Yesterday CHM sent me a few photos of the Salvia sclarea plant I posted about. He took them in 2014, but, to my surprise, I found looking back through this blog that his old friends who live near the town of Etampes, up toward Paris, gave me the original plant in 2009.
I can't believe it was that long ago. I planted the original sage plant on the south side of our house, in full sun. It thrived for years, but a couple of years ago when we had our new boiler installed, the steam vent for the boiler was cut into that south wall right over the sage. The steam killed it. I'm glad it had a chance to re-seed itself before it disappeared.
I've always said that an important part of my life here in Saint-Aignan has not much to do with Saint-Aignan at all. I'm talking about my annual trips back to my native North Carolina. I'm talking about the coastal part of the state, where I get glimpses of very different landscapes (and, especially, seascapes) compared to the vineyards, hills, forests, and rivers of the Loire Valley. The N.C. town where I was born and raised is called Morehead City (pop. 8,000).
I'll be going to N.C. soon for a two-week visit — my second trip of 2017. Over the next week or two, I think I'll post a few old pictures I've taken on previous trips. You might be hearing about coastal N.C. in real time now, since a hurricane is blowing by this week.
Time flies, innit?
ReplyDeleteFortunately, Morehead City will be mostly spared.
Yes. Just a petit coup de vent, et un peu de pluie.
DeleteHopefully, Maria will just brush us by as a reminder to be thankful that she didn't give us the full brunt of her force! It is a little breezy at 2:00 am this morning and there has been exceptionally high tides on the little creek I live on for the past few days. There has been evacuation notices for Hatteras and Ocracoke visitors today. From the weather reports, it sounds like a "mild" tropical storm for the Swansboro area with the Outer Banks getting the brunt of the storm.
ReplyDeleteThere is something about that salty sea air...it will always smell like home! Your photos of Morehead and the surrounding beach area have always been exceptionally beautiful! Hope the weather cooperates for you when you are here in October!
This storm looks more like a nor'easter than a hurricane at this point. It might be a good mullet blow. Strong winds from the NE can push a lot of water up on the "north shore" (Calico Creek, basically) of Morehead, where my mother lives, but I doubt there will be a problem.
DeleteNot just any hurricane. Maria still has some strong wind in her. I hope you have a good trip and that your mother's move goes smoothly. October must be a great time to visit -- not too hot. Too early for cold spells.
ReplyDeleteMy mother's current apartment is just a few feet from a salt marsh which can really fill up with water if the wind is blowing in just the right direction. And she's at ground level, on a concrete slab. The new apartment is on the second floor (American) of a bigger building, so she won't have to worry too much about flooding any more -- just wind and airborne pine tree branches.
DeleteSo many weather issues this year... so many.
ReplyDeleteIf the Salvia sclarea is a biennial plant, as I read on Wikpedia, it means that the original plant lasted only two years and reseeded itself, and so did the offsprings.
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to your seaside photos from NC. The coastal areas of the Carolinas and Georgia are among the most beautiful parts of the US in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThere is a big-sky, big-water kind of beauty about the Carolina coast. I'm always happy to go there and see it again, though the travel is not always easy.
DeleteGlad to hear you're making a visit. One of these times I'm going to have to coordinate with you!
ReplyDeleteI always think I might get back to California one day, but with all the work and the animals here, and as long as N.C. is my main destination, I just don't know.
DeleteThinking calm-weather thoughts for Morehead City. According to the NOAA page, by midday Wednesday, Maria will start to turn ENE and out to sea, although the track coincides with that of the next one, Lee, somewhere south of the Georges Bank later in the week.
ReplyDeleteNeed to check the weather sites right now.
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