The Pierced Swan – Le cygne transpercé

As I walked down the steps from Blois castle to Place Louis XII, I heard a child say, “Look! It’s a duck.” A swan maybe or is it a salamander, the emblem of François I? And why the arrow? Susan, from Days on the Claise, has provided the answer: This is the cygne transpercé, an emblem …

Pumpkin, potato & onion vendor – Vendeuse de citrouilles, de pommes de terre et d'oignons

  I was able to buy a butternut pumpkin from this vendor on Blois market who only had a small selection of seasonal products, just outside the main market. J’ai pu acheté de la citrouille “butternut” chez cette vendeuse au marché de Blois qui ne vendait que des produits de saison, en peu en dehors …

Sorrel from the garden – Oseille du jardin

This sorrel from the garden had a few holes because of the snails but the omelette was delicious! You just have to cook the sorrel in a frying pan until it’s soft then add it to the omelette. L’oseille du jardin a quelques trous percés par les escargots mais l’omelette était délicieuse ! Il suffit …

Grain storage bin – Coffre à grains

This old oak grain storage bin has drawers at the bottom to recover the grains. We found it in a secondhand market in the Paris area and Jean Michel restored it. Ce vieil coffre à grains en chêne a des tiroirs en bas pour récupérer le grain. Nous l’avons trouvé dans une brocante dans la …

Cathedral and bridge late afternoon – Cathédral et pont fin d'après-midi

We were coming back from the industrial park on the Vineuil side of the Loire when I took this slightly fuzzy photo from the car. It’s my favourite view of Blois. On revenait de la zone industrielle côté Vineuil lorsque j’ai pris cette photo un peu floue depuis la voiture. C’est ma vue préférée de …

View from the woods – Vue depuis le bois

Behind our house, Closerie Falaiseau, is a little wood that is part of the property.and is mainly inhabited by deer, but I haven’t managed to photograph them yet. Derrière notre maison, Closerie Falaiseau, nous avons un petit bois qui fait partie de la propriété et qui est surtout fréquenté par des biches, mais je n’ai …

Gathering Walnuts – Ramassage des noix

Today I gathered nuts for the first time, in a public park at the bottom of Château de Chaumont. Most of the nuts were separated from their husk or pericarp. When I separated the others, my fingers were covered in a slightly sticky black substance that is used as a dye. Now I’m going to …