Nature's Symmetry

We have - or rather, we had - a wayward Wisteria, which was in need of some serious pruning..... This was taken in early May 2013.

So step forward, Elizabeth.

It is now a fraction of its former size and despite the severity of its pruning, it is in flower...

When I say "in flower" that's it! One flower...

But this one flower cascades perfectly from the centre of the arch...

You've got to admire it's style!

Watching Flowers in the Rain...

Despite the foul weather today, I was determined to take a walk round the garden and en route I photographed some flowers seemingly enhanced by the raindrops...

The colour of these iris seemed intensified by the overcast skies..

Yet again, our Ispahan rose full of flowers with many more buds to come...

Likewise the Pierre de Ronsard...

One of the late tulips weighed down with the rain...

More beautifully coloured iris....

And the delicate stems of Heuchera (Coral Flower)

They brightened up my day, anyway!

A Slight Delay!

After a very wet few hours at the Brocante-ing in Le Grand Pressigny today, our drive home was punctuated by a twenty five minute hold-up in Seligny.

For the first ten minutes or so all we had no hint of it's cause...

Then a crowd started to form...

The Gendarme considered sending for officers trained in crowd control....

And then the event itself...

or a more technically accurate picture...

along with the requisite "spares"..

And it was all over!

My daughter made three observations...

1) There were no signs to warn of the impending hold-up
2) The policeman would have been lynched in England for such a hold-up
3) Why did the "crowd" gather on such a foul day?

Answers to the above..
1) Road signs in general leave a lot to be desired in rural areas, so why bother with temporary ones?
2) Probably!
3) Look around.....You're in rural France on a wet afternoon. What else do you do?

This pace of life is so very pleasant!

Not a common sight around Braye...

Hailstones this big...

Only joking... They are what I call Big Bag Silage and they reminded me of my younger days on my uncle's farm.

These were taken on the 21st April on our way to Limoges Airport. The landscape further due south from us is very similar to that of East Lancashire where my uncles farm was located.

One major difference... My late uncle would have eaten his hat to have had his Big Bag Silage bagged up in April...

Happy Days...

Traffic calming in Braye

Due to the excessive speed and traffic through our village, it looks like we are going to get a...

As they did in Richelieu we have the temporary plastic blocks first. These are located at either end of the village.

If successful they will be replaced with permanent concrete kerb sections, though  the school bus had to go on the grass to get through!

Writers comment... On my observations we only get one car every two hours or so if we are lucky...  AND many of them go at walking speed.

STERF Butterfly Atlas April 2014

We've had a recent run of decent weather and last week in particular proved ideal for doing our April butterfly survey.

Last year's cold spring got us off to a slow start but this year we're on track.

Whilst we didn't see anything out of the ordinary, the tally of more common species was pleasing. First up were the orange tip, notoriously difficult to photograph. The following photos were taken a couple of years ago in the garden after a chase lasting the best part of the afternoon and taking as much out of me as running the marathon... ( in fact, I probably covered more mileage!)

The speckled wood came a very close second..

Along with the Map...

There were a couple of elusive Wall Brown, too...

But for us the most delightful display came courtesy of a pair of Brimstone butterflies. Their balletic dance lasted for quite some time and wasn't easy to capture on camera but I think Colin made a very good effort...

So, as always on these survey afternoons, we came back home eager to look at our photographs and not too disappointed with the results overall!

Aire de Loisirs - Revisited

Out on a bike ride today with Jane, we passed the Aire de Loisirs, which Braye shares with Braslou, our neighbouring commune.

We've done this ride before several times before (see here), but today we were in for a surprise...

First visit: July 2011....

Today's visit: April 2014......

What a difference a spot of rain makes!

En Route from Limoges...

We drove down to Limoges today to collect my daughter, Jane, from the airport and took a break in Chauvigny on the way home. We have written about Chauvigny in the past here, so for now just a few photos of the sights...

The intricate painting in the church... You can read more here.

A rather world weary Jeanne D'Arc...

A Grand View!

or two!!

And lastly a little something for any house hunters out there.

"A substantial character property, commanding views across the town and the Vienne. In need of "aménagement"...

Sound familiar, anyone???

Hoopoe Spotting 2014

Last year we managed our first photographs of the Hoopoe on the 12th April, this year it was the 17th.

As usual we heard them calling over in the wood with their distinctive hoop hoop hoop a week or so ago but no sightings until last Thursday. You can listen to it here

Not the best of photos as they were taken through a not so clean garage window...

Interestingly it is more or less in the same place as we photographed it last year. Is it the same bird? Do they remember where to find food in a particular location?

I would guess at it being the same one as last year... It does look older!

You can compare the photographs with last years here

A magnificent bird and we always enjoy watching them.

Happy Birthday

To our France 3...

31 today.

She has given us many pleasurable drives through the French countryside and long may she continue to do so...