Private Property – Propriété privée

Private property – Do not enter. Not without a boat anyway! A lot of the rivers are overflowing their banks with all this rain. This is in Huisson-sur-Cosson, a village between Blois and Chambord where we went walking today. The next photo shows the wash-house to the right of the first photo and the following …

Out at last! – Enfin de sortie !

I hadn’t been out since our walk on Sunday but we got a small window of sun early afternoon and went to get some building materials and buy a few things at Biocoop. It rained for a bit then the sun came out again. It’s probably going to rain all day tomorrow. Sigh. Je n’étais …

Snowdrops but no snow – Perce-neige sans neige

When the ground is covered in snowdrops, you know that spring is a possibility! I’m getting ready to sow my first seeds of the year particularly since another lockdown is perhaps on the cards. Lorsque le sol est couvert de perce-neige, vous savez que le printemps est possible! Je prépare à semer mes premières graines …

Fleeting Snow – Neige fugace

We had a sudden snowfall this morning. They were big fat flakes but they didn’t last long unfortunately. Looks like it might be another winter without snow in the Loire Valley. Nous avons eu une chute de neige subite ce matin. Il y avait de gros flocons mais malheureusement ils n’ont pas duré longtemps. On …

Blue Sky after Hail – Ciel bleu après grêle

By the time we were ready to go to the market this morning it was pelting with hail. We waited until it was finished to leave home. In the centre of Blois, only 5 km away, there had been no hail at all. But then it started raining. After about 10 minutes it stopped and …

Grey Reflections – Reflets gris

It was such a grey day today with intermittent rain that I nearly didn’t go out at all but since we had to take the car to the garage in Chouzy-sur-Cisse, our closest village, we went for a walk around the lake afterwards. A little bit of blue sky joined us. Il faisait tellement gris …

Christmas Roses – Roses de Noël

These are not roses of course, but hellebores, or Lenten roses, and bloom in winter. Last year the deer ate them so I’ve put them out of reach on my kitchen windowsill. When the temperature is below freezing point the flowers keel over but they perk up when they thaw. Ce ne sont pas des …

A Cold Market – Un marché froid

The cold weather is continuing and it was minus 1 degree when we got to the market this morning despite the sun. What amazes me is the number of people without anything on their head and some without gloves. At least wearing masks keeps our noses warm. I even wore long Johns today under woolen …

The Other Sides of Chambord – Les autres faces de Chambord

We’ve been having absolutely ghastly weather and I haven’t been outside since Sunday. Covid lockdown has been replaced with weather lockdown. However today it wasn’t raining even though it was only 2 degrees so we went back to Chambord, collecting a lost glove on the way from a pharmacy I called into last Saturday. Some …