Parting shot

Just before I left the church of Saint-Martin in Ligueil, I noticed this chair near the door and the faint colors made on the wall by the sun shining through a stained glass window high above. I almost didn't take the picture, but now I'm kind of glad that I did.

Notice the holy water. Not an ash tray.

On Tuesday I spent a good hour or more digging up a patch of irises that had taken over the path from our garden gate to the garden shed. For years now, I've been walking over the grass to get to the shed. It took a garden fork, a large spade, a lot of sweat, and not a little swearing, but I cleared most of it away. The irises are mixed in with a plant the previously owner called saxifrage and together they had knit a tight root mass in the pathway.

I plan on putting the irises in another spot. They grow easily if they're just tossed on the ground; no need to actually plant them. The saxifrage (I'm not even sure that's what it is; I can't find an image of the plant we have when I look it up on the internet) is going into the compost (or into the woods). We have enough of that in the garden and I'm not particularly fond of it. I should post a picture; some of you may recognize it. Update: Ken reminded me that it's bergenia, indeed a member of the saxifrage family, also called "elephant's ears."

I'll finish the job up this morning.