Spring is in there somewhere

The last couple of days have been relatively warm and we are noticing more and more leaf buds on the trees and vines, and more wildflowers in their usual places. Right now, violets are in bloom around the yard. They stay close to the shady areas and their vibrant blue color is eye-catching. But all of that fades away when I apply a sepia treatment to a photo.

As one of my readers pointed out recently, the sepia treatment gives the photo a "Kansas in the Wizard of Oz" look.

With Tasha in the role of Toto, of course.

One chore that got completed yesterday is the breaking-down of cardboard boxes. I'll bet we had accumulated close to thirty boxes in the garage, taking up space. They were mostly wine boxes (ahem), but we also had more than a few Amazon boxes in the mix. Ken and I spent about an hour breaking them all down and flattening them. Some were closed with tape necessitating the use of a box cutter (what an appropriate name!), others with glue, and those can be stubborn, not to mention hell on the fingernails. We put the flattened cartons in big leaf bags and Ken took them to a recycling station over by the supermarket. Good riddance!

Sausages on the grill yesterday were tasty. We may do burgers today. The grilling season is officially here!

Le pliage

Here's an example of grape vines that have been pliées (folded). The single cane that remains after la taille (pruning) is bent to the horizontal and wrapped around a guide wire. Then, in most cases, a sort of twisty tie (what do you call them?) secures the cane to the wire.

These vines are pretty old, but they still produce.

More spring chores are getting done around our place, but there are many more to go. I'm dreading the window and curtain washing. It's not difficult, but it's a chore and it takes time. I do like the result when it's done. I think we'll be firing up the grill for today's lunch. The first grilling of the season will be saucisses de Toulouse (Toulouse-style sausages). Yum.

Plowshares

This is what one of the newer vineyard parcels out back looks like after the plow passes. The tractor with the plow straddles the vine row and, as it moves through the parcel, turns the soil on both sides of the vine trunks. The result is not particularly pretty, and it makes walking between the rows awkward at best. We casual walkers can avoid the plowed rows, but vineyard workers have to deal with them.

My phone camera saw the clouded morning sky as a deep blue.

Friday was another productive day! I power-washed the deck, opened up the bbq grill, and brought the table and chairs up from the garage. This morning, our indoor temperature is just above the point where the central heating comes on. In other words, it's the first morning since winter began that we haven't needed heat. However, morning temps in the single digits are predicted to return from Sunday forward. Yuck.

Thursday morning sunrise

I used my phone to take some pictures in the vineyard yesterday. I'm not happy with the result, so I'll probably take the DSLR out in the next day or two. This sunrise photo came out ok, so here it is.

Looking northeasterly toward our hamlet at sunrise on Thursday.

We're having a relative warm spell. It got up to just over 20ºC (about 68F) yesterday and we're expecting the same through the weekend. I'm thinking of power-washing the deck and getting the bbq grill up and running for the season. But there's no lack of chores to choose from. We'll see how it goes.

The parcel of grape vines shown below was re-planted two seasons ago. This will be its third year. The vines resemble little sticks at this point. Yesterday, one of the vineyard workers used a plow to turn over the soil on either side of each vine row. I'm guessing that's intended to help keep the weeds down while the vines mature.

Mediocre photo of the replanted vineyard parcel behind our hamlet.

I also noticed that the pliage is under way in neighboring parcels. Several workers walked through the pruned rows "folding" each remaining cane to the horizontal and attaching it to a guide wire. The buds are thus well-spaced when they sprout rather than all bunched up. I'll try to get some photos. A picture is worth a thousand words. At least it was before the tariffs.

Whole lotta prunin' goin' on.

Petit à petit, l'oiseau fait son nid. Little by little, the bird builds its nest. An expression that applies to the annual grape vine pruning here (and everywhere, I expect). It's a job done by hand (except that the pruning shears are battery powered): last year's growth is cut off the main trunk, except for one cane. The pruners have an eye for which cane should stay.

Do plum trees get pruned?

Yesterday, in a burst of productivity, I got our US tax return done and sent it off via the internet. A message came back soon after saying that the IRS received and accepted the return. We're expecting a small refund. Yay! Now its on to the French tax return.

Killing me softly

Since Round Up was taken off the market, I've been trying (with little enthusiasm and less success) different ways to control weeds in our gravel paths and driveway. One way is not to bother. I'm not sure I like that method. Ken did some internet research and found lots of mention of using vinegar, and one that combines strong household vinegar with salt to kill weeds. I decided to try.

I don't know what this is.

So, yesterday I mixed up the "recipe" which also called for a measure of liquid dish soap. That, supposedly, helps the vinegar/salt solution to stick to the weeds' leaves. Once mixed, I sprayed the solution on everything green in the garden path before I ran out. I'll see this morning if the weeds show signs of kicking the bucket. If so, I'll mix up some more for the north side and the driveway.

p.s. I just realized what day this is and I want to let you know that this is not an April fool!