Run-off

Stormy weather is predicted for today — and the rest of the week. I hope it won't be anything like the weather we were having on December 04, 2009. Here are some photos I took that day.

That's our dog at the time, Callie the border collie, in the two of the photos. She wasn't yet two years old
and had never seen such a sight before.

On really rainy days, water flows by our back gate, down a tractor path that runs downhill, and into the wooded ravine north of our house that, on days like this, channels water down to the Cher river.

December in the back yard

On December 3, 2006, I looked out a back window and was surprised to see a pheasant (un faisan — the first syllable is pronounced as [fuh] and the second with a Z sound and a nasal Ã) prancing around in our back yard. We see them often but usually farther from the house. Out in the vineyard, Tasha flushes them out when she hears one down a vine row.

When I first saw him, he was looking straight ahead — at what, I don't know.

Then he saw me spying on him from the window. He didn't stay long. Anyway, I was getting ready to go out for the morning walk with Tasha, so it was time for him to go.

A week or two ago, Walt saw a pheasant marching down the paved street past our front gate, headed out into the vineyard.

December in the vineyard

These are some pictures I took as I walked the dog (Callie at the time) around the edges of the vineyard on this date (Dec. 2) in 2012. The blue skies of November, the colorful sunrises and sunsets, and the pretty cloud formations had suddenly disappeared.

The same thing has happened this year. The gray days are upon us. It's supposed to rain all week.

At least it's a little warmer than it has been for the last few days. The grays in these photos are kind of pretty, I think.

Hectic today ... une journée mouvementée...

It all started when the dog threw up on the couch this morning at 4 o'clock. We were planning to get up early, because Walt had a 9 o'clock appointment with a doctor in Blois. He ended up leaving here at 7'30 and arrived about a half hour early at the doctor's. We didn't know how slow traffic would be. It was not a problem. He just this minute got back. More tomorrow...

Meanwhile, here's a picture I took yesterday afternoon. You can see our house through the trees on the right, and our garden shed toward the middle of the image.