick trip to the supermarket. There was some action at the bridge. I think some fallen tree branches floated down river and got caught under the bridge. It's happened before. I saw signs that said the bridge was closed and there was a crew working to clear the trees. The closure didn't affect me; I didn't need to cross the river.
I'm glad we're not close to the Atlantic. Cities and towns over on the coast are dealing with very high winds and abundant rain. And where there's rain, there's flooding. And erosion that threatens buildings that are too close to the beaches. What a mess. It makes our local wind and rain events seem like no big deal. We can be thankful for that.
The wind howled. Rain squalls pounded the roof. It's supposed to calm down this morning and I'm looking forward to that. Today's photo is from last weekend's snow. I know, I'm milking it. Regular readers will recognize the west forty to the right of the garden path. The tilleul (linden tree) is one of the trees that will be pruned before spring, weather permitting. Stupid weather.
I'm planning a trip to the supermarket this morning. Weather permitting. Stupid weather. We need a few things and want a few others.
