Wedding Anniversary

Thursday, 29th March 2018 - our 60th Wedding Anniversary!

We celebrated with a lovely lunch at La Taverne du Cygne, Stenay accompanied by family and friends.

Roger, Arlette, Jacky, Emilie, Ron and Linda

Peter, Ida, Roger, Jacky, Ron and Linda

Emilie and Roger

Ida, Ron and Arlette

Thanks to Peter and Linda for spending a few days with us.

A beautiful cake made by Linda

Back home after lunch for coffee and cake. Pretty flowers from Arlette

It was a lovely celebration of our special date - a day filled with love and friendship.

On cue!

March 21st - the official start of Spring - and the weather man appears to have consulted his diary!  Spring is definitely in the air today with the countryside looking green under sunshine from a blue sky;  birds are singing and although the wind is still around it is far less blustery and cold  There are just a few faint traces of snow left on the tops of shaded hills, it feels much warmer and there is hope of better times to come.

The welcome to Meuse sign on our way back from the Duchy of Luxembourg.

The "hills of home" beckon...

...and how green is my valley...

Wavrille - just 2kms from Damvillers - and the front line in World War One, when Damvillers was occupied.

"The green, green, grass" as Damvillers beckons.

In our "garden room" the first blossoms on our little apricot tree...

...which my husband grew from a fresh apricot stone, planted three years ago.

Definitely signs of an oh-so-welcome Spring!

Quick burst!

A bright and sunny afternoon and we decide to go to Plan d’eau at Marville but as we approach and arrive there is little sun and the grey and black clouds are building with just a crack or two of blue.  We had driven away from the sun and that dratted wind was again blowing!

I loosen my scarf for the pic but soon wrap it around my neck again!

The swan soon arrived at the bank - but was quickly chased off by the second one!  And there were we thinking they were a united pair...









A brief stop, then we headed back towards the sun and home.

Not quite in the blue...

...but the fields are looking greener after all the watering the've had.

In parts, the ground is still water-logged.

Some strange cloud marking, but it's blue!

Just another little outing but we enjoyed the quick burst of sunshine and activity.

Sunny lull

After several yet more grey, cold, wet days it was lovely to see the sunshine today accompanied by warmer temperatures.  The surrounding hills glowed and birdsong was in the air.  All a real lift to the spirits. We set off to Verdun to a supermarket for a light lunch and for supplies and afterwards to the canal-side at Vacherauville.  

Unfortunately, by the time we parked by the canal, the forecasted east wind had decided to make an early entrance so it was a briefer stop there than we had hoped.

The canal and river run closely at this point.

Basically, if your dog doesn't clear up after himself it's down to you!

Nevertheless although this seems to be just a lull in the wintry weather it was very welcome and a promise of better days to come - even if there is a return to wintry conditions in the meantime.

Good to see sunshine rather than snow in the forests on the ridge!

Spring?

Rain - again

The previous sunshine didn't last long and soon returned to grey skies, blustery, cold winds and rain. Water-logged ground overflows into puddles with no time for them to dry out.  However, over the past couple of days, the bitterly-cold east wind has disappeared and now a lesser south-east wind brings belts of rain.  To say the ground here is squelchy is an understatement!

Sunday morning and with a seeming lull in the rain we decide to pick up our ordered bread and Sunday-treat croissants from the baker's, visit a nearby lake to eat our breakfast and do some re-cycling on the way home. As we go outside we discover a drizzle of rain but head off in the car anyway. 

By the time we arrive at Les Ballestieres, the raindrops become fatter and fall more quickly. We view the lake through the rain-spotted windscreen, eat our croissants and then head for home. The re-cycling can wait until another, hopefully-drier, day.

Oh well, at least it was a change of scene for a short while!