Coucou, c'est nous !

This is prime time for les coucous (cowslips) where we live. They're typical spring wildflowers and proliferate along the vineyard road, especially near areas where water collects or runs. We have a few in our lawn, but they really thrive out in the places that are not cut in spring.

Les coucous en pleine floraison.

Yellow is the common color for these flowers, but I have seen a few with tinges of orange and even red. The word coucou is also the French word for cuckoo, that bird with the distinctive call that we hear this time of year. The cuckoos are with us from April through June until they move on. They over-winter in southern Africa and southeast Asia.