A hearty good morning from the family diva who has been out to check on the C-A-T on the log pile. In the wider world outside The Rickety Old Farmhouse the schools open up on Monday. The mother of the two tikes is once again smiling. The tikes are making the most of their last days of freedom by racing their motor bikes along the lane.
Angus has ordered more wine from Italy. As we leave the gate the delivery man is unloading a small pyramid of boxes onto the gravel outside. Sophie is told to wait while her master heads off to get a trolley to wheel the wine to safety. She sniffs the boxes in the hope that they might contain sausages. She's disappointed.
On our walk we pass the cow field. Some mothers have given birth. Others are swelling patiently and waiting for their 'moment' . Sophie decides to position herself so that Angus is between her and the cows. She has a 'You can never be too careful with cows' attitude to life.
The post lady stops. ' I hear you had some wine delivered from Italy '. A reminder that nothing is a secret in a French village. She adds that her husband is Italian. " Where from ?'' I ask. She knows that he's from Puglia but can't remember the town. This somewhat stymies the flow of conversation.
Some old plants in a trough in the garden have sprung into life. The buds the most remarkable shape and texture. For some reason blue things ( and orange things ) grow here. Anything else seems to keel over with the combination of heat and rain and the thick clay soil. Blue and orange make for an unusual planting scheme.
This , rather surprisingly, played on the radio as we headed back from the bakers this morning : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mQQ_PtNQXU
The British Ambassador to France keeping busy : https://twitter.com/EdLlewellynFCO/status/1273568243588923393
Europeans seem to think it's seasonal : https://www.wired.com/story/if-the-coronavirus-slows-this-summer-it-may-be-time-to-worry/
14 comments:
That blue flower is magnificent - what is it? Nature doesn't produce many truly blue flowers, most as shades of purple.
The wine should last a week or two! Although with the post lady spreading the news, I anticipate a steady stream of thirsty looking villagers making their way to the ROF at appropriate times of day...
Cheers, Gail.
Hari Om
...interesting... on my screen, this flower looks to be a purple of the 'divine' variety... Yxx
PS - I believe that is Platycodon grandiflorus, aka Baloon Flower... Yxx
Hari OM
Sophie's caution around cows with/in calf is well practiced. They can become quite 'bullish'!!! YAM xx
You'd think that the wine shippers would manage to slip in a sausage or two, wouldn't you! Really Angus, you'll have to choose your suppliers with more care in future - no sausages, no sale! We're surprised that Sophie hasn't insisted on it.
I wonder how Inca would be around cows - she's never seen one, as far as I know. Perhaps it's as well that we don't live in such a rural area, she's such a nervous dog, she'd probably run away at the first moo.
The most unusual balloon flower looks a deep blue on my computer.
Arizona's coronavirus cases have been soaring lately, which surely reflects the results of the need to head indoors for air
conditioned relief from the temps above 100F each day.
It seems to me that the appearance of newborn calves is late this year. I always look forward to your photos of the mothers with a little one lying beside them.
Thank you. I shall get onto the Peter Nyssen website and order some.
You may be right about wine seeking visitors. In these strange times we may preempt folks showing up at the gate by distributing a few bottles around as gifts for them to enjoy at home.
Sophie remembers when her brother rushed into the middle of a herd of cows and had to be rescued. Never again.
In recompense she got some blue cheese.
You migth be right. I'll need to go back and check. The calving has been going on for three or four weeks but seems only now to be at its peak.
The wine delivery looks as if you're expecting another extended lockdown.....
You'd be surprised how quickly it seems to 'evaporate'.
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