Sunday, August 5, 2018

''Maintenant elle est comme les autres''.


Hot and humid.


Sophie sensibly settles down in front of a fan on the cool  tiles of the kitchen floor. Bob is full of energy and not so easily satisfied. He wants another walk. Angus and the male PON set of along the ox track, down the hill, past the sunflower fields and towards the waterfall. Our companions on the journey swarm upon swarm of butterflies. As Bob races ahead they fly upwards, circle, then return to feasting on the wild flowers that line the fields and fill the shade.


A largish sycamore tree has fallen at right angles and is barring our way across the waterfall. Bob tries to navigate his way through but manages to get himself trapped among the branches. His master comes to free him and in doing so falls in the water. Sometimes you want to be angry but just have to laugh at the incongruity of sitting on your backside in a stream. My shaggy companion looks at me as if to say ' Did you mean to do that ?'. Too hot and uncomfortable to climb an hour back up the hill so a call is made and 'The Font' and Sophie drive down to the valley and collect us. 'The Font' looks at me and then at Bob and says ' I won't even ask '. Bob demonstrates that long haired dog ability to collect burrs, grass seeds and mud with the same facility that a magnet collects iron filings. Angus has no such excuse. 


Reading the new biography of DeGaulle. He and his wife Yvonne had an adored Down's-syndrome daughter, Anne. When she died at the age of twenty de Gaulle is said to have comforted his wife with the words '' Maintenant elle est comme les autres " : - Now she is like the others. Six words but it's as potent a description of love as you'll ever find .


Some Sunday morning music : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdF41Ne2cnQ






8 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
A poignant post, for several reasons... be sure to have an extra-special day ROFers. YAM xx

WFT Nobby said...

Sitting in a stream sounds like not a bad option, given the heat.
Best of luck with the burr removal!

Julie said...

I’m glad to hear you have swarms of butterflies as there are so few here again this year it’s becoming a real concern

Poppy Q said...

The wild flowers are lovely. Keep cool friends.

Sheila said...

Quite a contrast between the Citroen sedan De Gaulle used and the armoured fortresses in which our leaders are driven about these days.

liparifam said...

And now I'm weeping... :(

Emm said...

That sounds like a fascinating biography, thanks for the lead. Glad your phone survived the tumble into the stream.

rottrover said...

Somehow I KNEW that the title of this post was not referring to Sophie!

PS: I, too have landed in the stream! In 2010 I broke my arm! WE are not as young as we used to be!