We went for our usual winter Sunday village walk this morning before the rain set in. We chose Chargé near Amboise and were delighted to find ourselves on a walking path through a very large vineyard. I wasn’t quite expecting the bridge in the second photo. As I am afraid of heights I had to …
Monthly Archives: January 2021
Left to Ruin – Laissée à l’abandon
I always think it’s a pity to see houses left to ruin while new unimaginative houses are springing up everywhere. I thought we would go back into lockdown in February but instead the status quo has been maintained while closing all non- European borders as well as non-essential shopping centers over 20,000 square meters. The …
I’m in the vegetable garden – Je suis au potager
This is probably the coolest transmission station I’ve ever seen. Today was the first time I saw this side of it though – I’d only seen the two sides in the second photo that I took a week ago. Quoi de plus sympathique que ce poste de transmission! Mais j’ai vu ce côté pour la …
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The Vine Cross – Croix feuilles de vigne
The Vine Cross is known in heraldry as a Foliated Cross or erroneously, an Ivy Cross. Curiously, it is not a common Christian symbol. I was not able to find any information on this cross in front of the church at Rilly-sur-Loire (below). La Croix feuilles de vigne n’est pas semble-t-il un symbole chrétien répandu. …
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 …
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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 …
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Younger than it looks – Plus jeune qu’il ne paraît
When we first saw this château, we thought it was Renaissance but in fact it was built in the 19th century. Previous owners included Annette de la Rochejaquelein and the Chauvelin family but today it belongs to the regional authorities and is used as a residential medical centre. The second photo shows a circular dovecote …
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Barn Repairs – Réparations de grange
One of our barns is in serious need of repairs. The roof needs retiling and unfortunately some of the beams are rotten after years covered in creeper. It’s going to be a long job. Une de nos granges est en bien mauvais état. Il faut refaire les tuiles du toit et malheureusement une partie de …
Wisteria in Winter – Glycine en hiver
January is when we prune our wisteria and grape vine so we made the most of the higher temperatures this week to do so. I also cut back the raspberry canes. They are my favourite European fruit. If you’d like to see the wisteria in full bloom, click here. C’est au mois de janvier que …