Monday macros

I thought this chestnut (I think) leaf looked like the blade of a table saw. In screaming yellow. We had a light frost on Saturday morning when I had the macro lens out. Frost changes everything.

Frosted leaf in the grass, 100mm (macro), f/2.8, 1/160s, ISO 640.

On Sunday we visited our closest wine cooperative which was hosting what they call a marché de Noël (Christmas market). It's a special event where local (and some not so local) artisans gather to sell their products. I saw a goose farmer, a goat cheese producer, a man who sold hazelnuts and walnuts and assorted products made from them, honey makers, and a baker. We bought some snails from a snail farmer from up near Blois and a bottle of calvados (apple brandy) from a distiller in Normandy (not local). Then we spent some time tasting wine -- it was a winery after all -- and brought home a few bottles. The event wasn't very big and it wasn't too crowded, and everyone was friendly and happy. All in all, a very nice time.

Inside the sleeve

One of our local growers replaced hundreds of old and diseased grape vines out back this fall. The vineyard workers identified the vines that had to go, pulled them up, then planted new vines in their place. The new vines are protected from harsh weather and animals by cylindrical sleeves. The replanting took a few weeks, but it seems to be done now. The workers have already started the annual pruning process, which will continue through the winter.

The red waxy coating, if there was one, is already gone from this newly planted grape vine.

It's encouraging to see growers investing in the vineyards and their wine production. I've seen news reports about how French people are consuming less and less wine these days, and wines from other parts of the world are gaining market share. The demand for more localized, every-day varietals is lessening. Most of the vineyards and wineries around us are small, family-run operations. Many growers belong to cooperatives that pool resources for wine production, bottling, and marketing. Other growers retire and don't have anyone to take over their business, so they sell, or try to sell, or sometimes simply abandon their vineyard parcels.

Still, there are quite a few young growers and vintners out there, and many of them are moving into organic wine production. And established growers, like the one who owns most of the vineyards behind our house, are investing in their operations and marketing. We've seen some of our local labels in cafés and restaurants in Paris. One year while traveling, we even saw an organic wine made just down the road from us for sale in a store in central Illinois. Go figure!

What's on tv

Not only is Angelina Jolie doing something-or-other that's coming out in theaters this week, but one of her movies is also on television. Most of the news programs are still processing the terrorist attacks in Paris and there's a lot of news coming out of the climate conference that continues through the coming week. And there's an interview with Jean Dujardin.

Angelina Jolie: One woman's battles.

What NOT to watch this week. Our tv magazine rates shows and movies using a star system: one star is ok, four stars is best. They use another symbol for really bad movies: the red dot. It means "à zapper" (change the channel!). The editors often include comments about the movie that make me laugh.

I'm not sure I've ever seen "American Pie," let alone its collection of direct-to-DVD spinoffs including this one. Its original title is "Band Camp." This is one of those instances where the French change the English title to another English title. I suppose "Band Camp" has no meaning to French people, but "No Limit" is a somewhat more familiar phrase. By the way, the word navet (turnip) is often used to describe a very bad movie.

American Pie présente : No Limit ! (American Pie presents: No Limit!). American made-for-tv movie directed by Steve Rash, 2005.
With Tad Hilgenbrink and Arielle Kebbel.
► A student is required to spend his summer at band camp. He tries to make compromising films with the band members.
It would be difficult to make a more bogged down, less funny movie than this turnip.
For adults and kids over 10.

Friday fifites

The calendar is moving closer to winter, but our weather seems to be stuck in fall. I think this is normal. The solstice and end-of-year holidays are fast approaching. Decorative lights are up in most of the towns around. Scenes of festive feasts and kids with new toys flash by on television and in the flyers we get in the mail. So we expect it to be winter before it arrives. Then, once it finally gets here, we can't wait for it to go away. The reality is that our temperate-climate winters here are not of the Currier & Ives variety so familiar to Americans. We haven't seen snow in a number of years. For snow and winter activities, one has to go up into the mountains.

A birch tree, 50mm, f/4.0, 1/125s, ISO 1000.

The wireless thermostat continues to work normally in its new location, which is on the dining room table. Not a single failure since Tuesday.

Artichokes

I still have not cut down the artichoke stalks in the garden. On one level, I'm lazy and just haven't gotten around to it (or a round tuit). But (and this is my excuse), on another level, I think they look nice. Right now they're splitting open to release their seeds, which float away on silk when the wind blows.

Dried artichoke flowers releasing their silky seeds.

As for the wireless thermostat that came with the new boiler, as happens often, writing about it has made me into a liar. We waited and waited on Wednesday for the inevitable "fail" only to be disappointed. Or, not disappointed. There was no failure at the predicted time nor at any other time. My neat little theory fell apart. I have only one explanation: I had moved the remote unit to a new location. We suspect that the signal may have been weaker where we had originally put the unit. Now it's in a more open location. If that's the case, it's a very sensitive little box.

We still think that the receiver, which is attached to the boiler itself, is in the wrong place. It's attached to the back side of the boiler, requiring that any signal pass through the boiler itself to be received. The documentation says that metal objects can block the signal. Already, the floor through which the signal passes contains steel beams. Strike one. There is also a reinforced concrete bearing wall in the way. Strike two. Then the signal has to pass through the boiler itself, a metal box filled with metal parts. Strike three. We may ask the installer to relocate the receiver unit to higher up on the wall behind the boiler to eliminate that obstacle. Stay tuned.

Periodic puppy pics

Here's Callie on our way home from Tuesday morning's walk. She was happy because we cut through some woods on the way out. She likes the woods where she can follow the deer paths and smell all the good smells along the way.

I'm looking toward our little hamlet with the river valley behind. Callie's looking back at me.

I'm having one little problem with our new programmable wireless thermostat. I've noticed that every day, at around the same time, the unit drops its connection to the boiler's receiver. Once or twice it's reset itself, but most times I do a manual re-set which involves going down to the boiler, removing the unit cover, and pushing a button. I do this twice, because the unit will usually drop the connection a second time within a few minutes. But, after the second reconnection, it holds for the next twenty-four hour cycle. Then, the next day, the same failure occurs at around the same time. Is a puzzlement.

I realized that this was a "pattern" yesterday, so I'm waiting today for around 10:00 to see if it happens again. I'm not sure what to do about it. I may try to reset the unit to factory defaults and see if that solves it. Otherwise, we'll have to call the installer back.

Believe it or not

There are still a few bunches of grapes here and there among the vines, missed by the harvesters. One good freeze and they will be gone, but that seems unlikely any time soon. Our temperatures remain unseasonably warm. I didn't even build a fire yesterday.

A small grape bunch covered with morning dew. One good frost and they'll whither away.

Pruning has started in the vineyards around us. Little by little, the naked vine canes will be cut away, leaving only one to sprout anew next spring. It's a job that must be done by hand, with a skill to recognize which cane should be saved, and where to cut the others. When the pruning is complete, the same hands will pass through the vines again, bending the surviving canes onto their guide wires and attaching them, preparing them for another year's growth.