Move fast and quick

An observation regarding the Brittany countryside. There is a lot of rain just like in the UK, however the fields here are carefully drained with pipes into very deep ditches. The ditches are regularly cleared out to ensure that the water can flow to its destination a pumping station. I have never seen this kind of management of water and ditches back in the UK.

If you ever have to pull your vehicle off the road in rural Brittany, beware these ditches would swallow up your front wheel with no problem at all.

After last nights awful tempete, which was loud and at times a bit scary, today the water is gushing along the roadside ditches, and the many rivers which lace this area are full, and flowing fast. It seems like we are all getting more weather than usual more wind, rain, snow, or heat!

This afternoon I drove a few kilometers to have a coffee with a friend, afterwards she sent me home via an interesting dirk track, I had hoped to stop and take pictures, but down came the rain so I only managed a couple of very quick snaps.

At times there is a definate feel of springtime, and when you look at the hedgerows you can also see the signs of new growth.

Chemin

The small river was rushing along in a great hurry to get out of rural Brittany and visit nearby Normandy for that is the direction it flows.

Off to Normandy

Then back home to my blue front door, although the pots are not there at the moment, since the weather is too cold. It was of course raining yet again. But soon the sun will shine I hope.

The French word for the flowing river couler
The French word for lace is dentelle.

Coats

We are all obsessed here in Brittany about this cold snap. Who can stay the warmest, how many duvets can you sleep under. Who has had burst pipes, has your olive oil gone solid, has your Pastis frozen?

My friend has just acquired two young pigs and they were all cuddled up in their new little home and didn't want to venture out into the cold outside of their shelter. They were persuaded out with a jug of warm milk, lap lap lap.

So it makes me wonder how do the animals in the fields especially the big animals keep warm?

Some do not have shelters, and they probably don't have thick coats because mankind has possibly bred out the hairiest for reasons of convenience. They cannot creep down into burrows and get all snuggled up together, like the badgers and foxes, who after all have lovely thick coats.

I hope that you are nice and snuggly in your little nest, and if your heating has gone phut may it soon be repaired.

The French word for nest is Nid, (which sounds more like knee).
The French word for cuddle is Câlin.
The French word for a burst pipe or tyre is éclater

Cold and frosty

Yes I am house bound, my hip is hurting like mad and so I cannot get out to photograph. Damn I do so love to take photographs on a frosty morning. So I have indulged myself and started another blog. I know I shouldnt have but it gives me somewhere to dump my music links.

Here is a picture that I took almost a year ago when I first started to take photographs everyday. I quite liked the idea of peeking through the trees. I still like this kind of shot, although my photographs have changed a little. The pond belongs to a house that once was a Mill, it is situated down the lane from our village.

Further on up the hill I saw this beauty.

I think my pictures are different now but these two are special to me, because it was my new hobby. One of my pictures is on a CD cover, and I received a copy of it in the post this week it looks great.

The French word for frost is gel.

Tombe la pluie

In Brittany you soon need to learn the word for rain Pluie.........after the dog has been racing around the garden we get this brown stuff.........mud. The French word for Mud is boue.

Yes it has rained but I managed to get out and walk. I got a couple of nice shots.

I have spent most of my evening sort of doing my homework and looking up French words that I didn't know.

For example apercoit to catch sight of. I didn't know the word for nasturtiums which is capucines.

Here is the French word for puddle.

Some of my puddle pictures hardly look like puddles by the time that I have finished mucking about with them. The multi coloured picture is unusual. The big lorries which remove the logs in the forest leave diesel. When I edit the photograph the strange effect of the diesel shows in the finished picture.

Raining and shopping

Raining this morning and so I decide to give walking the dog a miss. The Internet forecast that I tend to use where you enter in your postal code hadn’t given out rain, but the rain was here and there was continuous drizzle. So after reading my favourite Blogs and checking out the emails I spend the morning doing chores like ironing and cleaning out the shower. I have a friend coming to stay so I try and make an extra special effort, this house is old and dusty and two seconds after you have cleaned it down falls the dust from the floor above.

During lunchtime whilst watching the news on TF1 I decide to drive into Fougeres and look for a birthday present for my friend. Later at the shops I spend ages in a shop called Noz and also take a quick look in Foir Fouille. I needed to put 20 euros of diesel in the car too, the dial wizzes so fast that i dont stop in time 20.01 says the dial.