Last gasp

Our very nice arrière saison is ending.  That's an interesting expression, literally translated as "the back season," and it describes a prolongation of nice weather beyond summer into the fall. I've often confused the term with l'été indien (Indian summer), also called l'été de la Saint-Martin (Saint Martin's Day summer), but technically it's not the same thing.

These grapes grow against the stone wall of a building in the vineyard. I think they're eating grapes. They're not harvested for wine.

My extensive quick and dirty research reveals that a true Indian summer occurs later in the fall (Saint Martin's Day is on November 11) and is normally preceded by the first hard frosts of the year. We haven't had any frosts yet this season, light or hard. We did have some chilly weather with rain, but that's not the same thing. So we have yet to see if we'll get un été indien over the next few weeks. In the meantime, we've enjoyed our très belle arrière saison.