The View from here...and there

View of the landscape beyond Montmirail, with prunings being burned before spring planting

Our beautiful late winter climate has given way to a chillier and stormier early spring weather pattern. As usual for this time of year, I spend a lot of time gazing out my windows and snapping pictures of the ever-changing moods of the big sky before me. Previously I had never lived in a house where I could have a view of surrounding countryside. It is truly mesmerizing at all times of the day and night. I never seem to tire of surveying this quiet little corner of the world around me.

Dramatic storm clouds over the village

Coming as I do from California, where the weather can be easily predicted and events planned without much fear of miscalculation, days here seem full of surprises. In the space of a few minutes, you can have rain, sun, cold, warmth. Clouds simply race across the sky.

Two of our most typical bird species overlooking our terrace where they make their homes

The early birds are back in town, sparrows, black birds and morning doves are busy building nests. We found a new little home tucked behind our trellis where two varieties of clematis grow. The little ones can be raised up amidst a profusion of flowers that these plants offer in late spring and early summer. Seems a splendid way to begin life. The morning doves always like to build their nests in our wisteria branches, although we vigorously discourage them. The wisteria has not leafed out so is not yet a target for their construction ambitions. In the meantime, we have found them at our back sill with sticks in their beaks, trying to negotiate our dormer window eaves. This is not a good idea, as this window remains open all day and night in summer months, and I can see a serious conflict of interest developing.

Crows in large groups swoop through the sky each evening before settling down for the night

The noble crow is a year long resident of Montmirail. Some consider them pests, and they certainly don't have the most beautiful song, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I admire this big old graceless bird. Crows are a highly intelligent, social and fun-loving species. I find their constant presence, roosting high above the valley on roofs, chimney tops, spires and turrets both reassuring and entertaining. This time of year they begin to leave their normally massive group and form smaller family units, but as soon as the young ones are old enough to fly, they rejoin the larger community. They seem to enjoy communal life immensely; one hears few squabbles between individuals. They are such social creatures.

Full moon shines over our valley

This weekend our clocks are set forward an hour and those long summer days begin to be anticipated, but in the meantime the moon and stars come out long before we retire. A recent full moon made a dramatically beautiful appearance from behind dark clouds.

Rick enjoying a moment before dinner

Rick has been working hard, helping some friends remodel their house in Le Perche. He takes a well-deserved break before dinner preparation begins to enjoy a beer and read the headlines while sitting in the window seat.

Emily across the table at a Parisian cafe

Recently we went to visit the family in Paris on a Wednesday, which is still a day off for Quinn. Traditionally all young children have the day off in France. The rules change about this next year, when Wednesday morning becomes a school day for elementary students all over the country. This is a slightly controversial new law, as Quinn, who is only five and still in kindergarten, like most young children, is in school four days a week from 9AM until 4:30PM, a relatively long day of learning for a kid. Four days of that a week has seemed enough to many people.

On the Wednesday in question, Quinn had a morning workshop at Le Centre Kapla. After dropping him off, Emily, Rick and I took a little walk through the neighborhood and then had coffee in an atmospheric retro cafe down the street from Le Centre.

Structure built by the older children in the workshop

Kaplas are beautiful and simple pine blocks, all of the same size and shape, an elongated rectangle. They come in a few colors as well as the classic unpainted variety. They were created by a Dutch designer living in France in the late 80s. They stack beautifully and with nothing but gravity to hold them together, allow for some remarkable constructions. At Le Centre kids of all ages learn a little engineering and physics and work at making some marvelous structures.

Some of the creations made by the younger kids

Quinn is an enthusiastic builder, spending hours with his blocks, brio trains and legos, so the Kapla class was right up his alley.

Quinn proudly shows off the boat he helped to make

We had a very pleasant morning as did Quinn, followed by a lovely lunch at a Lebanese restaurant not far from Quinn's workshop. I have to admit that one of my favorite activities in Paris is going out to lunch or dinner. There are so many choices. Here at the maison we scarcely ever venture out for a meal.

Quinn and Zinnie share well together. Both love books.

Zinnie did not join us on this particular adventure, as Wednesday is not a holiday for her from her pre-school course. She is growing up fast and is at that stage where if you know her well enough you can understand what she is saying. If not, probably her phraseology will remain a mystery.

Finished portrait of Emily Dickinson in my authors series

In the studio I have been working on several things, including a couple of new prints, a big quilt for Emily and Jos and some old photographic techniques, including photo-etching and cyanotype. I have just received a chemical which when mixed with watercolor will allow me to add color to cyanotypes. I have yet to give it a try.

Bernard and Françoise at the breakfast table

Our good friends Bernard and Françoise came to visit us last weekend. Our relationship with them goes way back to 1998, when they hosted my son James for an AFS cultural exchange year in France, when he was 16. They have since become some of our dearest friends, helping us out in so many ways since we moved to France.

Rick and Françoise in conversation

We have had many happy encounters with these lovely people. Lately our lives have made it harder to meet nearly as often as we would like, so to have the opportunity to be together for a couple of days was a treat.

The cherry tree pregnant and waiting to burst into bloom

Without doubt, my very favorite springtime activity is gardening. Truth be told, it's the only time of year I have much interest in it at all. Summer days are too hot and the plants are tired and over extended, putting the garden to bed in fall is tedious. And of course we don't even bother to come up to the garden during the winter months, except to gather kindling from our shed. But spring weather calls like a siren to me and I become completely obsessed, to the point where currently I am so tired and achy from all the bending and shoveling, that I really would be grateful if it rained this afternoon to save me from myself by preventing me from over-doing it again.

The grass is full of violets this time of year

At the end of the summer last year we built a deck in the garden. We haven't had a season yet for enjoying it. This spring we are putting in a back flower garden, to harmonize with our new entertaining space. We're starting from scratch and are also completely redesigning our existing yard, meaning that almost everything is being transplanted to somewhere else. Hopefully there will be many more photos to share next time, although, of course, the garden isn't in its glory until June.

Rick begins our new garden project

Days of Wine and Roses

Dreaming of sunny days, I played with this image I took in Barcelona last year.

Our spring is a bit unpredictable this year! The sun plays hide and seek, the rains they come and go. One has to profit from the periods when the sky is blue and the air is warm, to race out to the garden and smell the roses, which are in abundance at the moment.

On the terrace are three kinds of climbing roses, sharing one trellis. They are all in glorious bloom. The light pink one was a gift from our local wine merchant, Roland. I don't know the variety, but it's a little like a Cecil Bruner in that it grows vigorously, smells, wonderful and blooms a single time during the year. The purple is a charming ancient variety called Veilchenblau. The third is a Ghislaine de Feligonde, a special rambling rose which produces beautiful blooms throughout the season.

Of course our mutabilis rose is the real star. It blooms continuously in all the warmer months and displays several colors on the same plant, as the blooms take different shades as buds, mature blooms, and then as faded ones. Last weekend we stood on the terrace with our clients, all doctors from Paris, and enjoyed it together. It's a bit of a show-off.

Our yellow rose on the front of the house took a bit of a beating in the cold of last winter. We have had to prune it back considerably. But still it is putting out a profusion of blossoms.

In our larger garden, we have an entire bed of rose plants of various varieties. Rick called me over to take a look at this beauty and pronounced it "perfect." It was at that moment, which lasts so temporarily, where its form and color are at their ideal. The sun captured it and made it seem to glow.

If you really love roses, you should visit Rose Notes, a blog by one of my friends, Carolyn Parker. She is the expert and her images are spectacular.

Skies have been dramatic and changeable.

The moon has been full. And of course Venus transited the sun. We couldn't see it, as it was cloudy that day.

It's been such a long time since I've taken you for a walk in our woods. It's such a lovely time of year for a stroll under the trees.

I have been working quite a lot on various art projects. My image "View From Inside" was chosen to hang in an international print show in Richmond, VA. It's the small one just to the right of the sculpture. Rick framed it between two pieces of glass. I like the way it looks floating in its frame.

Here's a sign from St. Suzanne, a beautiful old medieval village not far from us. It's for a storefront where sacred art is exhibited. I find it very amusing how voluptuous this nun is!

Week 10: Moon Over a Medieval Village

I have often spoken of the pleasure received from views out the window of our upstairs apartment. It is one I indulge myself in both day and night. Recently, after lights were extinguished, I was on my way to our room when I glanced out the window and noticed a full golden moon floating in the night sky. Across was Anne's room still alight and next to her an attic room aglow. I had imagined that space to be uninhabited. I've never seen light there before this summer, and then only a few times. It's a complete mystery to me who it could be up there, as I know the other people in the building and no new folks have been seen on the place. The shutters were half closed, creating an L of light. The view was magical; breathtaking, still and timeless.

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What a tremendous bustle is going on in town! Our medieval fete begins next week. Samuel and his wife Celine have been out in front of the house measuring for stalls and stands and the castle made of bales of straw which will all be erected in front of the house during the course of the coming week. The big days are next weekend, when 3000 people will flood into our village and enjoy reenactments, burlesque medieval theater, demonstrations, food, (including a huge feast on rows of endless tables), crafts, games for children and finally, and most spectacularly, a huge fireworks display. Each year Samuel thinks of something new to outdo himself. This year it's the addition of an entire week of pre-fete activities, classes and demonstrations. Atelier Conti will be contributing a course in gravure which actually was invented in the middle ages. Knights liked to inscribe decorations on their armor so they engraved the metal with images. Someone came up with the bright idea to rub some ink, or dirt into the grooves and transfer the results onto paper. Voila! Etching was born. Of course the printing press was invented in 1440, so also a medieval development

Gilles, the village groundskeeper, often fills the early morning air with his cheery whistling. This week he has been particularly active making sure all the flower beds are perfectly groomed and with the help of a small crew, including the mayor, hanging flags from every corner, including our window ledges. Here I am at the rose room window after the installation. 

 

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Martine is back in town. The only way we know is that one afternoon this week the doorbell rang and there she was with a bowl of strawberries in her hands. She passed them through to us and demanded "Be sure to eat these within the next ten minutes. I've just picked them!" She ran off, not even waiting for us to give her back her bowl. Perhaps she had her own bowl to consume within the time limit. Talk about fresh from the garden! We followed her admonition without hesitation.

On the subject of fruit, lately when we take our walk through the woods, we have to step over and through bucket-loads of little yellow mirabelles (tiny plums). There are several wild trees at the trail head and no one seems to collect the fruit. The trees are overly generous and their fruit is tasty but more pit than flesh.

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We treated ourselves to another grandparent vacation this week, visiting Quinn and family in Paris and helping to install a new dishwasher. I have always admired Parisians for depending so little upon the modern conveniences that we in the U.S. consider almost essential. It may seem strange to label my own daughter a Parisian, but she has lived there for over ten years, and just as many others in the city,  has done without either a dishwasher or clothes dryer for all that time. Everyone gets by without garbage disposals, they simply are unheard of here. The addition of the dishwasher to Emily's life requires a complete kitchen rearrangement. So Mr. Bricolage to the rescue. Rick always answers the call.

While in Paris, we took a day trip to Fontainebleau where there is a stunning royal castle. I personally much prefer it to Versailles. It has a bit more taste and warmth, even if you can't really call a vast extravagance like that "cozy", still it is beautifully decorated, and not just with gold and crystal, but with delicate paintings and gorgeous fabrics. I love how, on the castle grounds, the meticulously manicured trees stand like little soldiers on the perfectly trimmed vast lawn.

Quinn had the opportunity to ride on a merry-go-round for the first time, as there is one just across the street from the castle. It is a beautiful old double-decked affair and Quinn much approved everything about it. Three rides later we were finally able to coax him off.

Jos' birthday is coming up next week and his sister requested an image of Emily and Quinn which she could put on a sweatshirt for Jos. I did the portrait honors in their little garden. I thought it turned out beautifully.

 

Jos is an actor and director, and he works with a lot of very interesting people who we often get to meet. He invited us to the Cité de la Musique where he was meeting some of his Austrian clown friends who were there for a show. In front of the cafe is a vast place with a huge fountain in the middle, where 10 iron lions spew out gallons of water through their mouths, which tumbles into a huge basin. It makes a mighty roar. Quinn, with his hands characteristically behind his back, resting palms outwards on his little derriere, walked the entire space. There must be an acre of paving stones, with people playing, dogs romping, bikers, skaters and strollers everywhere around. He took it all in with his Nana in tow. It was an exquisitely pleasant afternoon, ending with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants on the place, where Quinn got his first piano lesson.