Renee Redstart
Well-known member
When we talked about the arrival of spring some time ago, it seemed reluctant to show its face in my garden. When I left it, over a couple of weeks ago, my Forsythia was just beginning to open its buds. As I arrived in France I noticed that theirs were in full bloom, glowingly yellow until just before we left, when they started to go brown. So when I arrived home yesterday, I was treated to another spring with my own Forsythia in all its glory.
“My” area of France is the Charente. It’s in the west about half way down, with its main town being Angouleme. It is very chalky and has the ideal soil for growing cognac vines, hence the town of Cognac is there too. Our little stone abode that we are renovating is of equal distance from both these towns, on the outer edge of a tiny hamlet deep in the vineyards and fields. The other fields alternate between growing sunflowers and wheat.
Their winter had been as never ending as ours, but had seen much more rain than I’d had in my neck of the woods at home. Some fields looked like paddy fields in parts, and there were streams where we never before realised there were streams. It was also much colder than we have ever known it to be there in April. The sun shone a lot as usual, but fleeces were very much needed! We have an orchard at the back of our garden, mainly with plums and cherries. When we arrived the plums looked unusually wintry for the time of year, but they blossomed while we were there and put on such a show I was reluctant to leave them. I’ve put on a photo of the orchard view so you’ll know why I love it so much.
We arrived during the afternoon of 3rd April, and the very next morning I saw my first Swallow fly over our garden. Then in the afternoon I saw another one, again on its own. Over the next few days they increased in number, although not to the extent we get them there in the summer. (Congrats Bill, I popped on and saw your Swallow post. I would have been jealous if I was at home.)
Walking in the local lanes was beautifully spring-like, with all the grassy banks and ditches full of masses of Cowslips. I found one or two Violets here and there, and what looked like a Snake’s-Head Fritillary in one ditch. We were disappointed not to spot the Hares in the fields this year, having gone out camera in hand this time. But there’s always next year. We did, however, see a Fox running across the field next to our orchard.
When we first visited this area in the spring, we were introduced to the odd sight of the dormant vines. They look as if they are dead; they are just like black twigs with their ‘arms’ hung out over the wires. I have included a picture of one of the banks of Cowslips by the Vineyards to show you what it all looks like.
While sitting in the garden spring was all around us, with bees and butterflies on the plum blossoms (there are plums in the garden too, in fact it’s very much plum city there and my work is cut out in the summer with bottling etc.) We had a Small Tortoiseshell (I had mistakenly thought this was a Fritillary before, but have now got my prints back and I've scanned it in and added it below) and a Red Admiral, the latter always being a very regular visitor in the summer.
One or two mornings saw a mist over the fields behind the vines that we see from where our back door would be if we had one (another job for us soon), and I’ve put on a picture of that too. We left there in the mist on Tuesday morning, to arrive home in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
So we come to 7.30am on Wednesday when I went out with my usual morning ground feed to see how my garden at home was doing. First thing I saw was one of my lady Blackbirds gathering nesting material. Later in the day I caught a glimpse of a Blackbird taking nesting material to the ivy clad bushes where they built a nest last year. I don’t think anything came of it last year, so I hope it will this time. Most of my regulars turned up yesterday, including my beloved Song Thrush and a LTT. More of the usual spring flowers in bloom since I was here, so I’m going to enjoy another spring!
I turned into a nagging wife while in France. I’m nagging for a digital SLR to improve my bird shots, and hoping we will get one in time for our summer stint there. I have some normal digital shots which I’m putting on now, but the so-called close-ups of birds (don’t hold your breath!) were done on a print film. When I get my prints, I’ll sort and scan them and write my Bird Report of the Charente. The report will be in two parts; Birds that I get in both places, and Birds I only get there. So please bear with me while I sort myself out.
“My” area of France is the Charente. It’s in the west about half way down, with its main town being Angouleme. It is very chalky and has the ideal soil for growing cognac vines, hence the town of Cognac is there too. Our little stone abode that we are renovating is of equal distance from both these towns, on the outer edge of a tiny hamlet deep in the vineyards and fields. The other fields alternate between growing sunflowers and wheat.
Their winter had been as never ending as ours, but had seen much more rain than I’d had in my neck of the woods at home. Some fields looked like paddy fields in parts, and there were streams where we never before realised there were streams. It was also much colder than we have ever known it to be there in April. The sun shone a lot as usual, but fleeces were very much needed! We have an orchard at the back of our garden, mainly with plums and cherries. When we arrived the plums looked unusually wintry for the time of year, but they blossomed while we were there and put on such a show I was reluctant to leave them. I’ve put on a photo of the orchard view so you’ll know why I love it so much.
We arrived during the afternoon of 3rd April, and the very next morning I saw my first Swallow fly over our garden. Then in the afternoon I saw another one, again on its own. Over the next few days they increased in number, although not to the extent we get them there in the summer. (Congrats Bill, I popped on and saw your Swallow post. I would have been jealous if I was at home.)
Walking in the local lanes was beautifully spring-like, with all the grassy banks and ditches full of masses of Cowslips. I found one or two Violets here and there, and what looked like a Snake’s-Head Fritillary in one ditch. We were disappointed not to spot the Hares in the fields this year, having gone out camera in hand this time. But there’s always next year. We did, however, see a Fox running across the field next to our orchard.
When we first visited this area in the spring, we were introduced to the odd sight of the dormant vines. They look as if they are dead; they are just like black twigs with their ‘arms’ hung out over the wires. I have included a picture of one of the banks of Cowslips by the Vineyards to show you what it all looks like.
While sitting in the garden spring was all around us, with bees and butterflies on the plum blossoms (there are plums in the garden too, in fact it’s very much plum city there and my work is cut out in the summer with bottling etc.) We had a Small Tortoiseshell (I had mistakenly thought this was a Fritillary before, but have now got my prints back and I've scanned it in and added it below) and a Red Admiral, the latter always being a very regular visitor in the summer.
One or two mornings saw a mist over the fields behind the vines that we see from where our back door would be if we had one (another job for us soon), and I’ve put on a picture of that too. We left there in the mist on Tuesday morning, to arrive home in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
So we come to 7.30am on Wednesday when I went out with my usual morning ground feed to see how my garden at home was doing. First thing I saw was one of my lady Blackbirds gathering nesting material. Later in the day I caught a glimpse of a Blackbird taking nesting material to the ivy clad bushes where they built a nest last year. I don’t think anything came of it last year, so I hope it will this time. Most of my regulars turned up yesterday, including my beloved Song Thrush and a LTT. More of the usual spring flowers in bloom since I was here, so I’m going to enjoy another spring!
I turned into a nagging wife while in France. I’m nagging for a digital SLR to improve my bird shots, and hoping we will get one in time for our summer stint there. I have some normal digital shots which I’m putting on now, but the so-called close-ups of birds (don’t hold your breath!) were done on a print film. When I get my prints, I’ll sort and scan them and write my Bird Report of the Charente. The report will be in two parts; Birds that I get in both places, and Birds I only get there. So please bear with me while I sort myself out.
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