Images from a pleasant week in January

My computer is in our office, which looks out on the castle, located right behind us. I spend a lot of time in this room. It is painted a heavenly shade of pale blue and on one whole wall is a topographical map of our area. There is also a comfy blue couch here where I often take a genuine cat nap... 10 minutes tops. The photo above was the view that greeted me the other day upon awakening. The afternoon beckoned and even though the week had been mostly gray, the rain had stopped and it seemed a perfect day for a walk in the woods.

The Virginia creeper that covers the front of the house is chartreuse in spring, green in summer, flaming red in the fall and just a tracery in the winter months. I love it in all its seasons

It's quiet on the terrace where the outdoor tables and chaise longue are mostly retired for the season. From time to time, when the sun comes out, I do relax here and soak up a few rays of sunshine, even this time of year.

The street still had puddles and Rick captured my reflection as we made our way towards the woods. We had on our rubber boots for muddy tramping.

The entrance to the forest always calls to me, no matter the time of year. It looks like the gateway to a magical world, and it almost always feels that way to me, no matter how often I descend the romantic holloways onto the ancient forest path below.

The path itself is very well maintained by the community. The trees and shrubs are copiced, the trail markers are repainted regularly, and this year new railings have appeared in a particularly steep portion of the pathway.

The red berries, with the rain still clinging to them, were vibrant against the green green of the grass.

A glimpse of Melleray, the village below ours. I do love the distinctive church bell towers in each village. Montmirail and Melleray never quite agree on the time. Our bells ring first and Melleray's follow a few moments later. Recently our church bells went silent after the first hard frost. It remained 4:20 for more than a week. Rick and I found we really missed the chiming, and we were reminded how many times a day we glance out the window at the church tower to know the time.

The woods are fairly barren this time of year, but I still enjoy this walk despite the gray, the mud and the sleeping trees. Rick pointed out that I blog this walk at least once a season. Does it get tiring? Apparently not for me.

At the end of the week, the sun came out for an entire afternoon. It was brilliant! It made it utterly impossible to stay indoors.

We took the opportunity to go to the garden and do a little cleanup - pruning, weeding, raking. We took our jackets off; it was that warm, as we worked in the soft soil. The promise of spring was definitely in the air and I must admit it made me long for it! But they say the snows will come this week. Perhaps this warm ray of sunshine which illuminated the inside of our garden shed, will be the last for many weeks. We felt invigorated, even if the day was strictly an anomaly.

Presumably my next post will include photos of a snowy Montmirail. Meanwhile we're cozy by the fire. I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying this January as much as I am.

Here We Go Again

They say that everything changes but change itself. I like to keep that concept alive! If you're viewing my blog from a feed or reader, then you won't be able to notice that I've changed my banner once again. As I mentioned when I introduced you to Musetta a few weeks ago, she is a very demanding character. I've grown fond of her, but the time she requires renders the posting schedule of my blog much slower than I'd like. I have made a new website for her and I'll be working on that throughout the coming year, without any time pressure, I can give her the kind of attention she deserves. In the meantime, I am reverting to my former format. I have had several friends write to say they miss the local news. And frankly there's quite a lot of it these days. We're rolling along in high season and have some interesting events and travels on the horizon. So we're here and there in France again, my friends.

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This past weekend brought a visit from Quinn and Emily. Jos was in Munich performing his one man show so the family came to stay, since we were not fully booked.

There is always so much to do when Quinn is at home. Certainly there are the trains, which he can hardly get enough of. He has lately discovered my collection of tin soldiers, so they are a new interest as well. There is also always some kind of art project. This time we made an owl mask and Quinn enjoyed whoo-hooing, flapping his wings and showing it off to our clients. In the opening photo, he is helping me in the press room. He likes to turn the big wheel, although he's still a little bit short!

Emily begins each morning with the yoga stretches and poses Salutation to the Sun. Quinn and Rick followed along.

Certainly we also took several walks. On our first one through the woods, we stopped by the park for a slide and teeter.

We also picked some small yellow and red plums that litter the ground on the entrance to the forest this time of year. Quinn ate his fill and then some.

On Sunday we had a picnic and a boating adventure in La Ferté-Bernard, the biggest city in our area. The town is criss-crossed by fingers of the Huisne River and one can rent little electric boats to putter along a rather long stretch of the river. It was a wonderful way to spend a warm afternoon, so relaxing and cool. We floated past the ancient gates to the city and under low bridges that cross the waterways.

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Earlier in the week, the Tour de France passed not too far from us so we drove out to watch the riders pass by. It's such a strange spectator sport, as it takes time to drive to your spot, park, walk out to the route, wait for quite awhile for the race to arrive. Zip zip, they pass you by in a matter of seconds, followed then by an endless procession of support cars and media. Frankly, I prefer tennis.

Week 41: Here Comes the Sun

On bright days a shaft of pure golden sun lights the entry and never fails to enchant me

We had glorious sunny days all week long, even if the temperature wasn't exactly balmy (high 40ºs). In the afternoon the sun goes around to the back of the house and I find myself following it. Sitting in a little patch of light is one way to rejuvenate the spirits.

The sun at mid afternoon lights the stairwell making the colors glow

 

The foyer of the Rose Room is like a solarium in the early afternoon.

Rick caught me sunbathing in the Green Room window late in the afternoon

Another sign of the changing season is strawberries available at the grocery store. These are from Spain and are almost the size of a tangerine. They remind me of the ones we get in California. Frankly, even if they are quite red and attractive, they are rather tasteless. The best strawberries are small, misshapen and less colored. Natural is always best and someone has definitely been messing around with this variety. Don't the producers know, you don't taste with your eyes?

 

strawberries and tangerines from Spain and Morocco.

Farid left for Barcelona mid-week and doesn't arrive back until tomorrow. He reports that it was raining there. How strange. We were in Barcelona a year ago to the day. I'm glad Farid could have the opportunity to see this beautiful city. He even attended a basketball game. Certainly the night life there is bound to be a bit more stimulating than in Montmirail.

I worked like a mad woman all week in the studio. At least eight hours a day with only a short lunch break. I am trying to finish some work to submit to several shows coming up in the spring. I am not quite ready to share them yet.

On Saturday I came down with a strong case of cabin fever and simply had to get out into the sunshine. We decided to take a walk in the woods since the paths had had all week to dry. It's been a few months since I ventured down there and I wanted to see what signs of spring were showing themselves. I know I've taken you on this walk before, but never when the trees are still bare. It's a totally different experience this time of year.

On the way we passed by the presbytery, where the village priest used to live before he got too old to be left on his own. The garden is looking neglected. The house is at the corner by the bar and used to be the community salt storehouse in the middle ages. In those days salt was a real luxury item and the main means of preserving foods.

The village presbytery

The forest is below the lowest level of the town. One descends a path I call the rabbit hole, because the branches of the trees bend down on the one side while the hedges on the other reach up, creating a tunnel of foliage. It feels like entering into a fairy tale,

Entering the forest

Leaves litter the ground and the sun gains entry to the path through the tree branches. Rick wasn't sure he wanted to walk in the woods because he likes to keep to the sunny side this time of year. But we found the sun was not hidden at all.

The path we follow was constructed at least 600 years ago.

the path down to the forest floor

I love how the banks curve up on both sides. The forest is almost womb-like.

along the path

There are very few evergreens in the forest, so this time of year everything is so much more open.

one of our few pine trees

One can see the farm houses below the pathway.

looking toward Melleray, the town at the foot of the hill

We found a place on the path where we could look back up at the village and castle. In summer this view is completely obscured.

The castle of Montmirail

A  couple of wild flower varieties have begun to appear on the forest floor. My favorites are the little violets. We found them in small clumps all along the path.

 violets

These yellow ones are quite common in our part of France. I haven't been able to identify them.

perky and hardy yellow flowers which bloom into fall

Along the way we saw some happy cows. They had just been fed their hay by Farmer John.

contented cows

We have many beautiful horses in our area as well. It almost looks like Virginia to me.

happy horse

While walking I experienced one of those perfect moments. The kind of moment where everything make sense and all life seems good. All my senses contributed to that feeling, so I can't entirely share it with you, I can only try to describe it, however inadequately. There was the sun on my cheeks, the wind ruffling my hair, the smell of a wood fire, as one of the farmers was burning his slash, four different bird songs ringing through the trees making a kind of symphony as we gazed out upon the peaceful landscape. I melted into the moment, the place, and forgot myself entirely. Always a blessed relief!

The trees cast golden shadows on the pathway. Does it make you want to paint a picture?

shadows along the way

 

here comes the sun

Who says dandelions are weeds?

Spring wild flowers are so extravagant! I count dandelions among them, as one person's weed is another one's flower. Some people may go to extremes to try to remove dandelions from their lawns and flower borders, but I revel in their adaptability and cleverness in spreading themselves everywhere. Is there a place in the world where they can't be found? It's when they are allowed to become profuse that they are able to express their true charm. Yellow, as in YELLOW! is the color of spring in northern France. If it's not the dandelions, then it's the fields of safflower.

I have lately been able to get back into the woods below our house. It's not worth the trouble in winter when the trails are muddy, but once the new bright green leaves begin, once again, to cover the trees and they form that sort of tunnel leading into the magical forest land, I eagerly follow the pathway almost every afternoon.

The birds raucously discuss which trees to choose for their nests and the woodland flowers run rampant.

I took a photo of the spot which inspired my "A Walk in the Woods" created in the studio last summer. The light is quite different in the springtime, but still filters through the branches making that dappled effect I was so struck by.

The cows seemed to have some kind of a grudge against us. Maybe they wished they could come in under the trees too. They seemed to give us dirty looks from there enclosure, where we joined the forest path. They certainly can't complain for lack of nice green grass to munch. The fields are lush this time of year.

 

I have just finished working on another landscape print inspired by our area. It's about 12 X 24" and is created using four separate plates. All the color is added at the same time and it is run through the press just once. Inking up takes about 20 minutes! It's available for sale in my Etsy store.