30 June 2017

Nos mini-saisons

L'automne, je veux dire. Tomorrow it will be two weeks since I went to Chambord with Judy and family, and two weeks since Callie had her fatal incident or attack. And today feels like the first day of autumn. It's cold! Not too nice for the last day of June.


Instead of morning low temperatures of 20+ºC (70+ºF), and highs in the 30+ºC (90+ºF), this morning it's raining and the low temperature is supposed to be about 13ºC (55ºF). Worse yet, today's high will be only 16ºC, or 60ºF. Our furnace may well come on this afternoon. When British friends tell us they come to France for the warm, sunny weather, I really have to wonder how bad the climate must be across the Channel. No wonder so many British people (including my family) emigrated to warmer places.


The temperature here won't hit 70ºF again until the middle of next week. This is why air-conditioning is pretty much superfluous in this climate. Even though our high temperature on June 20, 21, and 22 was above 95ºF... We don't know if summer will return. I hope this current "autumn" really will be just a mini-season, but we can't actually count on that.


So here are some photos of Chambord castle exteriors that I took "last summer" — two weeks ago. Realize that I'm not complaining about the weather. It's a reality of life. Our vegetable garden is enjoying the rain for now (and so are the weeds). The plants here are adapted to cool, damp summer weather, and some have suffered because of the short-lived heat wave and dry spell we went through earlier in June. Given the choice between extreme heat and chilly damp, I'll take the latter. At least for a while.


So I guess this means that things are back to normal. We could use some normal about now. Summer might — and probably will — come back in 2017. Poor Callie won't. Meanwhile, today is the first anniversary of the untimely death of my old friend Cheryl in California. Oh, and the clutch seems to have gone out on the old Peugeot. The U.S. dollar is dropping like a rock against the euro (thanks, Donald). My monthly check will be 10% smaller than it was just a couple of months ago. And I have scheduled an appointment with the dentist because I think I have a broken filling. Sigh...

11 comments:

  1. At least Bertie turned up.

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    1. And Tasha is beautiful, playful, energetic, obedient... and house-broken! Bertie thought he had it made around here with Callie, but usually Bert runs screaming from the room or building when Tasha gets too playful. Always, in other words.

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    1. It's new, like the washing machine, so we're in business... I hope.

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  3. Ken, open a bottle, pick up a good book, sit back and relax!

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    1. I'm busy making meat-stuffed grapevine leaves using huge, tender green leaves from the vines in our back yard. Is it lunchtime yet?

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  4. Good luck with the dentist. It was lovely to meet you on Wednesday and I do so envy you a lovely Sheltie puppy to share your lives.
    As for the weather ...... we English people have webbed feet and Dave and I are considering a tour of the biscuit factory/shop in Saint-Aignan as somewhere warm and dry to hide today.
    Today is the first day of our last week here and our daughter arrives tomorrow too. All still good despite the weather.

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    1. I have a good dentist over in Montrichard. I enjoyed meeting you and Dave too.

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  5. Dental phobic here, I will try to forget that part of your post :)

    and I will concentrate on the fact that you live in a wonderful place with someone you love and you are both healthy. and we have no hurricanes forecast here for the weekend.

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  6. Now, that's more like the weather I was expecting in June for our trip there. Maybe not quite that cold, but 60s and 70s... we take what we get!

    That second photo-- the first with the blue sky -- is a gorgeous play of white and blue. Wow. And, your fabulous salamander and crown close-up will be going in my slides for the châteaux unit in French 4!
    Judy

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  7. I hate hearing about the dollar getting weak since we're going to Ireland next month. You had it good for a while. The dentist part is nothing to look forward to, but good to have fixed. It's hard not to miss our friends and pets who aren't with us anymore. Rain and tooth aches make me gloomy also. Tomorrow will be better and I bet the stuffed grapevine leaves will be yummy.

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