17 January 2011

Emerging

Like a butterfly coming out of its cocoon. Well, that might be the wrong image. Like an old bear coming out of its den to see if winter is over. That's a better image. I'm talking about myself.

Yesterday before lunch I went out to cut some sprigs of rosemary, thyme, and green onion for a Thai coconut-milk soup I was making. A couple of people about my age came walking down the road from the direction of the vineyard.

Two views of sunset on 16 January 2011 at La Renaudière
I called out « bonjour »to them and said: « Il fait beau, n'est-ce pas ? » In fact the sun was downright warm on my shoulders, and it was a fine morning. I felt almost mild enough to have lunch outdoors on the terrace.

« Oui, on revoit enfin le soleil », the woman said. « C'est tellement agréable. » Finally we're getting to see the sun again. It is so very pleasant.

Out in the yard near sunset yesterday

I didn't take any pictures in the morning, but I did take some on the afternoon walk with Callie. The organized deer hunt had moved on to other areas by afternoon, so the vineyard was no longer a no man's land. I don't know if the hunters actually shot any deer, but we did hear some loud gunshots early in the day, before the dozen or so cars parked out by the maison de vigneron drove away.

Not only did we get to see the sun yesterday,
but a daytime moon was shining as well.

Okay, it's supposed to rain this afternoon, and the weather woman on TéléMatin just told me it's going to get cold again starting Wednesday. But there's no doubt about it now: the sun is still there in the sky, just waiting for a chance to shine again.

P.S.: Nine a.m. I just saw one of the most gorgeous sunrises that I've seen in a long long time. It was all wispy and puffy clouds in pastel pinks and purples on a pale blue background. It lasted for 45 minutes, the whole time I was out walking. It was other-worldly — the kind of scene that makes you wonder whether you are really still on Earth, or if you've been transported to a distant, more spectacular planet. You'll have to take my word for it, though. I neglected to put my camera in my pocket when I headed out the door.

12 comments:

  1. Your morning sunrise sounded so beautiful.

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  2. I'm pleased that you are experiencing some sunshine a little warmth. Enjoy.
    leon

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  3. Rain has arrived! Our apologies Ken... we put a wash on and over at Favier, Alex and Nicole have just lit a bonfire.

    WV is "dessnest"... [avian immobilier speak for "desirable nest" [in yesterday's heat the birds were begining to display.]

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  4. A new day dawning. That sunrise sounds like just what you needed, I hope that the days ahead will be sunny for a while at least.

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  5. A bit of sunshine definitely lifts the spirit at this time of year. Oh for lunch on the terrace again.....

    However, one mustn't get too excited, we have another six weeks that could be very wintry before we're out of trouble, weatherwise.

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  6. An old bear ... haha ... Is that how you think of yourself? We had a lovely sunny day yesterday, but today the clouds and the rain are back. Temperatures remain rather mild though.

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  7. That looks like the view of the moon we had a day or so ago.

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  8. Oops, my glasses were foggy, and I thought you wrote, "an old beer" :)))

    Sunshine is such a spirit lifter! Glad to see it gave you a good feeling for the day. I am thinking of anything but any concept of winter coming to an end... it's just revving up here. More snow is expected this week, and it's cold and dreary!

    Judy

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  9. Lovely sunset pictures. Is that a shooting star, or just a plane contrail streaking the sky?

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  10. OK, I love Thai cocnut milk soup, which I think is called Thom Kar kai. Nice that you've gotten the recipe. The place I used to it order from in LA always has these indeible slices of "wood" at the bottom, which I assume are for flavoring, and which I have no clue as to what they are.

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  11. Emm, that's a plane going over. We see them all the time but almost never hear them.

    Diogenes, could the little woody bits be lemongrass?

    Tim, we never did get any rain yesterday. Just cloud.

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  12. Ah yes, Ken, lemongrass...I googled and you're right. I guess I expected "grass" to be soft, but love the soup regardless. Love hot and sour soup as well.

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