Did you know?

In the US, prescription drugs are dispensed in bottles. The pharmacist would type out a label (old person joke: how'd he get the bottles into the typewriter?), Here in France, prescriptions come in factory produced blister packages inside shiny cardboard boxes. At no time do pharmacy hands touch the medicine.

I still use daily pill boxes to keep myself organized. That involves taking the pills out of the blisters once a week. The yellow things on the bottom are non-prescription cough losanges, also packed in blisters.

I only think of this because I have to renew my prescriptions soon. I take two daily pills for blood pressure and cholesterol control. Other pills come and go depending on what's ailing me at the moment. All of our Rx's are covered by our health insurance program, so no cash is exchanged at the pharmacy. 

Bare vines

The grape vine pruning is now under way out back. Two guys worked on (and finished) the parcel just outside our back gate on Friday. That's not what's in today's photo, however. This is another parcel nearby. I didn't want to take pictures of the guys working.

All the grape leaves are gone from this parcel. The wind blew them away.

The house rocked with wind and rain again last night. It's relatively warm outdoors, but the house feels cold inside. We're still losing daylight. Sunrise waits until 8h27 this morning. Then at 9h00 the hunters show up out among the vines. Pheasants beware! 

Morning fog

The fog lay thick in all of the usual places and this was the view from our deck on Friday morning. Our house sits on a high point and frequently we can have sunny skies while the river valley below is socked in. In this view from our deck, we're about halfway between socked in and clear.

The view from our deck to the neighbors' property on Friday morning.

We're heading into a warm spell into next week. We had spells of high wind with rain squalls over night. Lovely.

By the way, the answer to yesterday's question is: Notre Dame Cathedral at Rouen, Normandy. :) 

Any guesses?

I know the answer.

No fair using software!

 Answer: Cathédrale de Notre Dame, Rouen, Normandie.

Exploring

We haven't been back to the piney woods since I took this photo a week ago. I'm not sure nothing's changed. I heard some sounds that could have been chainsaws over the past few days. Like I said, I don't want to be out there with Tasha if there's a crew working. She gets excited.

Tasha explores one of the places were trees were cut.

 

Keeping track

I'm just guessing here, but I think this might be some sort of system to estimate how much wood is piled up and/or a way to see if someone is taking logs without authorization. Whatever it is, it's colorful.

Piled and marked.

We're having single digit (Celsius) weather right now. Nothing below freezing, though. And light rain showers continue to move through. Ah, winter.

Tasha Tuesday

Tasha on Thanksgiving Day, 2025.

What's left

This is what's left of the piney woods. It's mostly the piney part. Most everything around the pines has been cut. That'll make it easy to walk into, when the time comes. I"ll be waiting until I know we won't be in the way of the lumberjacks.

This is the neater, and smaller, of the two wood piles. The heart of the piney woods is in the background.

I"m out to an early morning appointment up near Blois. The temperature is low, but it's not quite down to freezing. 

Danger!

The funny thing is that you have to get up close to read the notice. Which says, "Danger, Risque de chute. Ne pas monter sur les piles de bois," and translates to, "Danger. Risk of falling. Do not climb on the woodpiles."

The notice stapled to the big log pile I posted yesterday. I wasn't tempted to climb.

Yesterday was our third pair of meals from the Thanksgiving roast of lamb. Ken transformed it into an Asian style stir-fry. Yum! I think that's the end of it now.

Timber!

These are some of the trees that were taken down around the piney woods a couple of weeks ago. The crews use tractors that are equipped with what I'll call "gripping hands." They grab a "handful" of logs, lift and swing them around, then stack them more or less neatly as you can see here.

That's a lot of wood!

Lamb leftovers were delicious. We ate the lamb cold (well, room temperature) with Ken's home made mayonnaise, cooled steamed potatoes and green beans (flageolets). And I think we'll be able to make a small third meal for two with what's left. Yum!

Pumpkin pie

Thanks to all for the warm holiday wishes. I wish I could send everyone a piece of this pie through the internet. It's made with our home-grown squash and it turned out great. I'm looking forward to having more as we work our way through holiday leftovers. 😃😃😃

An annual treat: home-made pumpkin pie. Cheers!

The wine is a local sparkling rosé. And, while it looks like it would be sweet, it's actually quite dry. Yum!

Happy Thanksgiving, USA!

Regular readers might remember that Ken and I don't make the traditional turkey dinner to celebrate America's Thanksgiving holiday. In France, turkeys are not generally available until closer to the Christmas holiday. so we make lamb, usually a leg, sometimes with the bone in, other times boned, rolled, and tied into a roast. This year we went with a rolled shoulder roast from the butcher shop in central Saint-Aignan. And here it is, before we season it for the oven. Wish us luck! I'll be making a pumpkin pie for dessert.

Epaule d'agneau, desossé, roulé, et ficelé.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! 

A while ago

This is one of the grape growers out back pruning his vines as he did most winters for many years. He burned the cuttings in that steel drum contraption. Nobody that I know of burns cuttings any more. The growers line them up between the vine rows and mulch them. Much more ecologically friendly. We used to stop and chat with B. while out on our daily walk. The border collie is our Callie (who died in 2017) and the bigger dog is Max, who spent many a happy day romping around among the vines while her (I think Max was a "she") master worked. I took the photo on or around Thanksgiving 2011 out near the piney woods. Max is long departed and the grower has since retired.

Max and Callie got along very well. The piney woods are just outside the photo to the right. That's their shadow on the ground.

Ken's heading out this morning to gather provisions for our Thanksgiving 2025 lunch. Tasha and I will guard the house. 

Monday was pizza day

This is the first of two pizzas we enjoyed yesterday. I topped my regular pizza dough with tomato puree, thin slices of something called pavé au poivre vert (a cured pork sausage made with green peppercorns), raclette cheese (a Swiss cheese made for melting, popular this time of year in France), and a sprinkling of our home-grown dried oregano.

Not quite round, but delicious nonetheless.

I made the second pizza mostly the same way, but used slices of cured beef in place of the pork. And I added a few black olives.We drank a delicious local nouveau red, made just across the river. Ken's going out this morning to see if he can get some more.

Leftovers again?

Leftovers can be better than the original meal, or at least just as good. This was yesterday's lunch, leftover choucroute garnie. In the mix was smoked palette de porc, saucisses de Strasbourg, a saucisse de Francfort made with chicken, some potatoes, carrots, turnips, and, of course, sauerkraut all served with a hot Dijon mustard. We drank a pinot-gris from Alsace. It was delicious, again!

A home-made grated carrot salad added some freshness to the meal.

Today we're having pizza. I made dough for the crust early this morning and set it aside to rise. We're planning to top the first one with a salami-like sausage made with green peppercorns and the second with sliced cured beef.

Clémentine season

The holiday season is the time of year when clémentines show up in the produce section of our markets. They're small, juicy, tangy and sweet. In a word, delicious! And they're easy to peel. They're grown in southern France, Spain, North Africa, and other places in the Mediterranean basin. I look forward to enjoying them every year.

Our first clémentines of the season!

I think the coldest of our cold spell has passed. there's snow reported in Paris, but where we live we've only had that one snow shower so far. 

Le Beaujolais nouveau et arrivé

I'm back! It's that time of year again. The "new" Beaujolais wine was released on Thursday. Ken brought a few of them home yesterday and I'm looking forward to trying one today. These aren't fancy wines, and they're not meant to be kept. Drink them young!

Two Beaujolais, two Beaujolais-Villages, one Touraine Premier, and a Bordeaux (oops!).

We had a short snow flurry event Friday morning. For about ten minutes it snowed big fat flakes. Some of it stuck to cold surfaces for a few minutes before it all melted into memory. It was pretty. More snow showers are predicted through the weekend.

Plenty o' nuttin'

That's what I got. So I'm taking a Blogger's Break (is that a thing?) today. Enjoy!

The ghost of Thanksgiving past

It's that time of year again. One week from today is Thanksgiving in the USA. We're working on what ours will look like this year. Our tradition is to roast a leg of lamb. This year we might try shoulder. Ken's going to see a local butcher today and, hopefully, place an order for next week.

Last year's roasted gigot d'agneau (leg of lamb).

This photo is from last year's meal, a boneless rolled leg served with Brussels sprouts and flageolet beans. Yum! Just FYI, we really don't need to order a gigot a week in advance. Thanksgiving is not a holiday here and lamb is normally available whenever you want it. A boned and rolled roast could take a day or two, depending on the butcher.

Baby, it's cold outside

We're down to about 3ºC this morning. Forecasts are for 1º and below as we approach the weekend. That means a freeze is possible. But, you know how it goes. The news folks get all excited about possible wintry weather and blow it out of proportion. Then nothing happens. So, we shall see.

Are we tired of leaves, yet? The show's almost over.

I got my hair cut yesterday and now I feel much better. I haven't let my hair go that long in quite a while.

Making our way

Our daily walks with Tasha are much less adventurous than they used to be. The fact is that we're all getting older. Tasha will be nine years old this spring! We rarely venture off the dirt road that runs through the vineyard parcels. When we do, it's on paths that know well and we don't go far.

The dirt road through the vineyards.

I've got an appointment to get my hair cut this morning. Ken's taking the Peugeot in for an oil change and some other little fixes. A busy day! 

Here we go

The weather site that I look at each day is predicting a low of 1ºC on Tuesday morning. One degree above freezing. Shiver. We'll spend some time today making sure that any remaining vulnerable potted plants are moved indoors or up close to the house.

Some of the cut trees from the edges of the piney woods.

We just decided to make a baked lasagna for lunch. That should keep us warm for a coule of days! 

 

 

The once piney woods

I used to walk Callie, then Tasha, in these woods. I haven't for ages. We just haven't walked out to the end of the vineyard road very much recently. The last time was in the spring when those potatoes and tomatoes were planted out there in an unused vineyard parcel.

The trees and shrubs that formed the outside wall of the woods are now cut and piled neatly on the ground.

So, last week I headed out there just to see if that garden was harvested and was surprised by this. Half the woods have been cut down! The tree trunks are very neatly stacked on the ground waiting for some unknown (to me) fate. Before, it wasn't possible to see through the thick patch of conifers that I call the "piney woods." They were that dense. I could barely get to the inside through the thick, overgrown wall of shrubs and young tees that surrounded them. But once through the barrier, the woods became a magical place, its thick floor of pine needles muffled all sound from the outside world, a place where elves and fairies might have gathered. Now the woods have been laid bare, they themselves reduced to a thin veil, no longer able to keep secrets. I'm going to have to go out there again one of these days and walk through the remaining patch of trees.

I won't really miss them. They'll all grow back. For older views of the piney woods (and what's inside), type "piney woods" in the search box above and scroll through the photos.

To be or not to be

That's our Hamlet! A little English Lit humor there.

Sunrise soliloquy.

The weather is changing. Rain is upon us, according to the radar. And I must venture out into it, and suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, with Tasha.

Naked vines

This vineyard parcel has lost all it's leaves already. I took this photo yesterday at sunrise. Pretty soon, all the parcels will look like this.

All the leaves are gone from this parcel. That's the sun peeking through the trees on the horizon.

It looks like our spell of mild weather is at its end. Another rain system is moving in and our temperatures are predicted to drop into the single digits. Celsius, of course. 

Who's that old guy?

Yeah, I can't believe it, either. Jeez.

I've got no new photos. This is from a few weeks ago. I'm getting my hair cut next week.

 

Leaves' last gasp

It's nearly over. The warm colors of autumn leaves in and around the vineyards, that is. And although the weather is mild now, we know that winter's chill is near.

In contrast to yesterday's somewhat bleak photo, this vineyard parcel continues to show off its brilliant color.

The key fobs to our Peugeot are acting up. I think they need new batteries. although we put new ones in, we can't seem to get them to work. Ken's planning to have the oil changed in that car pretty soon, so he'll add key fob batteries the job and let the pros do it.

Tasha Tuesday

Well, sort of. It's more of a Lone Poplar Tuesday. But what the heck. Tasha's in there.

All the leaves are off the Lone Poplar now. That's fog climbing up from the stream bed below.

Today's a holiday. That makes it a hunt day. We have to be careful out there. Speaking of which, a week or so ago Tasha, while inside the house, started barking to tell us there was somebody or something outside. I opened the door and heard a loud squawking and the sound of wings flapping unusually close. I went downstairs and outside and there was a male pheasant in the road. He was heading out to the vineyard, and he was not in a hurry. He was a beautiful bird, his colors shone brightly as he pranced down the road. I wonder if he's still out there.

The linden tree

This is the tilleul (linden) in our back yard. It's a nice looking tree, but it stands a little too close to the house. So, this winter, our landscaping contractor will give it a serious pruning. Worry not, these trees don't mind agressive pruning. You see them all the time in town squares and city parks all across France. Paris is full of them. I'm looking forward to it.

As golden as... you fill in the blank.

Our morning lows got lower for a short time, but look to be climbing again. Highs remain in the comfortable range, for the time being. Tomorrow is Armistice Day, another holiday in France.

Once more, with feeling

This is pretty much the same view as was in yesterday's post. That one was taken about three weeks ago. I took this one yesterday from the same spot (out the guest room window). Whole vineyard parcels have dropped their leaves; others are still holding on. Orange is quickly giving way to brown.

In the foreground, the real fake well. In the background, the Lone Poplar.

In general, out temperatures are pretty mild for mid-November. That's nice, except for the rain that often comes along with it. That said, the forecast for the next few days looks relatively dry. We're having a nice arrière saison, as they say. This morning is foggy and we're socked in. Still, we can't really complain.

Room with a view

This photo is from the 20th of October, a view from our guest room out over the vineyards to our west. Most of these leaves are gone now. Temperatures are still mild, but a couple of windy days was enough for the leaves to drop.

Ken's choucroute was delicious yesterday. So much so that we're going to eat the leftovers today. But that won't be the end of it because we froze several kilos of the stuff to eat all through fall and into winter. It's nothing like what comes in a can or a bottle. As you probably know from his blog, he buys raw 'kraut, rinces and blanches it, then, either cooks it or freezes it for cooking later on. Yum!  

Under the maple trees

Here's another view of one of the two maple trees that grow over the driveway.

Pretty, but messy. This is part of the same view as yesterday, only zoomed in a bit.

This will be a short post 'cause I'm heading out to get some Alsacien wine for Ken's choucroute (sauerkraut). It'll go into the chou as it cooks this morning and then into us as we enjoy the meal later.

Make like a tree

And leaf! I think I learned that one in grade school. I did get a lot of the leaves, maybe half, blown to where I want them. The rest will have to wait because the rain is back.

The driveway before. I don't have an after pic. One of our cars is under the carport (out of the frame on the left), the other is in the garage (out of the frame on the right). 

Ken and I had a hard time getting the leaf blower going yesterday. There was a lot of swearing. @#!%#%!! The thing is brand new! (although we've had it for a year already) After a while it started working. Seems there's a bad connection in one of the electrical cords and you have to hold your mouth right to get it to work. We'll do some further investigations when the weather gets better.

Another red sky at morning

If you're a sailor, take warning. We're having a couple of nice days. I think I'll try the leaf blower this afternoon. I have a few errands to run this morning, so we'll see.

Another breathtaking sunrise over our hamlet from last week.

Tuesday's election results across the USA seem to portend a healthy rebuke of You-Know-Who and a reset for the more liberally inclined moving toward the mid-term elections next year. I think that's a good thing.

Stuck on you

Leaves stuck to a damp deck on a foggy morning are common in the fall. It could be worse; wind often blows the bigger maple leaves up onto the deck, but there weren't many, if any, on this morning. The driveway just below is another story.

I need a few dry days to dry the umbrella. Then I can put it away for winter.

It's a chilly 7ºC (about 45ºF) out there this morning. That's why it's called Novembrrr. It's time to start thinking about bringing plants in for the winter.

Branching out

This branch on one of our maple trees lost its leaves before all the others. It's covered in lichens, but so is the rest of the tree. Mystery? Or just one of nature's little quirks?

The aqua-blue color on the branches is lichens. I've read that they're essentially harmless.

I've reached the point in my life where I'm tired of cleaning up fallen leaves. The lawnmower mulches them, but I've finished with mowing for the season. The last few years, I've been leaving the leaves on the ground over winter. They mostly mulch themselves and what's left get pulverized when I start mowing again in the spring. I've learned the hard way not to leave the leaves (haha) in the driveway over winter. They're a mess to pick up after they've semi-mulched themselves into our gravel driveway. I'll pick some dry weather days to blow them onto the north forty. We got a leaf blower last year thanks to a nice store credit that came with a sale when we bought our riding mower. 

Not quite right

This photo didn't turn out as I expected. It was before sunrise and there wasn't much light. But I only took two of this view. Here's the better one.

Trees grow where ravines drain the vineyards down to the river.

We had wind and rain a good part of the day on Saturday. A lot of leaves blew off the trees and now cover the ground. There are still a lot of leaves on the trees, but I can now see more and more bare branches out there. Ah, autumn.

Color my world

Yesterday was a little breezy and the leaves on our maple trees were tumbling down. There are still a lot of leaves on the linden and other trees, but not for long. Soon the browns and greys of winter will take over. Meanwhile, we're enjoying the show.

Another view of the Lone Poplar.

 Here we are, the first of November. The two-weeks-long All Saints holiday ends on Monday and the kids go back to school. The next school vacation is for Christmas, starting on the 20th of December, ending after the new year.

I'm enjoying watching the Paris Masters tournament on tv, the last of the Masters 1,000 series (nine tournaments through the season) at its new venue at La Défense. It's the last tournament in the Men's tennis season before the championship final in mid-November. 

Where's Tasha?

I know that Ken already posted photos of this recent meal. But here it is again in case you missed it. A delicious omelette aux épinards (spinach omelet) and air fryer frites (French fries).

Here's an added bonus! Can you see Tasha in the picture? Where there's food... 

Sunrise in the vineyard

Yesterday's sunrise was quite dramatic. I took this photo just as the sun was rising over the horizon. Tasha and I were on our morning walk. If you look closely, you might recognize the Lone Poplar on the left.

Wednesday morning's sunrise over the autumn vineyards.

There's not much going on here as we slide toward winter. The days are getting shorter, of course, and the weather, while not really bad, is wet and on the chilly side. On the positive side, we're enjoying and planning more fall/winter type menus for our daily lunch. Coming soon: choucroute garni (sauerkraut with meats and vegetables)!

Red leaf

I think that the vineyard leaves are at their peak right now. Bear with me while I post some more fall colors.

Pinkish red.

Way out back I saw this morning that many sections of woodland have been cut. The trees and other vegetation are lined up on the ground where pines and oak stood just the other day. I wonder what's going on. New vineyard space? Just a regular periodic cleaning up? I didn't take any photos, but I will. Stay tuned.

Tasha Tuesday

Tasha doesn't mind the chilly weather. And why not? Look at that fur coat!

On the vineyard road.

Still no sign of after-effects of the flu and covid vaxes I had on Saturday. I hope it stays that way.

Raclette

We've had raclette twice this fall. So far. To make it, you need a raclette machine and some raclette cheese. There's a heating element under the griddle. You put a slice of cheese in the little tray and slip it under the element to melt it. While it's melting, you grill some meat and vegetables that you've prepared in advance. When they're done, they go onto your plate, then you pour the melted cheese over all. Yum! There's no limit to what you can grill. Anything that goes with cheese goes with raclette.

Clockwise from the wine bottle: raclette cheese, melting trays, sliced mushrooms, sliced steamed Brussels sprouts, cured ham, sliced chorizo sausage, more melting trays, pickles (not for grilling), sliced steamed potatoes. In the center is the raclette machine.

It's windy, but warmer, this morning. No rain in the forecast. I think that I'm going to remove the riding mower's battery for the season today. I don't want a repeat of last year's bungle with the mower's battery. Less stress!

Oops

I didn't get the clocks done yesterday. I had my appointment for flu and covid shots at 14h30 and that messed me up. So I'll be doing the clocks this morning. My upper arms are a little sore from the injections, but it's not at all bad.

A parcel of older vines.

Meanwhile, the local leaves continue their color change both in the woods around us and in the vineyards. It's chilly this morning. I could build a fire in the stove, but I've got clocks to change! The central heating is helping us out. 

Going back in time

Today is when I turn the clocks back one hour to Central European (Standard) Time. The time officially changes at midnight tonight, but I like to have all the clocks done when I go to bed so I don't have to mess with them in the morning. The tv news people are saying that this will be the last time, except for one final "spring ahead" next year. I'll believe that when I see it.

These vines were planted this past spring.

Here's a shot of the recently replanted vineyard parcel and its new stakes and guide wires. I think these vines are too young to get pruned this, their first, winter. I'll keep an eye out.

There's moles in them thar hills

Well, maybe not "in" the hills. But definitely below them. After our summer heatwave, it got wetter. The ground softened and the moles moved back in. There are several "mole towns" like this in the west and north forties. I have to rake them down before cutting the grass.

Mole hills in the West Forty. The yellow leaves are on our fig tree.

The wind died down over night as the remnants of storm Benjamin move on through. This morning is clear and cold and still. Did I mention cold? It's 7ºC (about 45ºF) out there now.

In other news... Ken and I are both scheduled to get our flu and covid shots over the next few days. I haven't had a flu shot (other than covid) since I don't know when. But being over 65, I think I should err on the side of caution.

Those crazy cave men (and women)

This "Far Side" comic by Gary Larson always makes me laugh. I don't think that humans and primordial soup co-existed (neither did humans and dinosaurs, another Larson staple), but who's counting? A little poetic license, as it were, for a good laugh is an even trade.

The Far Side by Gary Larson.

The wind kicked up last evening and gusted through the night. I slept through most of it, but I was up at 03h00 and did a quick tour of the house to be sure everything that needed to be was shut and/or secured. Then it was back to sleep until I got up around 06h30. 

The lone poplar

This tree was a lot smaller when we first moved here twenty-two years ago. Across the dirt road from the tree is the old cabane de vignes, a simple one-room shelter and storage building constructed among the vines. This one doesn't get used much these days. Modern vehicles and equipment can be quickly and easily moved from the winery to the fields, making the old cabanes more or less obsolete.

Heading westward from our hamlet out through the vineyards.

It's raining right now and we're expecting more throughout the day. We're turning our clocks back over the weekend. That'll be fun. Efforts to stop the bi-annual clock change have once again fizzled. The issue comes up every now and then. Like the weather, however, no one seems to be able to do anything about it. 

New stakes

Here's a view of part of that vineyard parcel that was replanted this past spring. It's now complete with new stakes and guide wires; all ready to receive next year's new growth.

It took the crew about two weeks to do the whole parcel.

We're in a rainy period now. I was coming back from the pharmacy yesterday afternoon and a rain shower came back with me. It moved on when I got home. 

Bizarro

Back in the early '90s, I was fresh out of grad school and found a job as a transportation planner at what was called a Congestion Management Agency. I could not resist clipping this strip from the local paper.

Bizarro by Piraro. I added the color.

I heard rain showers over night. Nothing serious. 

Pretty in yellow

We're about a month into autumn now. The grape vines look beautiful and there's still more color ahead. I'm glad I was able to get some photos in the bright sun yesterday. The weather forecast is for rain off and on today with the pattern continuing into next week.

The trees behind this vineyard parcel are beginning to turn. This is the view outside our back gate.

The French held a "No Kings" protest back in 1789. It didn't end well for the royalty.