Little buds on the vines bravely raise their tiny, tender heads above the parapets, there to find rain … howling winds …. a five minute burst of hail … and a bewildering alternation of balmy breezes and malicious icy winds. But so far so good. Things are moving at speed, in their own slow way. First […]
We hit the pedal to the metal this month. So does the weather: going flat out at full pelt. Some unwelcome little buds are appearing on some of the very young vines, ready to be decimated (at best) when the cold weather finally does come, while wisteria, tulips, and all manner of wild flowers are […]
The sun sets on another year at Rives-Blanques. We wake up to a new year and a soft, unpersuasive drizzle promising rain, but not quite. Rain is what we need … but not too much, please, not like what they’re getting on the other side of La Manche. Though a bit more than what we’ve […]
November was Autumn. December was …? Well, we are not too sure. The autumn colours have faded, the leaves have fallen from the vines. The ground is dry, dry, dry. The nights are frozen, the early mornings are white with frost, the days are warm and sunny. Very warm. Very sunny. And not a drop […]
We haven’t had such an awesome autumn in years: a jewelbox cramful of rubies, topaz, garnets, quartz, and glittering gold. The sky, needless to say, is sapphire blue. At night, it deepens into polished onyx studded with diamonds and a ridiculously bright moon made of rock crystal. You simply cannot get enough of it, […]