Here in the Saint-Aignan area, we got less than half an inch of rainfall in July (11.5 mm). Half of that fell on a single Sunday afternoon. We'd normally expect about 2 inches of rain in July. June was a lot wetter. Right now, everything is dusty and parched. Here are some photos I took on July 22.
Because it's so quiet and empty around the hamlet, the local roe deer, called chevreuils in French, are very active this summer. Here's one loping across a yard across the street from us that nobody is using this summer— except us and Tasha, when we take walks over there. The owners come down from Blois about twice a month to mow the grass and trim the hedges and trees.
The hamlet where we live — 9 houses on the edge of an extensive vineyard and just two miles by car from the middle of Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher — has a couple of new residents this summer, and they're keeping goats! Still, 4 of the houses in the hamlet are unoccupied 90 percent of the time. That means 11 people live now here year-round. The hamlet consists of 12 or 13 acres of land surrounded by 125 acres of vineyards and woods (measured using Google Maps).
The grapes seem to be doing well right now. They like the dry, hot afternoons and the cool summer nights and mornings. Right now, two of the four houses that stand empty more than 11 months out of the year are temporarily occupied by there owners, both of whom live in the Paris area. Soon, we'll have more visitors in the hamlet, because one other house is currently being renovated and will be turned into a vacation rental property, a gîte rural.
A lot of wild carrot plants, known also as Queen Anne's Lace, are blooming around the hamlet and around the edges of the Renaudière vineyard. When you look carefully at the flowers, you often see white crab spiders lurking on them, busy feeding on passing insects. I usually don't notice them until I look at close-up photos I've taken on walks with the dog.
Finally, here's a photo especially for my friend CHM. It's a cactus plant that grew originally from cuttings he brought to Saint-Aignan from his house in Arlington, Virginia, 15 years ago. I planted it in a pot a few years ago and it seems to be happy. It flowered in June and July, but for some reason I didn't take any pictures of the blossoms this year.
It's nice to have a thing like a cactus that connects you two through this time. Sentimental things are the best. Doubt there's any mildew on the grapes this year with that little rain.
ReplyDeleteI attach great value to gifts from friends. So, David, i agree on what you say.
DeleteThank you, Ken, for the picture of the cactus. For the last twenty years or so, I haven't seen jt in bloom in Arlington in the month of June, because I was already in France and the one I planted there never bloomed. On the other hand the one I exported to California was an early bloomer in April, before I left for Virginia. If it's native to Eastern USA and Canada, it doesn't do well in California.
ReplyDeleteI have a problem with to bloom vs to flower
ReplyDelete"When used as verbs, bloom means to cause to blossom, whereas flower means to put forth blooms."
I have read and reread the previous quote manhy times and, to me, it still doesn't show any difference except that bloom is of anglo-saxon origin whereas flower comes from Latin through French.
Are they interchangeable? +*+
Now I'm more confused than ever. As nouns, bloom, blossom and flower are the sane thing!
Deletechm, well this one made me think. I believe they're the same, as nouns and verbs. I suspect use may be regional in the US?...when I think of blooms, I think of magnolias, gardenias and azaleas. Or calla lilies, which are in bloom as Hepburn said. When I think of flowering, I think of dogwoods and marigolds. Now are you completely perplexed? Love to hear ken's take on this as a southerner.
DeleteBTW that chevreuil in the first picture is quite beautiful.
To me, bloom, blossom, and flower, as nouns or verbs, have the same meaning. The three terms share a distinction without a difference.
DeleteThan you both for your explanation, it confirms what I thought.
DeleteAs a former Parisian "native", here is how I see it.
Of the three words, omly two, flower and bloom, are part of my usual vocabulary. Even though, I know blossom, I wouldn't know how to use it. I'd use flower as, I'm going to the garden to cut some flowers, I would not use bloom. But I'd use the latter in, my dogwood is in full bloom. I would use those two as verbs interchangeably. Choice of vocabulary is really an integral part of what a person is, no?
Well, chm, you've got me thinking about how my horticulture teacher used those 3 different words. Of course, that was over 16 years ago (I cannot believe that number!) so my memory might not be accurate but here goes: When teaching us how to identify trees (1st term) he talked about trees that bloom which I immediately asked about as I was totally unaware of blooming trees at that point. When reading descriptions of plants and in his talks, my professeur talked of bloom times - I can't remember him calling them flowering times but bloom times. In the 2nd term we learned identification of shrubs and we studied then during the springtime when there were a lot of shrubs "blooming". During the summer was when we studied annuals and perennials. I distinctly can hear him say, "...can you identify this flower?" In my french studies it is always the finite distinctions on usage that can cause me consternations, so I can see where you are coming from, chm!
DeleteTo put an end to this discussion, if you remove both S from blossom, you get bloom. Does thst mean they are related? I cannot find a clear explanation and if one is the doublet of the other, but they both mean the same thing, that's for sure.
DeleteFunny that chm would bring up the blooms vs blossoms issue -- I was just recently thinking about those two terms (as verbs), myself, and wondering what the difference was! I was going to describe one of my flowering bushes, and I didn't know whether it was more correct to say that it had blossomed, or bloomed. I think of them as the same terms as each other, too, whether they are verbs or nouns.
ReplyDeleteI thought of you and Walt the other day, while watching Recherche Appartement ou Maison, because they visited a property in Saint-Aignan! But, it was one of the Saint-Aignan towns near Toulouse -- I remember you saying that there was more than one town with Saint-Aignan as part of the name. Fun to see, nonetheless.
One dictionary says that "blossom" most often is used for a flower that will produce a fruit. Apple blossom time, the song, for example. Peach blossoms. Etc.
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DeleteThe definition of that dictionary doesn't help much since a fertilized flower gives a fruit, whether edible or not.
Since an acorn is consdered the fruit of the oak tree, following that dictionary's definition I could say, blossoming oak trees. Consequently, in the definition the all important word edible is missing. This being said, can you say my blossoming courgettes?
It's a little like, what's the difference between a hamlet and a village?
Deletehttps://www.google.com/search?q=zucchini+blossoms&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-m
Deleteand...
DeleteMerci, Ken, for the links.
DeleteUpon reading about your neighbor's goats, my first thought is compost. I would be over there making their acquaintance and asking if they could 'spare' some manure. It would make a wonderful addition to your compost piles.
ReplyDeleteWe knew a lady in Vermont who kept miniature goats for primarily the purpose of enriching her garden. Besides they were very cute.
Interesting idea for next year.
DeleteYour hamlet is so lovely and so peaceful. IIRC, one of your neighbors houses was for sale but the sale fell through.* Has there been any further action on the house? And what’s happening with the house where the heirs burned everything in the front yard?
ReplyDelete*Speaking about language, through ‘what’ does a sale fall? ;)
The sale falls through the net, maybe. The house where all the furniture was burned in the front yard is the one that is being turned into a gîte. They've been doing a lot of work over there, but no sign of first renters yet.
DeleteRecent reading on the Normans and their influence on the English language told me that the difference between to dine (French) and to eat (Anglo), with one more "elegant" than the other, is because of status differences post-Conquest (oversimplifying). Perhaps "flower" and "bloom" are in the same pattern, distinguished by their origins.
ReplyDeletealso, if you get a zillion copies of this it's because I was trying to use Firefox, which is convinced I was signed in elsewhere (not) or needed a blog ID (none), so Grrrrr. Also, arrrghhhh.
ReplyDelete