Daffy Dog

I couldn't resist posting this one. I was trying to get the flower in focus and not the dog, but it turned out just the opposite.

Callie is curious as to why I'm lying on the ground.

You'd think that as a professional planner I would be used to things not turning out as intended. The daffodils are really opening up now. They are terrific little spots of intense yellow in the greenish/brown of the yard.

And, the tree buds are fattening up!

Forsythia

Now is the time. The forsythia bushes in our back yard are blooming. It's very nice.

Forsythia blossoms.

This time of year is very "iffy." It can be nice, it can be crappy. You just never know. And March in France has a reputation for being stormy. They call the squalls les giboulées de mars. I'll be sure to let you know when they occur.

And again.

In the meantime, we're enjoying some nice weather. Really enjoying it. We can even dry clothes outdoors!

Periodic Puppy Pics

Callie is enjoying the spring-like weather we're having. Sunday was the second day this weekend that we've been able to sit outside and enjoy the sun. If you count Friday as part of the weekend. And I do.

A happy dog. Can you see the tennis ball in front of her?

Our neighbors were down from Blois for the day with one of their daughters and three grandchildren. The kids kept running up and down the road, one with a soccer ball and another on roller blades. Callie just loved that, running the length of the road barking at them, inside the hedge. What fun!

Another shot of the happy dog.

I can't help but be hopeful that we'll have some good dry spring and summer weather this year. Callie enjoys hanging out in the yard whether we're doing garden work, barbecuing, or just sitting around sipping wine. I'm looking forward to it, too.

More Signs Of Spring

I can't help taking pictures of the flowers that are blooming all over the yard this time of year. So here are some more, and they probably won't be the last. I know, some of you saw them all last spring.

A striped crocus.

The seed planting continues. Ken and I went to a garden store over in Amboise on Thursday and found an inexpensive seedling dome. We also hit a LeClerc store and picked up a few jardinières (window boxes) that were on sale and a couple of tunnels de jardin. I don't know what they're called in English (garden tunnels?). They're little protective covers, like tiny Quonset huts made of fabric, that you put in the garden for seedlings to keep them warm on chilly nights.

I got the specialty pepper seeds started in the new dome. Twelve jalpenos, six serranos, and six cayennes. We had really good crops of cayennes in the past, so we're hopeful for more this year.

Purple primroses.

I also moved a lavender plant to a better location. There's still much to do out there. First, and foremost, is picking up all the downed twigs and branches from the yard. Then there's a bit of pruning that didn't get done in the fall.

Callie and the lavender in its new location.

Next up, there is a dying apple tree in the yard that has to be taken down with the chainsaw. That'll probably be a blog post sometime over the next few weeks. I'm sure you're quivering with anticipation.

Again with the crocus.

This Is For Evelyn

Friday the thirteenth was a very lucky day for us. Lots of sun, and the warmest day so far this year. Ken and I spent several hours outside, soaking up sun and sipping wine. And I wore the shirt that Evelyn in Alabama sent. Here's the proof:

Walt is wearing the Obama shirt that Evelyn sent.
Ken is snoozing in the sun.

Callie enjoyed it, too. She's not used to hanging out outdoors. But I think that she will get used to it again very quickly. I hope it lasts.

Walt's Impromptu Potter's Bench

Mid-March is the time to start seeds indoors for the vegetable garden. At least for plants like aubergine (eggplant), tomate (tomato), and poivron (peppers).

My bench is an old window shutter on two saw horses.

Ken brought a variety of tomato and pepper seeds back from the states for us to try. I picked up some eggplant seeds at the garden center the other day, along with a bag of fine soil for seedlings. I set up an impromptu potter's bench in the utility room so I could work in relative comfort; no bending.

In our first years here, we bought tomato, eggplant, and pepper seedlings at the local markets and put them directly into the garden. We saved all the little pots they came in so that we could eventually try to grow directly from seed. Ken washed all the little pots in a bleach solution to kill off any molds or fungus, and I filled each with soil.

Next, in went the seeds. Two varieties of eggplant, and ten varieties of tomato. We're hoping to have at least eight eggplants and two of each tomato variety.

Ten bell pepper seeds are waiting to sprout inside my little hothouse.

The backs of the seed packets say that peppers need very warm temperatures to germinate and grow, so I had to rig up a plastic dome before I get them planted. I used the clear tray in the first photo above to make one. I may have to buy a commercial seed dome at the garden center so I can plant more.

Re-usable Bottle Closures

I wrote previously about the re-usable plastic bottle closures that we're starting to use more and more at home. A couple of you asked to see them, and your wish is my command! We started out five years ago buying corks from the local winery supply store, and while they're not all that expensive, the cost does add up over time.

Plastic bottle closures and the "corkscrew."

None of our wine is intended for long-term storage. Most Touraine wines are made to be drunk young, within two or three years. They never last that long at our house. Because we don't have a proper wine cellar, storing wine for more than a few months, especially in the summer, is impractical and a waste of good wine. And it seems a waste of a natural resource (cork) to store wine for just a few days or weeks. I do save used corks to stoke fires in the wood stove since they burn very hot, but still.

About a year ago, a friend of ours gave us a little kit with plastic re-usable "corks" and a special screw; they're available in most of the stores around here. After we tried them out, we realized that we really no longer need to spend money on real corks.

Using the plastic closures is simple: we put them into a small bucket of hot water just prior to corking the bottles. This makes them supple so that they squeeze into the bottle easily. That's it. The same tool for inserting the cork is the one used to remove it.

You can see the corks on some of the bottles in my previous post.