The current weather is unsettled. Yesterday we heard thunder nearby without seeing a storm and had numerous rain squalls with no thunder or lightning. Temperatures are dropping; our heat came on this morning. The forecast is for diminishing rain and lower temperatures, then warming up again through the weekend.
Tasha is feeling more like normal now and thanks you for all of your well wishes. Woof! Just a case of normal dog behavior, as we suspected.
Good news and not so good news. First, good news: our landscape contractor texted me yesterday morning that he and his crew would be coming to do the hedges. Yes! Yes! They spent the whole day and did a spectacular job. I don't have photos, yet, because it's now raining. But I'm not complaining.
Not so good news: Tasha's got a belly ache. We think that she gobbled up something on her walk and it's made her sick. Constipated, maybe. She threw up her breakfast yesterday and didn't even touch today's. So, we're keeping an eye on her and giving her free access to the yard if she needs it. I'm pretty sure this type of thing has happened before.
Here's a picture of the South Forty again, this time with some of the West Forty visible. None of the Norty Forty can be seen from here.
As promised, it rained most of the day yesterday. One of our neighbors was having a party. They had put up a party tent, so there was some shelter from the rain. Fortunately for them, the weather cleared out in the middle of the afternoon and the revelers were able to enjoy being outside. Most of them left the party between 20h and 21h (8pm and 9pm for those not on the 24 hour clock).
It's raining this morning. I took this photo from the guest room window overlooking the "south forty," as I call it. You can see that we need the rain, at least on the surface, to green up the grass. Plants with deeper roots seem to doing just fine. Rain is forecast for pretty much the whole week ahead. Ugh.
There's too much blue in the image. I could have adjusted that in software (along with the perspective), but I'm still having some technical problems as far as photo editing and storage go, so it is what it is.
This is the road-side part of our neighbors' property. The utility poles carry our electricity (the line between our hamlet and the rest of the local network is under ground) and fiber optic lines for telephone and internet. There's a concrete pole and a wooden pole. I wonder if there are plans to put it all underground and eliminate the visible wires and the poles. We haven't heard of any.
Last evening we heard thunder. The low rumbling kind. There were two instances out to the east and north and then it was over. I saw no lighting (we still had daylight) and there was no rain.
Today is la Fête du Travail (Labor Day) in France. It's a national holiday, so a lot of businesses will be closed today. This is the first of many holidays in May, so stay tuned.
Here's yet another view of some old machinery on the Artsy Organized Neighbor's property. Looks like it could be (or could have been) a harvester of some sort. But what the heck do I know?
This patch of campanules (bell flowers) has been growing in this spot since before we bought the house. It just comes up every year. And there's no maintenance! It's s sure sign of spring and we look forward to them blooming every year.
Our mail box has met it's end (don't ask) and it's time for a new one. Problem: we're having trouble getting the new box installed. It should be a simple "out with the old and in with the new" kinda thing. Instead, it's a complicated "out with the old and in with a pain in the ass" thing. Bother.
Here's my first look at this year's grape crop. The tiny round buts that you can see are grape flowers. They'll soon bloom and then form fruit.
Yesterday I mowed the north forty and did some weed whacking along the garden path. Next up is the west forty, probably the largest parcel that I mow. It's supposed to be a nice day (again!). Fingers crossed!
I'm getting my hair cut this morning. Yoohoo!
I'm also having some technical difficulties with the formatting of this post. Bear with me!
I call this stand of conifers "the piney woods." It still is "piney," but all the deciduous trees have been removed. "Harvested" is probably is a better word. I first started walking in these woods with our dog, Collette, back in the early aughts when we moved here. Later I'd do the same walk with our next dog, Callie. We've had Tasha now for ten years but our visits to the piney woods have become fewer and farther apart. The woods got denser with brush and there are (were) fewer good paths through. But now they're wide open, beckoning for new exploration.
This is the Woolworth Building in lower Manhattan as seen from the World Trade Center's observation deck back in 1994.
I'm planning to go into town this morning for the weekly market at Saint-Aignan. I want some chicken sausages from the poultry vendor. Specifically, chipolata and merguez. Grilling season is upon us!
We live under a relatively busy commercial air corridor. We see (and sometimes hear) jet liners and their vapor trails passing over in the sky above. In this case, they're coming from the north and flying south. Paris and Orly are to our north, so I suspect that many of these jets are coming from the Paris region. They might even be coming from places farther north like the UK and Scandinavia, others from North America even, all heading south toward the Mediterranean or Africa, and beyond! If the fates allow, I can sometimes identify a plane by using air traffic software. Very nerdy stuff, of course, but fun. This photo is not very good but, by zooming around, I can count at least six jets heading south.
If woodsy areas are not maintained, they remain in or revert to their wild state. Dead and dying trees fall and decompose. That's good for the critters, I expect.
I'm heading out with Tasha this morning. I haven't decided which way we'll go.
This is where we end up after walking down the hill from our hamlet toward the river. Fields, sometimes planted in winter wheat, other times planted in colza (also called canola in English). Outside the frame to the left is another field of similar size.
As you know, we're waiting for our landscape contractor to show up. In addition to the annual trimming of the hedges, there was other work around the yard to be done. We approved and signed his estimate for that work back at the end of last summer. Since then, as they say, crickets. We're waiting still. I texted him once since to no avail. Yesterday, I texted him again. Just a few words: Vous m'avez oublié ? Have you forgotten me? Within fifteen minutes he replied: "No, no, I have not forgotten you." I still have no idea when, or if, he intends to do the work. Hope springs eternal.
This path is one that we used to take when walking with Callie and now with Tasha. It goes down past a vineyard parcel to our north, then down the hill toward the river. It's good exercise, but these days that means it's harder to do. No matter, I'd like to go that way once or twice a week as a change of pace and a mini-workout.
During my walk this morning (we didn't take this path) I noticed some weed trimming work that needs doing outside the hedges along the road. I should be able to get that done today.
Here's another view of the west forty (in the foreground) and the north forty (beyond the apple trees) from out near the garden gate. You can see the tall grass along the path's border wall. I weed wacked what remained of that yesterday. I also got the walk-behind mower out and tidied up a section of the south forty (to the right just out of this shot) where the riding mower can't go (because of shrubs and other obstacles).
We enjoyed the warm spell we've been having. Now the temps are cooling down again. No freeze warnings are in the forecast so far. Let's hope Jacques Frost (perhaps more correctly Jacques Givre) stays away.
I stood in the den window to take this photo, looking out over the border between the north forty (background right) and the west forty (foreground left). The actual line is somewhere along the sawed off tree trunks that you can see in the foreground, maybe a little farther west. The apple trees (you can see one standing in the sun) are definitely in the west.
I got the weed eater (strimmer, débroussailleuse) out yesterday and worked on the tiny walls that separate the garden path from the grassy sections. The mower can't get close enough to cut it. I may do some more today. But, it being Sunday, I can only make noise between 10h00 and noon. That's plenty of time to do the work if the dew has dried up by then.
Another view of the logpile on the Artsy Organized Neighbor's property, adjacent to the vineyards. Nothing much to say.
I cut the west forty yesterday afternoon! The west forty is the biggest section of our property. The way the grass is growing right now, however, means that it won't be long until the whole yard needs cutting again. Weather permitting. In the meantime, it does look under control and like someone is taking care of it.
This big pile of logs started to lean and it looked like it might fall over. Whoever owns/manages the piles (I think it's the Artsy Organized Neighbor) built up this barrier to reinforce the main pile and keep it standing. Sort of a log jam, if you will. Tasha will keep a watchful eye out.
I was somewhat productive yesterday afternoon and mowed the north and south forties of the yard. If things go right, I can get the west forty done today. Fingers crossed.
I took a walk though the Artsy Organized Neighbor's property yesterday morning. At least that's who I think owns this land and stocks old discarded road signs, building stone, and other curiosities among the trees. Right now he's been cutting younger trees along the edge of his land (where the vineyards start). He's also cleared a lot of brush from ground level and burned it. Things are looking neat and tidy.
We're enjoying a few days of "it could be worse" weather. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to get the mower out and get some cutting done between now and the weekend. This morning I'm planning a trip to the supermarket. Oh, what a glamorous life!
No, it's not a thing. Yet. It's hard to get motivated these days. There's nothing new going on. No subjects that haven't been done several times. We don't venture far from home. The weather has not been propitious for roaming around on foot or in the car. I've been reduced to watching the grass grow. So... NPW. Hopefully, something interesting will catch my eye soon.
Tasha hears a deer. We both heard the rustle of leaves on the edge of the nearby woods as an animal moved away from us. Then we heard the coarse bark of a roe deer. Tasha was very excited and ready to bolt toward the retreating deer, but she listened to me when I told her to "stop!" and "stay!" Then we continued on our walk.We heard the deer's bark a few more times as it moved away from us. Did you know that roe dear bark? That was one of the first things I learned while walking through the vineyard with our dog, Collette, back when we moved here in 2003. She loved to chase the deer, but we had to be very careful on hunt days that she wasn't mistaken for one.
I'm not enjoying the cool/cold wave that's currently upon us. It's not stopping the grass from growing, however. It's time to mow again.
I think the flowers are at their peak now. Here's another look at them. I have to keep the spring growth in check so that the plant doesn't take over again.
The weather is cold again. I don't think it's as cold this morning as they predicted, though. Our outdoor thermometer reads about 8ºC at 07h00. That's not life threatening for the new growth in the vineyards around us. Still, it ain't warm.
All kinds of little (and not so little) plants grow beneath the canopy of the woodsy areas around us. It's nice to walk through on the paths that the wildlife (and some humans) make. We've seen deer, wild boar, badgers, and foxes to name a few of the critters out there. Tasha and I use some of the paths depending on the day and what we feel like.
Yesterday's market trip was successful. I got a bunch of white asparagus and loaded up on Asian egg rolls. I also stopped in at the produce store for some shelled nuts (pecans and walnuts), celery, and radishes.
I've got a shopping list and am ready to head out. Happy Saturday!
In spring, and then again in fall, the sun shines into the living room at just the right angle to make a distinctive shadow on the wall. It's an Eiffel Tower wire sculpture topped by a magnetized wire daredevil. The wire guy was a gift from a friend in California. I always thought he should hang out on the top of the tower. Oh, là là !
With that, I must run. Tasha has an appointment to get her annual shots this morning. Chop chop!
They're called pissenlit ("wet the bed," due to their diuretic properties) and dent-de-lion (lion's tooth) in French. I think the former is more commonly used than the latter. I may be wrong about that. At any rate, they're bloomín' all over, including in the vineyard parcels. They're also going to seed, as evidenced by the white "parachutes" in the photo.
Today should be another good one, according to the forecasts. After today, things are supposed to cool down some and there may be more rain.
This is one of the ash cones I've been talking about. You remember. An old vineyard parcel was dug up and the vine trunks were burned. This and another are all that's left.
The weather was spectacular yesterday. The morning dew dried up before noon. We could actually sit out on the deck before evening. I got the mower out and cut the west forty. It feels good to make real progress. I'll try to do more of the same today. The weather should be the same today as yesterday: cloudless blue sky and warm air. The are many patches in the yard that the rider mower can't reach, so they have to be cut by hand. I have a self-propelled walk-behind mower for that.
Wisteria, in English. I did serious surgery on this one a couple of years ago. Nothing but the vertical trunk remained. I think that these are the first flowers that have bloomed since then. I wasn't expecting any at all. I fact, I was going to cut the trunk at ground level. I'm glad I didn't.
We're expecting a high temperature of 24ºC (about 75ºF) this afternoon. I'm planning to cut more grass!
This is one of the piles of grape trunks that was dug up over the past couple of weeks. When the digging was done, they set them on fire. Now there are two neat cones of ashes out there. At least, there were the last time Tasha and I walked by.
Today is a holiday in France (Easter Monday), so it should be a quiet day. We'll be having leftovers for lunch. I may get out and do a chore or two that don't involve motorized tools. The weather is supposed to remain clear and warm for the next few days. Yahoo!
You've seen it here before. It's a specialty of our region (also down near Bordeaux). It's the same plant as green asparagus, the difference being that green asparagus are allowed to see sunlight while they grown. White asparagus are kept in the dark (buried in soil) until they're harvested. These went into one of our favorite seasonal dishes: asparagus tart with ham and a cheesy egg custard.
As today is Easter Sunday, there will be no grass cutting. In our town, domestic noise is only permitted between the hours of 10h00 and Noon on Sundays and holidays (Easter Monday is a holiday). Most people don't bother, so it's a quiet day. Yesterday I got another swath of our yard cut. I'll pick it up again next week, depending on the weather.
By the way, we're not having asparagus today. And we're skipping our traditional rabbit meal in favor of a blanquette de veau, a veal stew in white cream sauce.
There's a lot of beautiful countryside in upstate New York. This is part of the Schoharie Valley, not far from where I grew up.
I took the rider lawnmower out yesterday for the first time this season. I reinstalled the battery (which turned out to be easier than I expected) and, to my happy surprise, it started up! I began to cut some of the grass in the north forty, but it was too wet and I had to stop. It should be dryer today, so I'll give it another go later.
For lack of new photos, here's another from the NYC World Trade Center collection, May 1994. I'm amazed at how the skyline has changed over the years. I don't know the City very well, but I can pick out (in this photo) the Empire State Building and what was then known as Citicorp Center (now Citigroup Center) in Midtown.
The weather gurus tell us that some warming, however short lived, is coming, along with a little less rain. We shall see.
Here's another attempt to capture the tiny new leaves on the grape vines out back. They become more visible each day. I'm sure the growers are keeping their fingers crossed that there are no freezes over the next few weeks.
In domestic news, I've got to go to the pharmacy to refill prescriptions. Tasha goes to the vet for her annual vaccinations next week. I picked up fallen branches in the back yard yesterday. They're from the tilleul (linden tree). Now, if we could get some dry days, I could cut the grass.
Here we are on the first of April! But we're still suffering a stubborn spring. It's so not spring-like that I typed March instead of April. Turns out, I'm the April Fool. Even Tasha was saying, "Huh?"
There's a section of a vineyard parcel just to our north that is planted in chardonnay. I believe the grapes are used for blending in the winery's sparkling wines. Imagine my surprise when, while walking over there last evening, I noticed that many of the vines already have leaves! Better pictures soon. Happy March April!
Just so you know: I had two ideas for a post this morning. As I worked on them they sort of merged. When I tried to separate them, this is some of what I got. What a mess.
They start before sun-up. Can you dig it? Changing the clocks made things darker in the morning. The lights on the digger look much more spooky in person than in this photo.
The weather is still a little wintry. Each morning, it seems, the ground is soaked with dew, ready to freeze at any moment. I'm sure the grape growers have their eyes peeled, looking out for frost warnings.
Here's another shot of the digger that's working out back now. Even from behind thing is huge. I wonder how long it'll be out there. It's far enough from our house that we hear no noise when it's operating.
Spring (Easter) vacations start next Saturday for certain regions of the country. In our area, they start on the eleventh. Another two weeks off for the youngsters.
It's almost as tall as I am. Granted, I'm not all that tall. But who's counting? Oh... I am.
Yesterday's market run was productive. At the produce store I found green asparagus, shiny eggplants, some spicy chorizo (not exactly produce, but that's ok), and a bunch of sweet radishes (called radis roses). The rain stopped, so I stopped at the outdoor market after all. And there was the asparagus and strawberry man. It's too early for strawberries (his,anyway), but he had bunches of white asparagus. Ken made risotto with green asparagus for lunch. Yum!
It's humongous! It's the digger they've been using out back this week to pull up spent vines and start preparing the parcel for new ones.
It started raining early this morning. The morning low is much higher than predicted, no where near freezing. My plans are to go to the market for a couple of things. I may just go to the produce store and skip the outdoor market. We want to make a risotto for lunch with either eggplant or asparagus. I'm not even sure if local asparagus is available yet. I can wait another week.
In other news, we turn the clocks ahead tonight. How annoying.
While we all wait for winter to leave and spring to arrive, work in the vineyards out back continues. In this case, another old parcel is being dug out. I figured that this parcel was doomed when the owners pulled out the guide wires and stakes last fall. Once the vine trunks are pulled up (with the help of this digger), they'll likely get piled up and burned. Then the land will probably lie fallow for a year or three before being replanted with new vines. You can see, to the right of the dirt road, part of the parcel that was replanted last year. The parcel being dug out is on the left.
Freezing temperatures were predicted for this morning, but our thermometer registers two degrees above. Of course, the temperature near the house is slightly warmer than the temperature out among the vines. But I don't see any smudge pots out there, so the growers are either taking a chance or they know something we don't.
This is the World Financial Center, seen from the World Trade Center observation deck in 1994. I'm not certain which buildings survived the September 11 attacks in 2001, but many of them did. Much has been built and re-built since then.
It's been twenty-four hours since I texted the landscape guy. No answer. I think his number works; we texted each other last summer when he came over to do the estimate for some additional work beyond the annual hedge trimming. It's like Roseanne Roseannadanna's father used to say: It's always something. If it's not one thing, it's another.
The folding. That's what they call this step in preparing the grape vines for spring and summer. They've been pruned to one strong cane and each cane will be "folded" to the horizontal and attached to a guide wire. New shoots will grow up from that cane and produce leaves and, eventually, grapes.
We're still waiting for the landscape guy to show up for the annual hedge trimming (and other work). I sent him a text message this morning, hoping that he'll reply. It was a hard, wet, winter and I imagine he's backed up with work. But still, too long without a word. Fingers crossed.
This is what's being protected on cold mornings with fans and smudge pots. There are no fans in the vineyards we live next to, but they have used smudge pots a few times since we've lived here. I haven't seen any this season, yet. There's still about two months of frost danger to go. If the buds freeze, they are likely to die and fall off the vine. Fewer buds equals fewer leaves and, subsequently, fewer grapes.
Yesterday, I made a rather simple pizza topped with tomato sauce, mushrooms (sliced and lightly sautéed with oregano from the garden), and grated cheese (comté from eastern France). This time I was more attentive to the process and avoided a repeat of last month's pizza-mageddon. Papa's got his grove back!
I'm itchin' to get the mower running and to start cutting sections of the yard. I can't mow before lunch because we get really heavy dew. Mowing wet grass is no fun. By mid-afternoon (after lunch), my motivation wanes, just having had lunch (and maybe some wine). Meanwhile the grass is growing. I go though this every year and somehow it all works out.
And apropos of nothing, here's a random shot of the East River from the top of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, NYC. I think the date is sometime in May 1994, obviously prior September 2001.
The bridge on the bottom is the Brooklyn Bridge and the bridge on top is the Manhattan Bridge. Outside of the shot to the left is the Williamsburg Bridge.
If I've seen one or two snow plows in the twenty-plus years that we've lived here, that would be a lot. When it's cold and icy around here, our roads get a layer of sand. There just isn't enough snow to justify plowing. So here's an agricultural plow on display in the Artsy Organized Neighbor's collection of curiosities.
I have to take back what I wrote yesterday about the car. The starter was not the culprit at all. The original diagnosis was correct: bad battery. It's since been replaced and the car starts up as it should. The pros tell us to run the car more frequently to keep the battery in shape. So, today, Ken plans a run to one of his favorite wineries about fifteen minutes from home. That's the spirit!
Yeah, but is it art? Some more of the Artsy Organized Neighbor's works. Those log piles in the background are not the same ones I posted yesterday.
So, the car problem turns out not to be the battery after all, but a dead starter motor. The citroën is getting towed to the shop this morning where the transplant will occur. Should be ready by tomorrow.
