Author Archives: avril
Pansies after the Storm – Pensées après la tempête
These are my newly-planted pansies after last night’s rainstorm, which was accompanied by a lot of wind. The second photos was taken a few days before. Voici mes pensées nouvellement plantées après la grosse tempête d’hier soir. La deuxième photo était prise quelques jours auparavant.
The White Chair – La chaise blanche
I took this photo while we were walking along a GR hiking trail near Chouzy sur Cisse today, the next village along the Loire from us. I wonder who uses this chair. J’ai pris cette photo lors d’une promenade sur le sentier GR aujourd’hui à côté de Chouzy sur Cisse, le village le plus près …
The Giant Holly Tree – Le houx géant
This, amazingly, is another holly tree. I couldn’t believe how big it is. C’est étonnant mais cet arbre est encore un houx. Je n’arrivais pas à croire à sa taille.
The Pusher-Puller – La poussette-tirette
We found this (but didn’t buy it) at the monthly flea market in Blois which is held every second Sunday of the month. Nous l’avons trouvé (sans l’acheter) à la foire à la brocante mensuelle de Blois qui a lieu le deuxième dimanche du mois.
Pegs anyone? – Qui veut des épingles ?
There was a new stall at the market in Blois on Saturday. I’m not sure it’s quite the right season to sell clothes pegs – there are not enough hours of sun in the day to dry my sheets now. The orange sign says “Straight from the factory”. Il y avait un nouveau stand au …
Sleek & Green – Lisse & vert
The classic French duck called a col vert (green collar) is a dabbling duck which means it feeds mainly on the surface, instead of diving. This is the male of course. The female is a dull brown with a few white specks. Photo by Jean Michel. Le colvert est un canard barboteur ou de surface, …
Mill Race in Fall – Bief en automne
A mill race is the current of water that turns a water wheel, or the channel (sluice) conducting water to or from a water wheel. The mill itself, Moulin de Champigny, in this particular case, is on the other side of the road. Entre autres, un bief est un canal conduisant l’eau sur ou sous la …
Armistice in Molineuf
11th November is a public holiday in France and Belgium. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” A ceremony takes place in each town and flowers are placed …
Our Little Marsh Tit – Notre petite nonette
We were delighted to see our little marsh tit (Poecile palustris) again when we put out the sunflower feeds for winter. Photo by Jean Michel. Nous étions ravis de voir le retour de notre petite mésange nonette (Poecile palustris) lorsqu’on a remis les graines de tournesol à disposition des oiseaux pour l’hiver. Photo par Jean …
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