To market, to market

I did get to the market on Saturday. The strawberries are plentiful and beautiful right now. I also got a couple of avocados for making guacamole. I also got some sausages for grilling (most of them went into the freezer).

Climbing up the stair toward the castle.

I parked down by the bridge so not to have to deal with parking in town. I took the stars up toward the château then the wide drive down into town (on foot; the drive is closed to vehicles). Along the way, I stopped to have a look from the terraces and notice my car parked down below. I didn't plan it, so it was a nice surprise to see how the car lined up perfectly with the view point below.

Looking down toward the river from the view terrace. Can you spot my little blue car? It's parked just left of center in the photo.

As planned, I mowed the west forty yesterday. Today I'm planning to finish up by cutting the north forty. There's also a little detail work to do; I've done a little of that each day with the walk-behind mower. I wonder how soon it will all need cutting again? 

With a capital C

Here's a column, or part of one, on one of the many local, and lesser known, châteaux in our region. Which one? I'm not sure. I'll get back to you. Maybe... Ok, did it. I believe it's the Château de Troussay.

It's the beautifully sculpted capital of an engaged (built into the wall) column.

Another ten degree morning. Outside. I think I'll need a scarf and a knit cap when I go out for the morning walk. Brrr! 

One last glance

That's it for my recent walk on the island in the Cher at Saint-Aignan. I'll have to go back again soon since I missed a bunch of stuff. Like the beach and the fish ladder. Tasha loves car rides, so I know she'd be happy to go. It takes a whole five minutes to get there.

The château at Saint-Aignan at sunrise.

I haven't cut grass in a few weeks because of all the rain we've been having, but yesterday I was able to get the mower out and cut the strip along the road. I mostly wanted to run the mower to keep the battery charged. Now it's time to wish for some dry weather to get the rest of the property groomed.

And speaking of the property, we got the landscaper's estimate for all the things we wanted done but can't do ourselves. The estimate seems quite reasonable and we're both happy about that. 

Stepping back

I was using a 50mm lens on the camera so, to get a wider angle shot, I needed to physically back away from the subjects. I do have a 25mm lens for wide shots, but didn't have it with me. No matter. Here's a somewhat wider view that includes the château, the church, the bridge, the new passerelle, the old mill foundations, and the lock. No swimming allowed.

View toward central Saint-Aignan from the island in the Cher.

It rained on and off yesterday with some mild thunder in the late afternoon. We're still in the same pattern today, maybe with less rain. The high temperature is expected to be around 22ºC (71ºF). And it's a new moon! I wonder what its name is.

Here comes the sun

Caught just as the sun was rising, this is the château at Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher. I was standing down at water level just upstream of the bridge.

Le château de Saint-Aignan.

There was a little lightning and thunder during a rain shower yesterday. Nothing threatening, thank goodness. I noticed lightning in the sky during the night last night, but there was no rain, no thunder. In fact, the sky above me was mostly starry with patches of cloud here and there. If there was a storm, it must have been a long way away.

A trip to the dump

Our local "dump" is not so much a dump as it is a recycling center. We separate all our refuse before tossing it into the appropriate bins. When the bins are full, they're loaded onto the backs of large trucks and carted away to a central processing facility before being recycled and/or incinerated. I was checking on line this morning to see if our déchetterie (dump) is open on Mondays and was pleasantly surprised to see that not only was it open on Mondays, but it was open at 06h30 on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays! Summer hours! This is new.

This photo of the château and church in St.-Aignan has nothing to do with today's post.

Ken and I had loaded up the car yesterday with old bed linens, pillows, and rugs for disposal. Once I learned of the summer hours, I hopped in the car and drove across the river and, voilà, that stuff is all gone. No fuss. No muss. I have some more stuff (used deep-frying oil among other things) to take over there, maybe tomorrow.

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it

I didn't go all the way across. I parked in the lot and was heading to the market and I wanted to get in and get out before it got too crowded, so I stopped here for a quick look at Saint-Aignan's château. It's built on the high bluff above the river. It was about 08h20, so there were very few pedestrians about.

The château at Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher.

Tasha was a good girl for the groomer and she looks great. I think she's getting used to the new groomer and knows what to expect. Yesterday was the third time with this particular groomer. Still, she was overjoyed to see that Ken and I were still here after it was over. I didn't take any photos, but maybe I'll get one later today.

Now what?

I have no new photos. I guess I should get out more often. Here's one that I've posted several times over the years. Some of you have been there. Let me know if you recognize it.

A castle in France. Hmm...

The week ahead is looking like it will be hot. There's lots of outdoor work to do, including another pass with the weed killer. I may even need to mow again.

A castle in the back yard

That tower in the background is part of the old (medieval) château in Saint-Aignan. The newer (Renaissance) castle is out of the photo to the left. The owner lives there and the buildings are not open to the public, except that people are allowed to walk up to the courtyard and overlook for the views.

I'm standing with my back to the river and bridge looking up to the bluff where the castle sits.

The grass is all cut! How long will it be before it needs to be cut again? And before the weather is good enough to get it done?

Rocamadour [4]

Yesterday, I posted a photo that included part of the château above Rocamadour and the walkway that juts out above the cliff-side town. This is a view of that walkway from the château, That's Ken and our friend Sue posing out at the end.

Watch out for that last step!

A big weather system (named Aitor, I think) went by us over night. We certainly didn't get the brunt of it; I think that happened farther north and east of us. But the wind did howl and the rain came down. The effects of the storm will continue to be felt here into tomorrow as temperatures begin to drop.

Rocamadour [3]

At the risk of being repetitive, here's a wider angle version of yesterday's view. That little Panasonic bridge camera I had then (my first digital) had a nifty zoom lens built in.

The view is amazing from up top.

In 2006, we climbed all the way up to the château and walked out onto that overlook you can see jutting out at the top of the photo. I don't know if I could do that today. I also noticed on the map that there are some elevators available, but I'm not sure of their precise location or how far down they go.

Château de Montfort

Another Dordogne Valley castle, this time Montfort. French Wikipedia has an extensive timeline of historical information if you're interested (there's also a link to a summary in English). Apparently, the castle was fought over a lot, destroyed and rebuilt at least four times in its history.

Le château de Monfort, Dordogne.

Today is the autumnal equinox, the beginning of fall for those who prefer the astronomical way of defining the seasons. From now until next spring, each day will bring more darkness than daylight.

Another one

Here's another version of the abstract from yesterday. Again, it's one of the crenelated walls and tower at the château de Beynac in the Dordogne.

Castle abstract.

We had a strange and unexpected rain shower around mid-morning yesterday. The rain fell straight down; there was no wind. And the sun shone the whole time. At one point, we could see it raining out front but not out back. We were precisely on the edge of the shower, and we confirmed that with a look at the radar images online. Even with all that sun, I didn't see a rainbow.

Consequently, I didn't go out to finish cutting the grass. Too wet. Maybe today, but there's more rain in the forecast. It's not essential that it get done now; the grass is not going wild. The cool weather we had in the past few weeks slowed its growth.

Seeing double, again

I know I've posted this before, probably back in 2006. It's a section of the roof line of the château de Beynac, cut and copied and pasted to form this kaleidoscope-like image.

 

Mirror, mirror.

Grass was cut yesterday! Not all of it, though, so I'll be out there again today to finish up. Depending on how the weather unfolds, this could be the last cut of the year. I have cut the grass in October and November before, so that's not unheard of. We shall see!

A closer look

It's the massive château de Beynac again, this time zoomed in for more detail.

Le château de Beynac, Dordogne.

They keep adding moons. This latest one is the "partially-eclipsed-full-harvest-super moon." Really. What's next? The not-so-full blue moon of Kentucky? The late-harvest moon over Miami? The it's-only-a-paper moon? The Hepburn river moon? The hits-your-eye-like-a-big-pizza-pie moon? The fly-me-to-the-new moon?  In other words, I could go on.

Château de Beynac

Here's another one of the famous Dordogne castles. Ken and I, along with our friend Sue, parked down by the river and walked (climbed) up the narrow streets to the castle above. We didn't go inside, though. Probably in a hurry to get somewhere else. And châteaux start to look alike after a (short) while.

Château de Beynac on the Dordogne.

I may get it together to cut the grass today. Or tomorrow. We'll see how the spirit moves me.

Another "mystery" château

It's really no mystery, it's just that I haven't made an effort to identify it. UPDATE: Ken used the Google photo ID app to identify the château. It's the Château do Fayrac.

Another Dordogne château.

I did get some yard work done yesterday which I hope is part of the prelude to cutting the grass later this week. I cut down the fading artichoke stalks and added them to the pile of yard waste that I've made where the vegetable garden usually goes. Then I covered the pile with a tarp so it doesn't turn into a soggy rotting mess before I can get rid of it. I did some weed whacking along the back yard path and I applied some herbicide to the tree stumps in the north forty where weeds are brambles are trying to take hold. They're sprouting where the mower can't reach.

Castle and bridge

A typical sight in the Dordogne Valley. I can't tell you which castle this is. I probably should do the research and try to figure it out. But I'm too lazy and it's my morning to walk Tasha (maybe those two things cancel each other out, but I'm too lazy to... you get it).

If you recognize this château, let me know.

We're still in the chilly zone. Two of our neighbors (four of us in the hamlet have riding mowers) have cut their grass in the past two days. Over achievers. I think it's too cold and a little to wet to be riding around on the mower, and I'm lazy (see above), so I'm waiting for the predicted warmer, dryer days ahead. I hope the forecasters are right.

Two-fer

Here's a second shot of the château/hotel in La Roque-Gageac. I couldn't choose between the the two photos, so I'm posting them both.

They have a lot of rooftops in La Roque-Gageac.

Yesterday's cool front came roaring through as expected. The wind was fierce, but we got no rain or thunder. This morning the sky is clear; not a cloud to be seen. The wind, thankfully, is gone.

Vie de château

From what I can glean from the internet, this beautifully restored and updated château in La Roque-Gageac operates as a hotel. It has nine rooms and can accommodate up to sixteen guests at a time. I don't believe that the rooms are rented individually, but are rented to large groups like families or for business retreats. One web site posts the cost for one week at between six and ten thousand euros. And there's a swimming pool on the grounds.

The château/hotel at La Roque-Gageac.

We're expecting a hot day today, then an abrupt cool-off over night. It looks like the cold front's thunderstorms will stay off to our east. Thank goodness.