Early spring flowers

Yesterday I went out early with the dog for our morning walk. It was cold and very wet out there. These are some photos I took in our yard and in the neighbors' yard across the road from our house. They aren't here right now, and we keep an eye on their place so we can let them know if anything seems amiss.

Above are two pictures of the plum tree that I grew from pits starting at least a decade ago. It has really grown a lot over the past couple of years because we've had so much rain. Nobody mentions drought any more so I assume it is over now. We lost half a dozen trees to drought over those five or so dry years.

Above left is a flowering branch of a forsythia bust that was already growing here when we came to live here in 2003. Walt takes good care of it, pruning and shaping it every year. On the right are some of the premula (primrose) plants that come up spontaneously in our yard and in the neighbor's yard too. The woman who sold us the house 22 years ago said when she lived here she would buy pots of primroses every spring and then throw the root balls out into the yard at the end of their growing season. They started coming back up in early spring every year, and they continue to do so.

Above left is what I think is a flowering quince tree that blooms early in the spring every year in our neighbors' yard. On the right is the flower stalk of what people here call a saxifrage plant ("elephant's ears" or Bergenia cordifolia, I think). It was growing here when we moved in as well.

20 years ago in March

No, this isn't today or yesterday. It's a photo I took of our back yard in early March 2005 — twenty years ago. It didn't turn into a major snowstorm, but we had been living here for less than two years and we didn't know what to expect. Today, according to TéléMatin, snow is swirling all around us, but it doesn't look like we'll get any. In areas south of us, however, which are at higher altitudes than Saint-Aignan is, snow will fall. When I let Tasha go out to pee in the back yard at 5 o'clock this morning, it was raining lightly outside.

Snow today?

There's been talk of snow, or at least sleet, on different weather reports this week. Some have said the temperature would be down near freezing again this morning. But so far that hasn't happened. The temperature is about 40ºF right now (6:00 a.m.). Rain is still in the forecast. Spring is a season of fits and starts here. These are some vineyard photos that I took a week ago, on my birthday.

A gourmet treat out of a can

Yes, I mean it. It's what we had for lunch yesterday. I don't remember ever before buying cans of haricots blancs à la tomate, but now I know they are delicious. And nutritious. Look at the label on the can. It says these beans rate a nutri-score of A and are riches en protéines. The ingredients are eau, haricots blancs trempés, concentré de tomates, huile de colza, sel, sucre, et arôme naturel. A large-size can of plain white beans sells for 1.02 euros at Intermarché here in Saint-Aignan. A large-size of white beans with tomato paste in them goes for 1.12 euros. Both are a bargain.

I don't know about you, but in North Carolina I grew up eating what we called "pork and beans" out of cans. My mother also cooked a lot of dried beans as well. I posted about them a couple of weeks ago. White beans are the basis for the French specialty called un cassoulet, which is white beans cooked with duck, lamb, and/or pork or pork sausages (saucisses de Toulouse).

Yesterday, I didn't take the time to make an actual cassoulet. I also wouldn't call what I made Boston baked beans, because I didn't put molasses in it. I did add some spices and some other flavoring ingredients including Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and maple syrup (but not too much). What we had was just pork and beans. They cooked for about 90 minutes. And were delicious.

On dirait le bon vieux temps

Twice this past week, I went out with Tasha the sheltie and my current digital camera (my mobile phone). I took pictures of the sunrise and the local landscapes.

Don't worry though. It won't last. It's supposed to rain all week. Actually, it rained all day yesterday.

Kung Pao Pork

It all started with a nice head of broccoli and some tri-colored bell peppers. The broccoli was fresh; the peppers were frozen. Whenever I go to the supermarket, I buy broccoli if there is some to buy. We keep a bag or two of bell peppers in the freezer at all times, or whenever we find them in the freezer section.

A few days ago, I noticed a tray of lean pork tenderloin pavés (thick-cut steaks; pavé means "paving stone"). It was the only one, and I grabbed it for the modest sum of 3.5 euros. Yesterday these ingredients came together to make a recipe called Kung Pao pork, using soy sauce, srirasha sauce, and other sweet and/or salty Asian sauces that we keep on hand.

I cut the pork loin into strips and marinated and then stir-fried them with some chopped shallots and garlic cloves. I cut the broccoli into florets and blanched those broccoli separately in a steamer pot. Then I put them in the wok with the pork and poured on the remainder of the marinade the pork had bathed in. I stirred all that together, added the peppers, and voilà... Kung Pao! We sprinkled on roasted peanuts at the table. We also steamed some frozen pot stickers from the supermarket to make steamed dumplings as an accompaniment. Lunch was served, and the pork was very tender.

First signs of spring

Yesterday morning the temperature was much warmer than it has been recently (between 45 and 48ºF compared to temperatures just below freezing or barely above). Also, it hasn't rained much recently so it isn't quite so muddy out in the vineyard. So I did something I haven't done in quite a while: I grabbed my camera and took to out on a fairly long walk with Tasha the sheltie). In this case, the camera is one built into my mobile phone. I was trying it out outdoors for about the first time since I bought it three or four months ago.

As you can see, primroses and other flowers are starting to come into blossom, and the sunrise was pretty. I wish my body would shake off the last remnants of my long-lasting chest cold, but I'm not there yet.

March sunrise

Two views of our sunrise on March 04, 2025, from the kitchen window

The birthday couscous

Here's the couscous we had as my birthday lunch yesterday. I see (and ate) chicken, lamb, and sausages along with carrots, onions, turnips, green beans, zucchini, and eggplant in the wok.

And here it is on my plate where you can see the aforementioned ingredients as well as the couscous grain you eat them with.

One key ingredient is the sausage called une merguez, which is made with beef and lamb (no pork) and spices including paprika and cayenne pepper.

Notre maison et son environnement

Today is my birthday. I'm turning 76 years old. I was born in North Carolina at about 3 p.m. back in 1949, so I'll officially be starting my 77th year tonight at 9:00 p.m. in France, taking in the six hour time difference. Walt and I are planning on spending a quiet day (like most days). We're having couscous with chicken, lamb, and vegetables for lunch, and Walt will be making a pineapple upside-down cake for dessert.

I'll take Tasha the Sheltie out for a walk in the vineyard this morning, and Walt will take her out for her second walk of the day this afternoon. The high temperature around here will be about 17ºC today. That's the low 60s in Farenheit. This morning, our outdoor thermometer reads approximately 40ºF.

These are some photos of our house in March 2009. It's located outside the little town of Saint-Aignan (pop. 3,000) in the Loire Valley (central France, 150 miles SW of Paris). We're 40 kilometers south of the big town of Blois and 60 kilometers east of the city of Tours.

We have half an acre of land in a tiny village (a "hamlet") on the edge of a big vineyard and just two or three miles outside Saint-Aignan. The house was built in the late 1960s/early 1970s, which is when I came to France for the first time. I've been coming back once or twice a year ever since, and Walt and I left the U.S. and moved here in June 2003 — more than 20 years ago.

Looking for signs of spring

Since spring doesn't seem to want to come to us, I'm going back to find it. These are photos I took in March 2008 in our back yard, using a Panasonic Lumix TZ3 digital camera. I gave it to a my niece in North Carolina a long time ago. I don't know if she still has it, but it was a great one. Nowadays I just use my mobile phone's built-in camera. It seems to be a great one too.