Mosaic Monday # 93 - those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

Bonjour, I've had such a lazy week since our last chat.
Sitting out of the sun in the shade of a spreading chestnut tree on an oh so comfortable Lafuma lounger snoozing and reading books on my Kindle. **

The one and only time I left home during the past 7 days was for a quick trip to the supermarche for essential supplies.
I blame the heat.
Work in the garden has mainly been just watering plants in the cool early mornings or late in the evening as the bats begin their nightly hunt for food, and I did prune some roses one once or twice.

The blue/pink hydrangea is looking rather splendid this year, don't you think?

So pretty that I decided to feature it as my blog header for the rest of the summer.

Once upon a time I used to have a potager and would toil daily amongst the courgettes, lettuces, beans and tomatoes. Now I only have a small herb bed and a few golden raspberry canes to tend to.
I do miss picking fresh salad leaves for dinner in the evenings though.

So, how's your summer going?
Are you out and about enjoying fun activities with family and friends, tending your garden or maybe you have animals and pets to care for.
Just between us - I always hankered after keeping a couple of donkeys in the back garden.
I knew in my heart that it was never going to happen.
Still it might have been nice.

** Completed summer reading list so far**

Bring Me Back - B A Paris

Seven Bridges - L J Ross

The Distance - Sue Folbigg

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman

The Second Child - Caroline Bond

Together - Julie Cohen

Redeemer - Mark Dawson

**Still on my Kindle to read**

The History of Bees - Maja Lunde

A Piece Of The World - Christina Baker Kline

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Mosaic Monday # 92 - a different sort of Bastille Day

Looking back through my blog post archives it appears that I blog about Bastille Day every other year so since the last post was in 2016 here I am again.

France's National Day 2018 fell on a Saturday, a day when even non sports fans such as myself were glued to the TV watching a blistering semi final match between Nadal and Djokovic @ Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Spoiler alert: Djokovic triumphed!
The total amount of prize money this year is a staggering £34 million with the tournament Champions each receiving £2,250,000.

Nadal and Djokovic were swiftly followed onto Centre Court by Serena Williams who was beaten by Angelique Kerber in the Ladies Singles final which frustratingly clashed with coverage of the World Cup playoff for third and fourth place between England & Belgium, in Saint Petersburg. Russia.

And let's not forget the Tour de France happening at the same time!

Time for tea, I think?

Kate and Meghan may have been seated in the Royal Box but here at the Presbytere we missed none of the action whilst savouring afternoon tea, mouthwatering patisserie, my favourite heirloom china from Nana B and pretty flowers from the garden. 

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

In the pink!

Joining Beverley @ How Sweet the Sound for this week's

Pink Saturday.

It has been a while since I had anything Pink to share

 but summer is here and my garden is 

"in the Pink"

at last.

Pink Saturday

Normandy Life

Mosaic Monday # 87 - a visit from friends

In the week that towns and cities across Normandy took part in splendid celebrations to commemorate the Allied invasion of France, June1944, we welcomed new friends, Elaine and Mark, to the Presbytère for the first time.

They arrived late Thursday afternoon after a tiring day of sightseeing in Bayeux, we hadn't met Mark before but he and the SP immediately hit it off and I don't think that they stopped talking, joking and enjoying each others company at all during the next day and a half.
As it was their first time in Normandy we put on our tour guide hats the following day and headed towards the coast. 
We began the tour at Pointe du Hoc and the Ranger Monument.

As we walked the site we paused to watch, silently, as a WWII veteran slowly marched to the Monument accompanied by pipes and drum. 
As he passed by I thanked him for his service.

Our next stop along the coast was the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. The weather that day for us was misty and damp and lent extra poignancy to our visit.

A quick lunch stop in Port en Bessin for moules and frites then we headed to Arromanches and the 360 degree cinema.

They are currently showing the HD film "Normandy 100 Jours" which shows the 100 days of the Battle of Normandy on 9 screens.

That evening we sat around outside, drinking wine and sharing our memories of the day, before heading indoors for a late dinner and more lively conversation which ranged from the sublime - "best vacation ever" to the ridiculous "TV's gogglebox"! 
We certainly enjoyed sharing our little corner of Normandy with these lovely people and we hope that they come back again one day.

à bientôt !

P.S. It wasn't possible for me to add links to either The Ranger Monument or The American Cemetery but if you're interested in learning more about either of these very interesting monuments then a quick google search is all it takes to find a link.

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Mosaic Monday # 86 - life lately.

What a crazy week it's been weather wise since our return home from Corfu.
We haven't suffered as much as others parts of France, no hailstorms or crashing thunderstorms here, but we've had plenty of rain, followed by a couple of sunshine and blue sky days, followed by more rain.
We even lost internet access during one heavy downpour.
Still, every cloud has a silver lining and the garden does seem to be thriving despite or probably because of the changeable weather.

On the day we were "unplugged" we headed to a local garden centre to buy plants for the planters which are dotted around the front of the house. A family run business with a great selection of plants at reasonable prices.

We came home with geraniums, marigolds and a little blue plant that I don't know the name of but which has been excellent for filling in all the odd little spaces.

Elsewhere in the garden, a bright and brassy rhododendron adds colour to a shady corner, roses clamber through the Virginia creeper at the front of the house, purple flowering chives are taking over the herb bed, small fruits are appearing on the espaliered pear tree whilst the windchimes, found on a shopping trip in Savanna, GA provide a melodic soundtrack to the loveliness of it all.
My sister sent me some photographs of her remodelled front garden the other day, I just had to share this one of her miniature schnauzer Jet as a living statue posed next to his Mini Me!

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Mosaic Monday # 82 - a surprising few days

The biggest surprise here this past week has been the scorching weather we've been experiencing since Tuesday, making this the hottest April in Normandy since records began.

It was lovely to sit outside midmorning Wednesday with a cup of coffee browsing through a gardening magazine and planning which herbs to grow.

In the afternoon the SP surprised me with these sweet treats.

Thursday brought another lovely surprise, the cows came back to their summer home in the field next door.

The house martins which take up residence in the nests that previous families have made, in the rafters over the garage, arrived too making Thursday extra special.

They fly so fast and the nests are so up high that it's impossible for me to photograph them.

image courtesy RSPB

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Website
On Saturday morning we enjoyed petit dejeuner outside before heading off to a vide grenier in a nearby town, in the afternoon the temperature climbed to 28 C that's over 82 F!

I didn't uncover any hidden gems at the vide grenier but there were lots of pots and rusty old tools to be had if I'd needed any.

Early evening brought a terrific downpour followed by thunder and lightening and more rain.
Sunday was cooler so we decided to take a trip to the beach for our walk, there were quite a few tourists about taking advantage of the beautiful weather, the forecast for the coming week however is for temperatures closer to those which we normally expect in April.

Look how green everything is.....................

Wishing you a week full of blue skies and sunshine.

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Easter from Normandy

We went to the beach this morning with M'selle Fleur after a two week break, as it's Easter weekend there were many others out enjoying the lovely day.
This weekend marks the start of the tourist season here in Normandy when holiday makers take over from locals, who enjoy walking their dogs on the beach, so we might not be going back for a while.
Which is why I was absolutely delighted to see that the town council of Colleville sur Mer have installed this large collection box by the footpath leading down to the beach.

This Tide Tray is available to collect Waste from the Beach

It is part of an initiative to get visitors helping to keep the beaches clean by picking up garbage from the shore line and dumping it in the box!
So hopefully, whilst I'm gone from the beach during the summer, other willing hands will be looking after Omaha Beach instead.

what goes in the box and what doesn't                                                           the collection so far 

Mosaic Monday # 76 - come dine with me

During the recent cold spell brought about by the Siberian blizzard "Beast from the East" I spent a lot of time feeding the wild birds who co-habit with us at the Presbytere.
I doubled up the fat balls which I hang daily from the branches of the ornamental quince bush at the front of the house and also put out huge amounts of Nature Mix (wheat; red sorghum; sunflower; millet and oatmeal) plus extra black sunflower seeds.
These images represent my first attempt at bird photography, something I never honestly thought I would have the patience to try.
Most were taken with my Panasonic DMC-ZS3 pressed up against the glass of various windows and others with my iPhone whilst leaning against the car for support!
Afterwards I played around with them in PicMonkey using a variety of effects and creating the bird mosaic.

a hungry blue tit 

(the most common of all the visitors to my garden)
enjoying a snack

In the back ground a wood warbler
and in front a male chaffinch?

I think this is a collared dove, a recent newcomer to the garden

a starling came visiting last week too

I'm an absolute beginner at identifying birds relying on Mr Google and a vintage edition of Collins Gem Guide - Birds" but it isn't easy.

is this a wren?

If I've mistakenly identified any of the above please do let me know, I appreciate any and all advice given.
Update: Valerie has commented and helped to identify two of the birds. What I thought was a wood warbler is in fact a female greenfinch and the wren is a dunnock! So helpful, thank you.

Next week's Mosaic Monday will be coming to you from the very Heart of England, as the Senior Partner and I enjoy a short break in the County of Worcestershire. I'm thinking visits to National Trust properties; Stately Homes; Cathedrals and Markets and as many Afternoon Teas as we can possibly fit in.
Want to come along? Watch this space........................

Normandy Life

An InLinkz Link-up