26 July 2016

Summer has settled in

It's summer. It's a pleasure to be able to say that. I wasn't sure we were going to have a summer this year. However, July has been beautiful. Two weeks ago we had a few days that were uncomfortably hot, but this week is perfect — dry, sunny, and warm. Almost hot but not quite.


I took these photos last Friday on my morning walk. You can see that the Renaudière vineyard is now in its "carpet of green" phase. Workers have been out trimming the leggy top canes off the vines. There are a lot of grapes now, despite the excessively wet, chilly weather of May and June.


I love going out in the morning when skies look like the ones in these photos. So does Callie the collie. The ground and grass are dry, so she doesn't come back a muddy mess. Neither do I. Even if the weather turns wet and chilly again soon, we will have enjoyed this nice spell.


I've been walking the same paths and trails around and through the vineyard for 14 summers now. It's hard to believe. It doesn't get boring. It keeps me fit (as fit as I can be at 67 years old). It gives me thinking time. I feel like I lived in California forever — nearly 18 years — but soon I'll have been here that long too.


Sometimes I think about living somewhere else — in a big town or a city, for example, or in a house that doesn't have so many stairs to climb — but then I realize how much I would miss walking out the back door into space as beautiful as this vineyard. It's beautiful in every season.


Notice that there are no utility poles or overhead wires anywhere in sight. There are few or no cars. There are few other people out walking, especially early in the morning. Callie and I have the place to ourselves, except during times when workers are out pruning the vines. Callie knows all those people, and she enjoys seeing them as much as they enjoy seeing and talking to her. This is her 10th summer at La Renaudière.

22 comments:

  1. You and Walt have made a lovely life for yourselves. And you make our lives better by sharing it with us each day. Thanks

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  2. Such a beautiful world is the one you live in. I think of the quote from proverbs about wisdom, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace ."

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  3. Does Callie attract bits of dry grass and seeds in her fur and between toes and her armpits? They are a nightmare for grooming for our Dog.

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  4. Count your blessings and enjoy the place where you're living, Ken & Walt: Carpe Diem!

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  5. And with very big skies and fresh air, fresh enough to be invisible. OK, I did read something in book today and I quote, LA folk don't trust air they can't see.

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  6. Our skies look like yours right now and they really do lift my spirits, too. I can't believe how 14 years have pasted since your move- I'm glad you are still enjoying your walks in the vineyard.

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    1. It is hard to believe that so much time has passed, isn't it? I remember when we talked on the phone in 2003 and then met you and Lewis in person in 2004 (wasn't it?). Our trips all together in 2009 (Paris, Auvergne) and 2011 (Le Perche) were really good.

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    2. I think we first met in December of 2004, but we knew one another well from our time together on the francophile forum. The visits to France were wonderful and we've had some great times in the USA as well. Such good memories...

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  7. What a lovely post :) Thanks for sharing your world with us, Ken.

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  8. It's a piece of heaven. You're Living the Life.

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    1. We are pretty happy here, as you know. Thanks for the nice comment.

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  9. Just wonderful, Ken. I look forward to the day soon when we have a similar country outlook.

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    1. When Walt and I left San Francisco, we knew we wanted to be out in the country somewhere. We couldn't decide where in the U.S. we'd have the quality of life we wanted, so we ended up in France. I'm glad you have found a nice part of your country to retire to.

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  10. Je vais venir voir demain.

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  11. Are the utility lines underground in your neck of the woods? They have done that in some areas here, but not in ours.

    So maybe this will be a good year for the grapes?

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    1. Areas to the west of us — Chinon, Bourgueil, western Touraine — had much worse weather than we did during the spring, with late frosts and heavy rains, so their harvest won't be as good as ours. The Renaudière vineyard and others around Mareuil, Saint-Aignan, Couffy, and Meusnes are looking very good at this point.

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  12. It is beautiful country, so very peaceful. I feel like I would be right at home there! Reminds me of the farm when I was growing up.

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    1. That makes me wonder where the farm was. Carteret County? Craven? Onslow?

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    2. It's in the Bear Creek area of Onslow County about 6 miles from Swansboro. It's about a mile from the ICW. I loved listening to the ocean roar at night in the summer. Still do! It's just too hot to have the windows open at night. That's the only thing I would miss in your area of France! Can't say I enjoyed working on the farm 6 days a week in the summer, especially since all my friends were at the beach having a good time!

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  13. I just encountered the words, "La vie est faite de petits bonheurs." And so it seems for you.

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