02 June 2026

Montpoupon, a hunting lodge.

This is the Château de Montpoupon. It was built in the 15th and 16th centuries
 on the site of a 13th century fortress of which only the tall round towers remain. 
It's only a short drive south of Montrichard, and a slightly longer one from Saint-Aignan.

I don't think I took this photo of Montpoupon; I think our friend Sue from California did when
she was here for a few months in 2006. I found it on my laptop this morning.

31 May 2026

43 is tomorrow's number

No, that's not the predicted temperature. Tomorrow Walt and I will celebrate our 43rd anniversary of life together as a couple. We moved in together on June 1, 1983, in Washington DC. We couldn't get legally married back then, but now we are now. The wedding took place in 2012 in Albany NY. We lived in California for 17+ years before moving to France in 2003. I hope we'll be able to celebrate our 50th here in a few years.

29 May 2026

42 degrees in the greenhouse

Yesterday between four abd five o'clock in the afternoon it was 42 ebrees Celsius in the greenhouse. That's 107.6 degrees F. All the plants in there are dead. It was hot all day, starting especially around noon. I've got all the windows in the hoouse open this morning, to let in some relatively cool air. All this, and it's not even close to being summer yet.

27 May 2026

95 degrees...

...is the forecast high for this afternoon, in Fahrenheit. Thursday and Friday will be more of the same, the forecasters say. In France, there has never been a month-of-May heat wave like this one before. What will June bring?