Soar-Dream-France

Somewhere Between Christmas and Easter

While insanely running around taking flowering photos like the one on the left, I turned to the river and missed a breath and a step. Even though the sunshowers had stopped, there was still a whole lot of glimmering and shimmering going on. Every once in a while you'd catch a flicker of color...red, yellow, blue...just for a moment. Even though I believed them to be elusive and "uncatchable", I decided to just shoot off a number of shots and see what I got. Et, voila!

Garden Tending Time

From out of my side window, we have had a different view every day this week. Once it began to warm up, our plum tree got busy and it hasn't stopped yet. I've mentioned before that for the last two springs I've been away working. I love spring here. I miss a lot when I'm gone. There's the beauty and all the joy that comes with it, but there's the work that's necessary to keep everything looking good...that "tending" your garden stuff. My garden hasn't been sufficiently "tended" in a couple of years. It's different jumping in to "tending" when it's almost summer time. So this spring, I'm starting now, taking it a step at a time, and looking forward to a happier yard and garden everywhere! Here's to Home and Happy Gardens!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's Begun

The extremes that surround me at the moment hit a huge range. On one side of the Chatette the plum tree is beginning to bloom, and every rose bush on the terrace has fresh new growth. Just a few steps away, the new roof is going up on my neighbor's house. The old tiles have been stripped away to the beams and the new tiles are slowly making their way up and on. Maybe it's just a different kind of blooming!

Something Old-Something New

There's been a lot of activity around here this week with a new roof going on next store. Of course, I have many more photos. I run out from time to time depending on what's happening to see what I can capture. As I was watching them work their way down the train tracks with this amazing piece of machinery, I walked over to the other side of the land near the wagon. The contrast of the old and the new side by side was astounding.

Greener than Green-Happy St. Pat's

Although spring hasn't really sprung around here yet, the very green mosses in and around the lavoir and some of their more delicate patterns on the cliffs caught my eye. The softness, the patterns, the color...all make me want to reach out and touch them. Instead, I just took a few photos. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

Life on the Road-Galloping

Living on the road as I do, all manner of mobility passes by my front door and windows on the Lot. The market vendors blow by in their trucks every weekend, a lion in circus cage (kind of like the one on the box of animal crackers when we were kids), serious bikers, pilgrims, horse drawn caravans, bikes pulling children and pets, and sometimes men on horseback. With all the windows open to catch the sunshine and living more on the terrace when lunching at high noon, it is easy to hear everything that is passing. One day last week Evelyn came down to share a poor boy sandwich and we heard a loud, fast, clopping. Sometimes the joggers are that noisy, but this was louder and more metallic sounding. I ran for the camera since I figured it was a man on a horse...and I was right. But, he was galloping so fast down the road he was hard to catch, or so I thought. It wasn't till I came in later and cropped one of the photos, that I discovered this smiling horseman just as he disappeared behind the barn.

 

More Than "Just" Truffles

 

Although our Lalbenque journey was about truffles, there's always so much more to see in the villages. Once the truffle excitement was waning, Evelyn and I wandered around the village a bit. Churches are always on our list. You never know what you're going to find. Here at Eglise St. Quirin, we discovered a St. Therese of Liseux who rivals the graceful beauty of our Chatette St. Therese. I expect more wandering in the warming days ahead. I love seeing the unique personality of each village you meet along the way. Sometimes photos are possible, sometimes you're just passing through, or maybe it's just one of those days when you put the camera away to truly be as present as possible in the experience. I might still say: "Oh, I wish I had my camera", but the reality is...it's not the same kind of experience when you're continually pondering the next best shot! At least, not for me anyway. Here's to "meeting" more villages and being able to find the more wherever you go! I leave you with a little of the "more".

 

 

 

 

Reality and Reflection

Posting some similar photos of the Cajarc riverfront yesterday, Evelyn commented that the blue house was a favorite of hers. I was pretty sure I had some clearer shots of the blue house in the winter batch, et voila! Reflection photos always scream Monet to me. I love them. Not only are they beautiful when captured, but there's that suggestion of another world. I take these shots as often as I can. Looking out my window on the Lot, I get the dancing diamonds in the morning and the blending of reality and reflections in the evening as the sun sets, painting the causse golden in the summer and a more burnt orange in the winter. Seeing all the seasons here has been important to me. Working away for extended periods of time, I have missed the last two springs-Not this year!

Reflections of a Summer Side of Cajarc

One of the best things about living here all year long is getting to see favorite places in every season. There are so many beautiful sides to Cajarc in any season, that wandering around in the centre ville, along the river, or even from the other side of the river where these shots were taken; is always a new and refreshing experience. Cajarc is beautiful in any season. As you can see below, summer and winter are quite different. I don't know about you, but I don't want to miss any of them!

 

 

 

 

 

Each "Petit a Petit" Along the Way

Many of you will remember this special spot and basin that I discovered last year behind the lavoir. Getting in to my land clearing, stone cleaning and pruning mode again; I made a visit to see how things were going in this favorite spot. I wish I knew more about everything that surrounds us here. It is a challenge. I have some ideas swirling around about how to learn more and do more, but I think it is going to be another petit a petit as my friends here would say...practicing patience once more. So, in the meantime; I wander, I wonder, I shoot, I ponder, and I share some of it with you here. I'll be sure to keep you posted of each "petit"!