Yesterday

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare; To-day the glint of green is there; Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;I know no thing so wondrous fair, No miracle so strangely rare. I wonder what will next be there!~L.H. Bailey

Yesterday we stopped to look at the American Cemetery, it looked so well cared for, dressed up in its early springtime style, smart like a new suit, not a stray twig or leaf. The grass was short, the shrubs clipped, rose bushes cut right back. The huge monument party hidden under a plastic cover was being cleaned, all around was spick and span. The only thing untamed was the flag which blew in the wind.

It will always be yesterday for the men who are buried at the cemetery, they will not experience the wind which blows today, or the blossom which may bloom tomorrow.

Waiting in line

The French word for twig is brindille.

The French word for bare of leaf is dépouillé sans feuilles.

Awake, thou wintry earth.

Awake, thou wintry earth -Fling off thy sadness!Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness!~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

As the weather warms up I often awake when the church bells ring at seven. I can make out that it is light out, and it looks sunny outside. The crazy wind which yesterday whipped around the garden has dropped.

Today I must do some ordinary things like food shopping. En route I do hope to take a few photographs, we will be driving past the American Cemetary just outside St James. The pretty town of St James isn't exactly on my doorstep, but makes a boring task more interesting.

Springtime is warm colours on cool days.

The Frenchword for gladness is joie

The Frenchword for doorstep is seuil.

Etymology for the word vernal.

The morning yawn

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. ~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

Just as the lighter mornings are helping to get me out of bed, the clocks spring forward this coming weekend. DOH..

Mushroom Yawning in the forest

I thought that it was only teenagers who found it hard to get out of bed!


The French word to awaken is réveiller

The French word to yawn is bailler...with or without a circumflex?

Etymology for the word yawn.

Lets party

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" ~Robin Williams

This week we saw the first day of spring......yippee, it has been such a marvelous week weather wise.

This week I am searching for springtime words for my French class. Prof would like us to write about springtime (printemps).

I have been making a start in the garden with the help of a friend, and we are eager to make progress before the weather cools again. It is good to have things to look forward to even if they are only veggies!!

Springtime in the forest

The French word for bloom is floraison.

The French word to develop flower buds is bourgeonner.

Etymology for the word eager.

Around the wrong way

On Thursday my French class resumed, the classes break for the children's school holidays. I had hoped to walk the woofer en route but the chasse (the hunt) has resumed in the forest on Thursdays.

So I arrived far too early.

My teacher gave me a huge book to look through about impressionist artists. I do love all those types of paintings although the only one that I have is on my umbrella!!

The first hour, the beginners class, there were only three of us there and it was tough for me, grammar, grammar, grammar. Hour two the more advanced class more people arrived. We then spent a lot of time learning the words for bark, meow, neigh, oink, baa, etc. Seems to me the brainier ones have got it easy! I knew most of the words because I watch French tv.

Anyway back to the artists, there was one name in the book that I was not so familiar with Gustave Caillebotte, I fell for this street painting in the rain in Paris. Link here and here.

Today's first picture is a horse in a field up the hill, I think that he had been rolling in the mud a bit, he is very friendly, but tosses his head around a lot.

Sepia Cheval

My favorite picture of two horses together is this one that I took at the Comice Agricole last summer where many Breton horses were on show. Mum with her foal.

Cute

The French word for rain is pluie.

The French word for although is quoique.

Etymology for the word sepia.

Special Treatment

I went to my class today, armed with my partly finished or partly unfinished homework.

I think that my French teacher really really likes me. Why is this?

????????????

Well I must be special because my teacher asked me to do my homework again. She didn't ask anyone else just me. Yippee so I can impress her all over again with my ta and my ton and my tes, or my use of ses son and sa.

So I am going to award myself a gold medal, or the closest that I can find.

Here is a picture that I took in early November, I thought that it looked like a gold medal, yes I know its really a mushroom but my imagination runs riot.

Forest Gold Medal

The French word for homework is devoirs.
The French word for unfinished is inachevé........oops

Etymology link for achieve.

Gone Fishing

Yes I am back at my French class, actually I go to two different ones. Anyway the more serious, difficult class where grammar really matters has given me a fishy problem. The problem is I have to fill in the ****, but I can understand the text without them. This is my main problem the leedle words in between.

The text is about a big ugly prehistoric fish that can be found in Indonesia, it isn't interested in us but it is a curiosity for man kind.

So here is the text, you see all those ** I have to put the right French word in!!

HORROR
** coelacanthe poisson préhistorique, a été pêche en Indonésie,** gros poisson n'est pas très curieux. Il est indifférent hommes, mais eux s'interésent hommes à lui, C'est ** très bonne nouvelle, explique Daniel Robineau, **. Muséum d'histoire naturelle, on croyait que poisson ne vivait qu' ** environs des Comores. Il reste peu de coelacanthes à ** endroit.



Here is a link that shows you this dinosaur fish.



Funny really because recently I have had a yearning for what is one of the UK's favorite meals, Fish and Chips, served fresh and hot and wrapped up in paper. I am an eater of fish but not meat, so no I am not a vegetarian.

Here is a picture taken down by the lovely castle in Fougeres, when I took this picture there was a man to my right fishing, so thats my picture for today.

Fishing for compliments

The French word for believe is croyait.
The French word for wrapped is emballer.
The French word for yearning is désir.

Etymology for desire.

PS. It is sad that many French people think that the British meal of fish and chips is disgusting, sadly it can be! But there is a lovely fish and chip shop just outside Poole in Dorset, and last time I got off the ferry and ate from there it was fab!

Easily distracted

Today was my "formal" French class and I was driving behind a JCB loaded on a truck,the plate stated 25kph and so I enjoyed the mud and spray, it was raining heavily again. Although I didn't arrive late they where already in full swing. I saw that my usual spot was not free and so I sat on "the other side of the room".

All went well for about half an hour. Then the rain stopped, then the sun came out, and because I was now opposite the large windows I looked out at the trees. I wasn't paying attention. I felt like I had gone back in time. I am foolish enough to have signed up for two classes which run back to back, and so I changed over to the other side of the room when some of "hour one" went home.

I am attending two hours class not because I am good at French

I am there for two hours because I am pretty bad.

Yet again the rain stopped me from going to the town of Fougeres and taking some photographs. I have checked the forecast for Saturday and I hope to get out and have a wander around the town.

Nice old door in Fougeres 1659

.

Nice old Tower on the castle.

Do you get easily distracted when sitting opposite a large window or is it just me?

Oh by the way 1659 is the year when the story book character Robinson Crusoe was shipwrecked..... Just in case you want to need to know the word for shipwreck. naufrage.