Here are some more of the plants in our big back yard that I hope have survived our recent frosty mornings. We don't see any smudge pots or hay bales burning out in the vineyard this morning. Our thermometer reading is slightly higher right now than it was 24 hours ago. Tonight rain is supposed to move in and tomorrow's morning low will be a lot higher. Finally. These just might have been our last cold mornings of the season.
Here's a a brief description of the photos in this 80-second-long, ten-photo slideshow. The first two show a perennial plant that grows in our yard and that we call saxifrage because the previous owner of our house called it that. The scientific name is Bergenia crassifolia, and it's in the Saxifraga plant family. It's commonly called Bergénie or Oreilles-d'éléphant in French. It flowers in winter and is very hardy.
The second two photos are of peonies (pivoines in French). They have big round flower buds on them right now. I hope that they are survivors. If they are, I'll take photos of the open flowers very soon.
The next three photos show plants that we want to survive because we want to eat what they produce: plums on a branch of a tree I planted a long time ago; an apple blossom on a tree that is slowly dying, so we hope what might be its last apples are good ones; and finally, Swiss chard, which is also very hardy, and the leaves actually benefit from being frost-bitten before being harvested.
The last three photos are of a flowering Prunus tree. That's a genus that includes cherries, plums, peaches, almonds, and apricots. The one in our yard is purely decorative and doesn't produce any fruit. It's pretty though.
Yes, it is pretty! Lovely photos! I'm so happy to have spring back :)
ReplyDeleteThe flowering Prunus tree is just lovely. Peonies are one of my favortes.
ReplyDeleteI just learned that the transept section of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is ablaze. The spire just tumbled down. Let's hope the ceiling of the church won't fall either and that the centuries old stained glass windows won't melt down. This seemingly accidental fire is a catastrophy of the greatest magnitude!
ReplyDeleteSo sad for all of France! I am glad I was able to visit Notre-Dame de Paris, long ago, and grieving that so much of it is no more.
ReplyDeleteParis
Willa Cather, 1873 - 1947
Behind the arch of glory sets the day;
The river lies in curves of silver light,
The Fields Elysian glitter in a spray
Of golden dust; the gilded dome is bright,
The towers of Notre Dame cut clean and gray
The evening sky, and pale from left to right
A hundred bridges leap from either quay.
Pillared with pride, the city of delight
Sits like an empress by her silver Seine,
Heavy with jewels, all her splendid dower
Flashing upon her, won from shore and main
By shock of combat, sacked from town and tower.
Wherever men have builded hall or fane
Red war hath gleaned for her and men have slain
To deck her loveliness. I feel again
That joy which brings her art to faultless flower,
That passion of her kings, who, reign on reign,
Arrayed her star by star with pride and power.
Thank you Thickethouse for the beautiful poem. It seems the fire is spreading to the twin front towers. What kind of carcass is going to be left when the fire is out?
DeleteNotre Dame...It is like a stake through the heart. At a loss for words.
ReplyDeleteFor many people it's a nightmare. If there is anything left of it, it will take years, not to mention millions of euros, to rebuild it.
DeleteSo very sad!
DeleteEven though there is a lot of damage, it is not as extended as was originally feared. The church didn't collapse and the bell towers were saved. The roof and spire rebuilding will take years to complete.
DeleteLate news stories in the US say that although the roof (timber covered with lead and thus hard for firefighters to reach) and the spire (wooden, circa 1830) were destroyed, the body of the church was saved, including the front towers. Alas, the glorious windows are gone. The lead melted, and the glass crashed. Rebuilding is pledged, and huge donations already offered. I imagine there will be structural assessment once it's cooled.
ReplyDeleteSad, so sad, but no loss of life, and the firefighters were magnificent.
On a slightly happier note, a look-up of Saxifrage tells me that it's Alpine, and is the territorial flower of Nunavit, in northern Canada.
ReplyDeleteand chm, late-night newsgathering tells me that only one of the three stained-glass windows was lost, not all as we had feared. So that's good for everyone.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that. I'm not getting any information on those windows here.
DeleteI donated at the French Heritage Society's site for the Notre Dame fire restoration. That seemed the best place in the US. I'm sure there are places in France to donate. I fear it may indeed take years. Heartbreaking. The loss of the glorious windows feels so tragic. But I am glad to read in Emm's comment that all of them are not lost.
ReplyDeleteThe news Tuesday morning stateside said the big windows were all saved. The loss apparently was in a smaller one, so that's even better. There will be more ups and downs over time as assessments are made, and there will likely be more conflicting stories bouncing around, too.
ReplyDelete