01/11/2023
Time passed much more slowly when I was young: a school year lasted forever. The start of the summer holidays…..six weeks was an eternity to look forward to. It is now almost the end of October. Somehow time flies by almost too quickly to keep up!
Almost without noticing the harvest has come and gone. That, of course, has been done through long hours, big machines, and hard work on the part of the farm workers. The green landscape of spring became the golden summer barley, wheat and this year, some rye, too. Rapeseed, linseed, peas, and broad beans were left to go dry before their harvest.
Most was gathered in …and by the end of July. Sunflowers, of course, remained- they give that iconic Tour de France country look, but the crop is left until much later, looking skeletal and dry. The dry seeds are collected by the trailer load.
Summer and sun continued until very recently. Indian summers are regular here, but this year has been particularly dry and hot. Before starting this belated effort to communicate with the world, I looked back at hundreds of images this year. It is only with hindsight that I fully appreciate how different the seasons are. I am amazed at my ability to fail to notice the obvious. Perhaps, that is why I take the camera with me on my walks around the locality. The images are important reminders for me: I am far too lazy to write a diary, but I suppose the photos do the same job.
I have procrastinated since my last post. I think it is 18 weeks since my June effort- and even this one was started in July! Apparently, procrastination is less to do with laziness than fear, an inability to plan and other stuff. Basically, it is to do with finding something more palatable to fill my time- then feeling bad about avoidance afterwards. This has gone on so long enough the task has snowballed to such an extent that it is completely unmanageable. Is this called ‘displacement’ by brainy people? Dorothy tells me that it is.
The result is that because I have been walking (obsessively to keep Fitbit happy) and taking hundreds of photos throughout the summer months, there is too much to organise! Someone told once me that my meanderings on this site were a bit like Alan Bennet’s Talking Heads. I’m sure that it was meant as a compliment, but it feels like being in maze without an exit route!
I intend to let the pictures tell the story of our summer.
I am rescued by the sudden dramatic events overnight. Panic not: it was to do with a biblical style storm rather than anything of a more physical nature! Dorothy, to her amazement, slept through the worst of it! Strange because she is normally more aware of even the slightest disturbances. The velux amplified the drumming of the storm which continued in surges for most of the night- but it was worst from 5 until 8 o’clock in the morning.
It was still dark when I got up. As it got light, it became clear that the ditches were overflowing, the roads were flooded; rivers were running down the field opposite carrying mud, sludge and brown water into the ditches and across the road. It really was like scenes from the News. It was my fault, no doubt! The number of times that I have complained about the lack of rain: be careful what you wish for, indeed!
The photos are in chronological order. I hope the pictures show the beauty and variety of the Les Ribaudieres region. There are some other images of various other places we have visited since July.
It is ok around here! We hope you like it, too! If we need an ark for the next week or so…. we will have plenty of animals to fill it!
I was about to post the above on Sunday- after the storm. It is now Wednesday. Procrastation still rules. I am posting this now, without proof reading. The photos are going up without explanation. Is it Nike that says: “Just do it!”
