Showing posts with label winter walk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winter walk. Show all posts

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Portraits in Snow


As promised, the snow arrived. Only one week ago we were standing in our garden with the sun beating down and spring promises whispering in our ears. Where has it gone? We escaped a lot of the weather for most of the week, but this weekend brought the inevitable cold and snow. We don't think we've ever seen so much whiteness since we moved to France.

On Saturday evening the snow began to fall.


By Sunday morning we were really covered and basically snowed in. Living on a hill as we do, it's not easy to get around once the snow has covered the streets.


I like the way the yellow stone looks against white.


This morning I took a walk outside, only after dressing up like an Eskimo. The weather didn't stop the baker and it didn't slow down business there either. Here is the boulangerie, in yellow and turquoise, at the top of the road welcoming business on Sunday morning as usual.


I wanted to see the forest in its winter colors. I was the first one to venture down the pathway.


Pity the poor cows who have nowhere to go except under a stand of trees to avoid the falling snow.


At least the farmers made their way to the feeding trough and the cows had breakfast as usual.


You will have to enlarge this photo by clicking on it to see the little furry horses huddling against the fence trying to keep warm.


The valley below in white. This is a somewhat unusual sight for us here. I have no idea how long this condition will last, but for the time being we are living in the frozen tundra.
***

In Paris, Quinn has built a punk snowman. Tonight he told us about his snow road, where he can drive his cars out-of-doors.


All the ills of mankind, all the tragic misfortunes that fill the history books, all the political blunders, all the failures of the great leaders have arisen merely from a lack of skill at dancing.
--Moliere

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Year's Resolutions


I much prefer the first day of the year to the last. There's a sense of potential to any new year...and there's always that wonderful energy for resolutions and promises to the self. So much easier, of course, to make than to keep.

I have lots of projects planned for the new year but my resolution is just to notice one new thing every day. A simple enough goal, yet it requires some conscious choices on my part. I need to stop, to really look at things, perhaps sketch them, write about them and certainly to really think about what it is I'm looking at.


We took a walk today just before night fell. The day was gusty and as we leaned into the wind it whistled around us. Mist blew into our faces. The streets of the village were quiet.

One thing I noticed today was a gargoyle on the right edge of the chateau roof, surveying the grounds below. How is it I had never noticed it before? He stares down onto the roof of our house day and night.


While we walked along we heard a cacophony of bird song coming from inside a walled garden. The sound of joy and the promise of spring. There was a flock of songbirds clustered together in an arbor, sheltering from the weather, no doubt.


In the coming year I plan for the blog to be a kind of daily journal. I will post only once a week, generally on Sundays, but the post will be divided into five sections: Monday-Friday. I will post something I've focused on for each day. Some art work, some photos, some thoughts.

I'll be back here next Sunday to show you what I mean.