Spring in our steps

We have been busy both in the house and on the computer and needed a break.  The sun was shining this morning so we decided to go to Plan d’eau at Marville - where it was cloudy!  No matter. We sat on a large rock and fed bread to the fish and a coote…

Cute coote!

…then took a stroll by the lakeside enjoying a little exercise, fresh air and the beautiful surroundings.

By the time we returned to the rock, the sun was out so we sat and soaked it up for a while. 

A horse cooled his feet…

…and our curiosity was aroused at the sight of a very small plan on a trailer. We wonder if a special event is planned to coincide with the town’s forthcoming brocante but there are no posters or signs on display.

We took a different route home, stopping off at Longuyon for fresh milk - only available, if you’re lucky, in the bigger supermarkets.  We were in luck.  Doubly so, as my husband bought and presented me with a beautiful bouquet.

We drove through the beautiful spring countryside. Back home, the sun is still shining and my flowers are bright and colourful too.

Summer Sunday

hot, sunny Sunday afternoon
the indolent countryside
stretches out in the heat
gives up her golden harvest
as 24/7 farmers swelter,
bale hay and stack it high
on trailers behind tractors,
at their busiest time of year
no time to be lethargic -
that is left to me, a mere observer.
I sit by a village pond
in the shade of a willow
listening to the distant hum
of harvesters and tractors
chorus with birdsong in the still air.

Spring carpet.

The countryside is looking so beautiful now with its many shades of green set off by splashes of gold as rapeseed blooms take hold.  Distant vistas beckon and dazzle but, look down, there is treasure to be found as pretty wild flowers carpet the ground.

take care ~
in searching for the stars
don’t step on dreams

Spring has sprung!

As expected, the “sting” of the final days of winter arrived but have now, happily, departed - and we hope it stays that way!

Indoors of course plants are not bothered and we are pleased to see four beautiful trumpet flowers on the amaryllis and signs on our grape vine that we should see a few bunches of grapes later this year.  In 2014 this little vine produced 30 bunches of grapes so we understood last year when not even one bunch appeared;  it must have been exhausted!

Of course the plants in our garden room has been given much TLC by my husband - as has the pretty, little apricot tree he has grown from an apricot stone.  No sign of fruit yet but…one day…

Outdoors spring has fully arrived and is a riot of new growth…so many shades of green splashed with the gold of rapeseed all glowing from the sun shining from a blue bowl.   
         

Spring really is my favourite season.

Boxing Day 2015.

Of course the French do not have Boxing Day but we, being English, will always think of December 26th in that way and that it is often a day for walking, if the weather is kind.

Today is mild with pleasant sunshine shining from a blue sky.  Not particularly seasonal but very welcome after so many grey, damp days.

We take a short stroll to the edge-of-town "green lane".  We sit on a bench at the top of a path and I leave my husband there to rest his bad knee while I walk a little further, as far as my back will allow...what a couple of old crocks we have become!  On my return he decided to head for home.  I opted to stay a bit longer, pretend the surroundings are our garden - something we do not have unfortunately.

Due to yet more "technogrief" (see a previous blog post) I am unable to upload photos from my camera to my computer and thence to my blog...so it hardly seems worth taking any.  I left my camera at home and hope instead to find the right words to describe the picture...

I sit on a bench
raise my face to the sun
bask in its gentle warmth
Nearby a clear and sparkling
brook babbles its hurry
I look across an expanse
of bright green fields
towards the dark shapes
of forested hills on the horizon
birds chirrup and cheep
I hear the tap-tapping
of an unseen woodpecker
Upwards dark, bare branches
leave traceries against the blue
A light breeze suddenly soothes
my face, like an answered prayer.