Five and dime

This is the Woolworth Building in lower Manhattan as seen from the World Trade Center's observation deck back in 1994.

Woolworth Building, New York City, May 1994.

 

Market day

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!

Albany, NY, prepares for its annual Tulip Festival. May 1994.

Nice try

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.

Jets leaving vapor trails in the morning sky.

 

Low bridge!

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.

If you walk through the tall grass, watch out for ticks!

I'm heading out with Tasha this morning. I haven't decided which way we'll go.

Fields in the flood plain

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.

This may be colza, based on the yellow flowers that are starting to bloom.

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.

Tasha Tuesday

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.

Tasha leads the way. It's steeper than it looks.

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.

Another view

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).

Looking east along the garden path toward the house.

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.